''An Ordinary Miracle'' (russian: Обыкновенное чудо, Obyknovennoye chudo) is a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
1978
romantic fantasy
Romantic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction, describing a fantasy story using many of the elements and conventions of the chivalric romance genre.
One of the key features of romantic fantasy involves the focus on relationships, social, ...
Mark Zakharov
Mark Anatolyevich Zakharov (russian: Марк Анатольевич Захаров; 13 October 1933 – 28 September 2019) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film director, screenwriter and pedagogue best known for his fantasy parable movies. He ...
and based on a play by
Evgeny Schwartz
Evgeny Lvovich Schwartz (russian: Евге́ний Льво́вич Шва́рц; , Kazan, Russian Empire – January 15, 1958, Leningrad, Soviet Union) was a Soviet writer and playwright, whose works include twenty-five plays, and screenplay ...
. This is the second adaptation of the play; the first one was filmed in 1964 by
Erast Garin
Erast Pavlovich Garin (russian: Эра́ст Па́влович Га́рин; – 4 September 1980) was a Soviet and Russian actor, director and screenwriter. He was, together with Igor Ilyinsky and Sergey Martinson, one of the leading comi ...
.
Plot
The protagonist of the film, the Wizard (
Oleg Yankovsky
Oleg Ivanovich Yankovsky (russian: Оле́г Ива́нович Янко́вский; 23 February 1944 – 20 May 2009) was a Soviet and Russian actor who excelled in psychologically sophisticated roles of modern intellectuals. In 1991, he beca ...
), invents a fairy tale to amuse himself and his wife (
Irina Kupchenko
Irina Petrovna Kupchenko (russian: Ирина Петровна Купченко; born 1 March 1948 in Vienna) is a Soviet and Russian stage and film actress. She rose to prominence after acting in Andrei Konchalovsky's 1969 movie adaptation of ' ...
). The tale's characters come to life, come to his house and set out to live their lives.
Many years ago, the Wizard came up with a "reverse" fairy tale, turning a bear into a human (
Aleksandr Abdulov
Aleksandr Gavrilovich AbdulovАбдулов Г. Д. Ферганский г� ...
), who would transform back into a bear as soon as a princess falls in love with him and kisses him. Now, the young man returns to the Wizard's house where he meets a beautiful girl (
Yevgeniya Simonova
Yevgeniya Pavlovna Simonova (russian: Евгения Павловна Симонова, born 1 June 1955) is a Soviet and Russian theatre and film actress best known for her parts in films ''Afonya'' (1975), '' An Ordinary Miracle'' (1978), '' T ...
), and they immediately fall in love with each other. To his dismay, she turns out to be a princess – the Wizard made it so that a king (
Yevgeny Leonov
Yevgeny Pavlovich Leonov (russian: link=no, Евгений Павлович Леонов; 2 September 1926 – 29 January 1994) was a Soviet and Russian actor who played main parts in several of the most famous Soviet films, such as ''Gentlemen ...
) who was just passing by with his daughter and his suite felt a sudden urge to stop by the estate. When the Princess, clueless about the young man's origin, wants to kiss him, he flees in horror.
The Princess hurries after him, dressed as a boy. They meet in a tavern called "Emilia", but the Bear, unable to recognize the Princess, summons her to a duel. However, when the Princess cries out "Daddy" during the battle, the Bear realizes that she deceived him.
In anger, he goes to the innkeeper ( Yury Solomin) and begs to be to locked up, as the tavern is covered with snow and it is impossible to get out. The innkeeper gives him the key to a room. He draws his attention to one of the
court ladies
A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...
and recognizes in her his first love Emilia, in whose honor he named the inn. The innkeeper and Emilia decide to help the quarreled lovers.
The Princess locks herself in a room on the second floor of the inn and promises to shoot anyone who would come to her. The King orders to draw lots and the lot comes out for the court Minister Administrator ( Andrei Mironov). The Administrator comes to the Princess, and a shot rings out – leaving behind the Princess, the administrator shoots her, but misses. The Princess angrily decides to marry the first courter and announces the Administrator to be her fiancé.
The King decides to play a wedding. Desperate, his love taken away from him, the Bear decides to tell all about the princess kiss that would turn him into a beast, but the Princess rejects him.
The wedding procession leaves. The Hunter (
Vsevolod Larionov
Vsevolod Dmitriyevich Larionov (russian: Всеволод Дмитриевич Ларионов; September 11, 1928 in Moscow, RSFSR, Soviet Union – October 8, 2000Aleksandr Abdulov
Aleksandr Gavrilovich AbdulovАбдулов Г. Д. Ферганский г� ...
as ''the Bear''
*
Oleg Yankovsky
Oleg Ivanovich Yankovsky (russian: Оле́г Ива́нович Янко́вский; 23 February 1944 – 20 May 2009) was a Soviet and Russian actor who excelled in psychologically sophisticated roles of modern intellectuals. In 1991, he beca ...
as ''the Wizard''
*
Yevgeny Leonov
Yevgeny Pavlovich Leonov (russian: link=no, Евгений Павлович Леонов; 2 September 1926 – 29 January 1994) was a Soviet and Russian actor who played main parts in several of the most famous Soviet films, such as ''Gentlemen ...
as ''the King''
*
Yevgeniya Simonova
Yevgeniya Pavlovna Simonova (russian: Евгения Павловна Симонова, born 1 June 1955) is a Soviet and Russian theatre and film actress best known for her parts in films ''Afonya'' (1975), '' An Ordinary Miracle'' (1978), '' T ...
as ''the Princess''
*
Irina Kupchenko
Irina Petrovna Kupchenko (russian: Ирина Петровна Купченко; born 1 March 1948 in Vienna) is a Soviet and Russian stage and film actress. She rose to prominence after acting in Andrei Konchalovsky's 1969 movie adaptation of ' ...
as ''the Wizard's wife''
* Andrei Mironov as ''the Minister Administrator''
*
Yekaterina Vasilyeva
Yekaterina Sergeyevna Vasilyeva (russian: Екатерина Серге́евна Васильева; born 15 August 1945 in Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian theater and film actress. She performed in more than ninety films since 1967.
Vasilyeva ...
as ''Emilia the First Lady'' (singing by
Larisa Dolina
Larisa Aleksandrovna Dolina (russian: link=no, Лариса Александровна Долина, , née Kudelman, Кудельман, formerly Mionchinskaya, Миончинская; born 10 September 1955) is an Azerbaijani-born prominent Rus ...
Vsevolod Larionov
Vsevolod Dmitriyevich Larionov (russian: Всеволод Дмитриевич Ларионов; September 11, 1928 in Moscow, RSFSR, Soviet Union – October 8, 2000Andrei Leonov as ''the Hunter's student''
* Vladimir Dolinsky as ''the Executioner''