A Russian film that weaves a slightly strange story around the lives of three women. Firstly, there’s Rita, who’s placed in a run-down hospital ward with bricked-up windows but doesn't know why. No doctor comes to see her. Then there’s Nadya, Rita’s friend and a nurse at the hospital. And finally there’s Tanya, who looks after Rita. Tanya takes a pride in her work but she’s not a nurse; she’s something else.
The contrast of the women’s classic, painted beauty with the architecture’s decaying allure gives the film a semi-surreal uniqueness that had me transfixed. It drifts purposefully between almost vérité and pure fairytale like the title suggests. It’s very unusual and very beautiful.
3½ portals out of 5
