A Story of the Forest: Mavka (1980)

Name: A Story of the Forest: Mavka
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Released: 1980-07-23
Duration: 83 min
Rating: 5.861
Cast: Lyudmila Efimenko, Viktor Kremlev, Maya Bulgakova, Ivan Mykolaichuk, Boris Khmelnitsky

5.9/10 1980 1h 23m Released

Drama Fantasy Romance

Mavka, a water nymph, loves Lukash, a country youth. Their brief happiness ends when Lukash is forced to marry the shrewish Kilina. The spirit of the forest turns Lukash into a wolf as punishment for his infidelity. The strength of Mavka's love breaks the spell, but Kilina curses the nymph, transforming her into a weeping willow. This beautiful and tragic story is based on a play written in 1912 by Lesya Ukrainka, a Ukrainian poet, writer and political, civil and female activist, and includes mythological characters taken from Ukrainian folklore.

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Top Cast

Lyudmila Efimenko

Mavka

Viktor Kremlev

Lukash

Maya Bulgakova

Lukash’s Mother

Ivan Mykolaichuk

Uncle Leo / Wood Goblin

Boris Khmelnitsky

Red (forest) Demon

Viktor Demertash

Koots

Liudmyla Lobza

Kylyna

Nina Shatskaya

Water Sprite

Svetlana Sergeyeva

Meadow Fairy

Ivan Khodulin

Kylyna’s child

Pylyp Illienko

Kylyna’s child

Vladimir Fyodorov

Hunger Imps

Reviews

SGhosh 10/10

It seems that I have stumbled on one of Yuri Ilyenko’s masterpieces at last, a beautiful and tragic adaptation of a play (written in 1912) based around folklore. Mavka, a water nymph is enticed by a young man’s flute and falls in love with him, only to be betrayed as the man marries another. The forest spirit turns the man into a werewolf for his betrayal, but Mavka’s devotion breaks the spell even as the man’s wife…