The Story of Voyages, also translated as A Fairy Tale of Wanderings
Skazka Stranstviy (1984) Alternate title: A Fairy Tale Of Wanderings
/ref> (Russian: Сказка странствий) is a 1983 Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
Russian fantasy film
Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...
directed by Alexander Mitta and starring Andrei Mironov. The film is notably darker and more adult-oriented than most of Soviet fantasy movies, which were usually made for children.[ Mir Fantastiki]
Сокровища кинематографа. 100 главных фантастических фильмов
/ref> It was a joint co-production of Russian, Czechoslovak, and Romanian studios.
Plot
In a medieval fantasy kingdom, two orphans, May and his sister Martha, live in poverty. A group of robbers kidnap May to use his magic talent: he feels sick when surrounded by gold, therefore he can feel gold from a long distance.
Martha goes on a quest to find her brother. She is soon joined by a travelling scientist, Orlando. Together, the two wander through various fantastic countries. They visit a city built on the back of a dragon, and see it burnt down when the dragon wakes. In another city, they are sentenced to death for starting a bar brawl. They manage to escape from prison using hang-glider
Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...
Orlando invented. Finally they land in a country hit by Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
, which is personified as a witch in black. Orlando sacrifices himself to stop the plague.
Years later, Martha finally finds May, who has changed dramatically. He became one of the robbers, a violent and evil person; he is rich, but feels sick of his affluence. Martha talks him out of this way of life. May magically destroys his castle and feels that the spirit of Orlando has been reborn in him.
Cast
* Andrei Mironov — ''Orlando, the travelling scientist''
* Tatyana Aksyuta — ''Martha'' (voiced by Marina Neyolova)
* Lev Durov — ''Gorgon, the robber''
* Baltybay Seytmamutov — ''Brutus, the robber''
* Ksenia Piratinskaya — ''May as a child''
* Valery Storozhik
Valery Stepanovich Storozhik (russian: Вале́рий Степа́нович Сторо́жик ; born December 7, 1956, Kotelva, Poltava Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, USSR) is a Soviet and Russian stage, voice and film actor.[Karmen Galin KARMEN (KArlsruhe Rutherford Medium Energy Neutrino experiment), a detector associated with the ISIS synchrotron at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. Neutrinos for study are supplied via the decay of pions produced when a proton beam strikes a ta ...]
— ''the Plague Witch'' (voiced by Yekaterina Vasilyeva)
* Veniamin Smekhov
Veniamin Borisovich Smekhov (russian: Вениами́н Бори́сович Сме́хов; born August 10, 1940 in Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor and director. He was the winner of the Petropol Award (2000) as well as the ...
— '' Don Qixote''
* Vladimir Basov
Vladimir Pavlovich Basov (russian: link=no, Владимир Павлович Басов; 28 July 192317 September 1987) was a Soviet Russian actor, film director and screenwriter. People's Artist of the USSR (1983).
Biography
Vladimir Basov was ...
— ''the lawyer''
* Alexander Pyatkov — ''the driller''
* Jean Lorin Florescu
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* Jean ...
— ''the prosecutor'' (voiced by Viktor Sergachyov
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
)
Reception
''The Story of Voyages'' is in the List of 100 most important Science Fiction and Fantasy films by '' Mir Fantastiki'' magazine.[
]
References
External links
Skazka stranstviy (1983)
at IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Story of Voyages
Soviet fantasy films
Russian fantasy films
1980s Russian-language films
Films directed by Alexander Mitta
Films scored by Alfred Schnittke
Czechoslovak fantasy films
Romanian fantasy films
Czech fantasy films
Films about dragons
1983 fantasy films
Films set in the Middle Ages
Films about the Black Death