Rusalka (1996)

Original title

Русалка

Directed by

Aleksandr Petrov

Genre

fantasy

Country

Russia

Runtime

10 min

Rating

6.9 of 10 from 53 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

This animated short film draws on Slavic folklore about rusalki, the vengeful spirits of drowned women. It tells a story centered on one such mermaid, a dangerous creature born from betrayal and tragedy.

melancholicdreamlikeunsettlingvisually lushslow-burnpoeticdarkwistfulhaunting

What happens

Mermaid (Russian: Русалка, translit. Rusalka) is a 1996 Russian animated short film directed by Aleksandr Petrov and showcasing the paint-on-glass animation technique for which Petrov is known. The story is based on traditional Slavic folklore about the rusalki, river-dwelling mermaids said to be "born" from the unhappy souls of young women who had committed suicide by drowning—usually after being mistreated by a man. The Russian "mermaid" is, for this reason, a dangerous creature more akin to the Greek sirens than to the American archetype such as Walt Disney Animation Studios' cute and lovable Ariel. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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• Лягушка-путешественница (1996)
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• More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.