Ordinary Miracle

An Ordinary Miracle (Обыкновенное чудо / Obyknovennoye chudo) is a 1978 Soviet film based on a play by Yevgeniy Shwartz. It’s a movie by famed director, Mark Zakharov, who also created classics like To Kill a Dragon, Formula of Love, and The Very Same Munchhausen.

The plot – a reversal of the princess and the frog

In this story, a magician casts a spell and turns a bear into a handsome young man (Oleg Yankovskiy). That spell will only be reversed if the young man receives true love’s kiss from a princess.

The young man soon ends up meeting a beautiful young woman (Irina Kupchenko) at the Wizard’s house. They immediately fall in love with each other. But, as luck would have it, she is a princess!

The princess tries to kiss the young bear man, but he runs away to avoid turning into a bear in front of her. Eventually, after a series of conflict, the princess gets married to a man she doesn’t truly love – the administrator (Andrey Mironov). At her wedding, the young bear man tries to explain to her his situation, but she rejects him.

A year passes and the princess is wasting away, dying of longing for the young bear man’s love. The bear man resolves to try to kiss her, even if it means him turning into a bear. As luck would happen, an “ordinary miracle” takes place, and the bear man stays a human when he kisses the princess.

A romantic soundtrack

An Ordinary Miracle has a beautiful, romantic soundtrack. Here are the songs below:

• Song of the Wizard (Песня Волшебника / Pesnya Volshebnika) – listen here.
• Choir of Emilia’s Maids of Honor (Хор фрейлин Эмилии / Khor freylin Emilii) – listen here.
• Couplets of the Administrator (Куплеты администратора / Kuplety administratora) – listen here.
• Emilia and the Innkeeper’s Duet (Дуэт Эмилии и Трактирщика / Duet Emilii i Traktirshchika) – listen here.
• The Administrator’s  Ballad (Баллада Администратора / Ballada Administratora – listen here.
• Farewell Song (Прощальная песня / Proshchal’naya pesnya) – listen here.

• 1970s
• English subtitles
• Soviet Union
• Yevgeniy Shwartz