Small Town Cinema An important point to make right away is that the film was shot on an extremely limited budget for a full meter, and much was done with exceptional enthusiasm, which we know firsthand. We will not discount it, but it is important to take this into account when forming an opinion. That is, it would be meaningless to say, for example, “there was not enough special effects and Khabensky was not invited.” Moreover, the work was carried out a lot, and the result was much better than can often be seen in films and TV series on Russian TV.
From the very beginning, two moments were confused - the famous Oldenburg Castle in Ramoni is called the "Knight's Castle". Why this is done is not clear, the plot is not played out, the knights are not there, and where they come from near Voronezh, is also not known. The second point is the count's name or his surname - Redrock. Why was not made a choice in favor of a more familiar Russian rumor name, what for "Redrock" and how he was still there, we are not disclosed. In general, in our opinion, if the history was tied to the Ramon castle, for which no names would be invented, and the plot revolved around real people living there, even with an alternative history, it would be much more harmonious, and interest in the history of the castle as a sight only warmed up.
We have a lot of questions about the story itself. In principle, this is the main weakness of the film, which, with a more thoughtful and detailed approach, would bring it to a much higher level. Almost every episode and plot twist causes a lot of “why” answers to which we will not wait. Why do four children with a curator walk through the film, if this number can be reduced to 2-3 and without loss for the plot? Why did this suspicious guy drag them with him, and why did he do it? For what purpose did the fears and doubts of each of the children at the beginning of the film, after all, were not reflected in the plot? And the development of characters, so characteristic of children's films, was not, although the basis for this was laid. The narrative is somewhat inconsistent, the style of exposition of events is “teared” – we constantly have to guess what time we were in and what is happening there. The plot associated with time travel, as a rule, is associated with some technical points that the viewer needs to explain. Such moments were here, but we did not wait for explanations - hence, in part, there was a feeling of holes in the narrative, which looked like a flaw in the writer. Like, it was like this, and why - well, come up with something yourself.
The plot flaws successfully mask the locations. There will be chalk deserts, endless fields, and rocks with picturesque cracks. It was clear that their choice was approached carefully, and the panoramic footage really graced the film. The same goes for scenery in scenes, whether it’s an alchemy lab in a library or a broken grenade fruit in a bedroom. These are details that attracted the eye, created the atmosphere of the frame and were very relevant to the place and time.
Very pleased with the performance of actors - both children and adults. Even if you try, it is very difficult to find fault - children played lively and sincerely, adults restrained and professionally. It was pleasant to watch, the images were quite organic - the game matched the characters. In short, acting added additional points to the basket of positive impressions. It should be noted by the way that the children played decently both in the main roles and in secondary roles - we did not see a single "wooden" child.
It was disappointing that the authors of the script could not resist inserting the main villain into the script, while forgetting to award him with a name, motivation and at least a brief, but presentation. Because of what he looks rather clumsy and indistinct, and his appearance in the final causes only bewilderment. By the way, a children’s film without a big villain is now a pleasant rarity, and from its absence (which is not exactly about acting), the film would only win.
But I would like to express my great respect to the authors for maintaining modern ethical trends. For example, one of the main characters is the captain of the hockey team. Yes, not a member of the club of needlewomen, and not some kind of violinist, but a hockey player. Back in the mass scene, we noticed a boy on crutches, he probably had a broken leg, and this is very cool adds to the liveliness and believability. And among other things, in the middle of the film there was a recognizable reference to Nick Vujicic (if suddenly this name is not familiar to you – run on YouTube!).
Background music nicely fit into the narrative, it is quite a lot, but it is unobtrusive and very harmoniously woven into what is happening in the frame. Also, I would like to note the setting of light in the frame - it is very cinematic, exposed as it should be where it belongs, and in general, very atmospheric. You can safely press “stop” at any moment of the film and get a beautiful shot in which the composition, details and tone will be in harmony. And according to such a frame, it is hardly possible to immediately say that this is a low-budget film - it happens that shots from series on some federal channels significantly lose to this movie.
In general, a lot of what we’ve said relates to our perception of the film as ‘no discount’. In the same way, we would disassemble a fashionable art house or a Hollywood novelty. Of course, this is a movie that is primarily made for children, and they, as you know, have different ratings of films. Yes, the film lacked some morality, completeness, and disclosure of children’s characters. But at the same time it had a lot of travel and interesting characters, natural beauty and good acting. Proof of its quality are full halls and their silence in them while watching a movie - the children were not distracted from the film, no one left prematurely, everyone was clearly very interested.
As a result, we can say that it turned out a good project, which at times does not even look debut (which it was for most of the crew). Lost in Memories is a strong children's movie that is pleasant to watch on a winter evening with tea and cookies. And, most importantly, leaving the viewing, you are pleased that such a feature film was made in your city, and on the screen - familiar locations and faces. We will wait for new projects and hope that the guys will take into account those moments that would make the film better.