User reviews

Just over 4 years ago now I watched my first ever musical in a foreign language. It was something I never thought I'd connect with because so much of the magic of a musical is getting the songs stuck in my head and often singing along as well. I was surprised to find that, despite the fact that I can't exactly join in the music, the tunes are still just as catchy with foreign lyrics. That proved true yet again as I watched Melodies of the Veriysky Quarter. This toe-tapping musical had me hooked early on as the entire town began to sing along with a catchy melody. Most of the music in here was enjoyable, and I was humming some of the tunes for hours after I was done watching. There are a few that don't have the same kind of hook to make them stick in your head, but enough of them work to make the musical element a big success.

The story in Melodies of the Veriysky Quarter is a charming little tale about a poor man who is raising two daughters who have big dreams. A secret benefactor tries to help make their dreams come true by stealing a few things for them, which is great until people start to notice certain items have gone missing. It is a cute story, and feels like it was thematically inspired by many musicals Hollywood made in the past. These Russian film-makers clearly felt inspired by other musicals and tried to emulate them in many ways. It's also the kind of film where the characters live in a slightly different version of reality where even the biggest threats aren't really that scary. The police in the film don't seem all that serious about cracking down on crime, they just want to keep everyone happy, which gives the entire movie a quaint small-town feel that I enjoyed.

I will say my biggest struggle with Melodies of the Veriysky Quarter was simply the subtitle work. To give translated lyrics to a song the same kind of rhythm as the music is probably near impossible, but here it often felt like they weren't even trying. Also, I was always annoyed when they simply wouldn't translate a phrase. I usually assumed that was a choice because they were repeating a line that had already been translated earlier in the song, but why not flash it on the screen again, instead of leaving me to wonder what they might be singing. The entire movie is in need of a quality re-release from a company like the Criterion Collection that would spend time making it look top-notch and also making the subtitles as effective as possible. Even without that kind of treatment, though, I found Melodies of the Veriysky Quarter to be an enjoyable treat. I hope to watch it again sometime in the future and will definitely recommend it to others.

I saw this film during Soviet Movie Festival, however, I was surprised that it has nothing to do with the Soviet Union, nor with the problems of the "iron curtain". This is the first ever Georgian musical with good artists, wonderful songs and amazing dances. girls are making a wonderful performance and singing, singing, singing... Giorgi Shengelaia could not have done better. This is his one of most prominent work. As far as I am aware it was very popular in the whole Soviet Union, even though it is totally in Georgian language. Even though the story itself is a little bit pathetic, the performance makes this movie wonderful.

chronicle and short story in images and fairy tale. seductive, energetic. and lovely. the kind of film who you looking for . for understand the life in right light. for discover , again, fresh at whole, the taste of childhood. for a form of joy who, maybe, has the best recipes in Soviet films. and in performances of few Georgian actors. the admirable choreography. and the chain of songs. the humor. and the slices from Cinderella. and the slice from a town from Caucasus. this is all. so simple and charming and powerful than, after decades after you saw it, pieces or crumbs or sounds or images from it are so fresh than you can consider to see it yesterday. a great work. this is all. or, just a precious experience.

Nice, touching, a game who offers the flavors of childhood, mixture of drama and pure comedy, music and slices of a Georgian street life, a fairy tale and a moral story. Sofiko Chiaureli is great as Vardo and the choreographic moments are more that the shows of Hollywood. Vakhtang Kikabitze makes the same deep and melancholic type of role. And the girls are amazing. Page of a lost world, the film is more than a testimony about a form of cultural resistance in Soviet Union. It is description of the science to transform the past in a piece of amber, in which the insect is alive for every look. A film like a good short story. With nostalgic dust, with lovely characters, with the desire to discover life more than crumbs of fiction or prison. Must see!