Even though there are countless versions of fairy tales about Cinderella, Vorlíčkova is so engraved in the minds and hearts of Czech viewers that when, for example, a dress with a siding, embroidered with silver, but not a princess is heard in the famous riddle, a slightly different sentence , one inadvertently sews because “it’s not like that”.
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Leaving aside these pre-given facts, it cannot be said that Three Wishes for Cinderella is a bad film fairy tale, which viewers, especially with smaller children, who still do not have so much in their blood, should not go to. After all, Pavlíček wrote it nicely, and even though four experienced Norwegian screenwriters have been drilling in the Norwegian script for several years, they couldn’t go wrong.
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Although they managed to do something wrong, they got rid of Cinderella’s humor, which is a sin of the hardest, but the novelty still has its charm, albeit a little different, harsher.
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It is worth mentioning that in Norway the Three Nuts for Cinderella are as loved as in our country. They started broadcasting there only two years after the Czech premiere, and since 1982 they have had their exact day and time, on Christmas Day at 11 am. It is said that when they were not on television on Christmas Day, it was such a stir that it was a chair for the general director of the public NRK!
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So why did the Norwegians shoot a new one when they consider ours to be theirs? Director Cecilie Mosli says she had a strong feeling that it was important to shoot a modern version for the new generation.
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Astrid. S. in the role of Cinderella.
Photo: Bontonfilm
In this context, it should be emphasized that in 1973, the Three Nuts were even very modern for Cinderella. Cinderella was suddenly not the whimpering maid like her predecessor and her heroines, but a rather confident contemporary girl who doesn’t get scared right away, sometimes makes a pansy or some mischief, shoots a crossbow like a boy, adores animals and the forest, and that she likes the prince, it doesn’t mean she’s just looking at him devoutly. He can even torment him nicely and with a joke. What more modern to write today?
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Three wishes for Cinderella go on. The creators themselves call them feminist, they don’t skimp on lessons, such as “Don’t shoot at animals you won’t eat!” is, and expect from others, it looks rather strange.
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Like the ending of a fairy tale, which alone is somewhat different from the original. His plot cannot be revealed, but gender correctness and the effort for more action stick out of it rather than fit naturally into it.
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The Norwegians had an advantage in the winter landscape and the snow gave the spectators a lot. While Vorlíček’s staff had to snow with polystyrene at Moritzburg Castle near Dresden, and the snow fell only later in Šumava, the Norwegians had not only snow mountains, but also ice waterfalls. Thanks to much more modern technologies, the shots of the landscape are also among the most handsome.
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However, the Nordic tuning also affected the costumes, the set design and the music in such a way that everything seems quite harsh, including, for example, the stepmother, who is witch demonic.
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There are also romantic scenes in the film.
Photo: Storm Films
Cinderella’s arrival at the ball and the first meeting with the prince, but without Svoboda’s music, with the famous song Kdepak, you have a bird, you have a nest, that’s not it anyway. At the same time, the director voluntarily gave up the music because she allegedly did not fit into the Nordic expedition. That would be seen …
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The biggest problem besides the lack of humor is the cast. Probably in an effort to attract viewers as much as possible, Mosli cast the twenty-five-year-old pop star Astrid S in the lead role. none. What is worse is that she practically lacks her acting experience and Cenziga Al in the role of prince, and the director is also making her feature film debut with Three Wishes for Cinderella.
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The other actors will not say anything to the Czech audience. Only Kristofer Hivju, who is famous for his role as Tormund in The Game of Thrones, is known, but unfortunately he is quite embarrassed in his tiny, added and completely useless role.
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In Norway, people were at least curious about their version; over 400,000 spectators came to Cinderella’s Three Wishes since its November premiere, which is a lot. Whether they were satisfied or annoyed and looking forward to ours, it’s hard to guess. In any case, the fact that contemporary foreign filmmakers have embarked on a remake of almost half a century-old Czech film only confirms the quality of the original.
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Three wishes for Cinderella |
Norway / Lithuania 2021, 87 min. Director: Cecilie A. Mosli, starring: Astrid S., Cenzig Al, Ellen Dorrit Petersen and others |
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