Russia Remade Our "Buratino" — What Came Out?

Photo: still from the trailer

The story of "Buratino" did not begin in 1975 when "Belarusfilm" made the well-known film about him. This film itself was based on the story of Buratino by the Soviet writer Alexei Tolstoy, and Tolstoy reworked the even more famous fairy tale "The Adventures of Pinocchio" by the Italian Carlo Collodi.

This plot has dozens of adaptations — films about Pinocchio were even created by star Hollywood directors Robert Zemeckis and Benicio del Toro. They all have one thing in common: a boy emerged from a wooden log, and now he must learn how to live in this world. It turns out to be a coming-of-age fairy tale.

This time, the story of Pinocchio-Buratino was adapted in live-action style, meaning living actors were combined with characters drawn using computer graphics. Of course, Buratino himself was drawn, as well as smaller characters like cockroaches.

The film actually begins with them, and it looks strange — you might think you've mistaken the hall and come to a different movie. Three cockroaches riding a bottle float down a river until they fall into a whirlpool. The water brings the bottle with them directly into the hands of the sorceress Tortilla, with whom the cockroaches have business: they need her to give them a golden key. The cockroaches will give it to the carpenter Carlo, in whose house they live, so that he can fulfill any of his dreams.

Павялічыць

Photo: still from the trailer

It turns out that the carpenter's dream is to have a son. And the key does not disappoint: a soul enters the log, and all Carlo has to do is carve a boy for himself from that log.

The computer-generated Buratino turned out not to be the most friendly (to create his 3D model, the director's son was scanned). It's a tiny wooden figure with a high voice, so pale that it could be mistaken for a ghost. You wouldn't guess how that doll with a dead man's face could appeal to people, what the charm of the character is that made the Soviet film about Buratino iconic.

During the film, Buratino will leave his father for the free world and meet people who will try to use him for their own purposes. But there will also be those who will take his side and support him.

Павялічыць

Photo: still from the trailer

Of all the holiday projects that Russians brought to Belarusian distribution, "Buratino" is not the worst option. The film has good makeup artists and hairstylists, and the decorators also did a good job. There are strong actors: for example, Artemon is played by Mark Eidelstein from the Oscar-winning "Anora".

Another thing is that they don't get much chance to show themselves within the framework of that script. The center of this "Buratino" is the story of the wooden boy himself and his father. Buratino does not understand if Carlo loves him, and for most of the film he is torn between whining about his father and whining about not being like other children. Is this too much for a children's movie?

Павялічыць

Photo: still from the trailer

There is also music in the film. These are hits from the Soviet "Buratino," re-sung, and re-sung indistinctly. Most of the plot twists are also indistinct, and because of this, at some point, watching "Buratino" simply becomes boring.

Boring for adults, the film will probably seem too gloomy to children, not least because of the outwardly strange main character. But compared to other Russian fairy tales, "Buratino" is at least somewhat distinct. And if a child takes away from the viewing that even wooden boys can be desired and loved — then this film had some meaning.

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