1899, the Christmas-time St.Petersburg. Ice-covered rivers and canals of the capital seethe with festive activities. On the eve of the new century those who should not be destined to meet, come together. They are people from different worlds: Matvey, the son of a lamplighter, whose only treasure is his silver-plated skates; Alice is the daughter of a high-ranking official dreaming of science. Each of them has his own difficult life-story, but having accidentally met they rush forward together in pursuit of their dreams.
Cinematography
Every frame looks like a vintage Christmas postcard come alive
Costume
1900s St. Petersburg fashion that'll make you furious about modern puffer coats
Practical Effects
Actual ice skating sequences, not CGI—feel the cold
Director
Michael Lockshin
Fedor Fedotov
Matvey
Sonia Priss
Alisa
Aleksey Guskov
Nikolai Nikolaevitch
Yuri Kolokolnikov
Velikiy Knyaz
Severija Janušauskaitė
Severina
Kirill Zaytsev
Arkadiy
Yura Borisov
Alex
Aleksandra Revenko
Margo
Timofey Tribuntsev
Petr
Sergey Koltakov
Dmitriy Mendeleev
Yan Reshetnikov
footman
Denis Lavant
Fourier
Cathy Belton
Miss Jackson
Vasily Kopeikin
Mukha
Vera Pleshanova
lady on the waterfront
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Michael Lockshin is actually a Harvard-educated neuroscientist who pivoted to filmmaking—explains the obsession with brains vs beauty.
The film was Russia's Oscar submission and became a pandemic-era comfort watch, with viewers hosting 'skating parties' at home.
RU
