Don't Leave...

Don't Leave...
Directed by	Leonid Nechayev
Written by	Georgi Polonsky
Starring	Lidiya Fedoseyeva-Shukshina Vyacheslav Nevinny
Cinematography	Anastasia Sukhanova
Music by	Yevgeny Krylatov
Production company	Belarusfilm
Release date	1989 (1989)
Running time	140 minutes
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Russian

Don't Leave... (Russian: Не покидай..., romanized: Ne pokidaj...) is a 1989 Soviet two-part television children's musical film directed by Leonid Nechayev, based on the play of the same name by Georgy Polonsky, which in turn is loosely based on the 1854 fairy tale of William Thackeray The Rose and the Ring.^[1][2]

Plot[]

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The action takes place in the fairy-tale kingdom of Abidonia. Sixteen years ago King Henry II and Queen Emma, who ruled there, perished, and since then King Theodore, a former cavalry colonel, a great connoisseur and lover of horses, and his wife Flora have been presiding over the throne. Essentially, the country is ruled by Chancellor Count Daville and his wife Ottilia, the queen's sister. Their efforts in the country suppress any dissent.

The daughter of the royal couple, Princess Albina, dreams of marrying a foreign prince and finally breaking out of the monotonous palace life, where her only company is the silent poet Patrick, who lost his parents as a child and was adopted by the queen. Patrick is in love with Albina and does not attempt to hide it, the girl does not take him seriously because of ignoble origins and dumbness. In turn, maid Marcella is in love with Patrick, but he is too preoccupied with his feelings for Albina.

Penapia, Crown Prince of the neighboring kingdom of Penagonia arrives to Abidonia. It is obvious to everyone that the purpose of the visit is matchmaking. But the prince is followed by a string of failures: on his way to Abidonia, his motorcade falls into a predatory ambush, the guards surrender or run away, and the prince nearly dies. He is rescued by the wandering puppeteers Jacques and Martha.

Jacques' father, Jean-Jacques Freckles, a friend of Henry II, the late King of Abidonia, under the rule of Theodore was exiled to the island of Tibia, where he died. Before expulsion Jean-Jacques managed to bury his props, and now Jacques and Martha dug up the chest with dolls belonging to Freckles.

Penapia persuades rescuers to take him to the court of the Abidonian monarch, promising to ask the king for artists permission to perform in the kingdom. Upon arrival in the capital, the company is immediately seized by the police. Prince Penapia succeeds in getting interrogated by the king, whom the prince tells of the stallion Milorde which was stolen by bandits (it was to be given to Theodora if the matchmaking was successful). The king, a lover of horses, recognizes Penapia and accepts him at court.

However, the king comes across a trunk from the cart of artists. Recognizing familiar dolls, which caricatured him and the chancellor, the king orders to cast the artists in the dungeon, and commands Marcella to covertly burn the props.

Patrick finds Marcella and they do not have the heart to burn the dolls. They carry the chest to Patrick's room and there they find a dried blue rose in it.

According to legend, the fragrance of the blue rose made anyone who breathed it speak the truth. Marcella puts the flower in a vase of water, in the hope that the rose will come to life.

Meanwhile, a dinner begins in the palace in honor of the guest from Penagonia. Marcella brings the blue rose to the hall - the long-dried flower has suddenly revived. Moreover, the old fairy tale comes true - no one who smells the rose's fragrance can lie.

Immediately strange things start to happen: Marcella confesses Patrick in love and rebukes Albina for callousness, Patrick is healed of dumbness, and King Theodore publicly admits that the Guards, led by Colonel Udilak, found the robbers who had stolen Milord, and took the magnificent horse that he now considers his property.

Colonel Udilak comes to the king with an unheard-of request: he asks to release artists from prison, so that they can amuse the Guards who are celebrating the finding of Milord. Chancellor Daville, the only one who was not affected by the rose (because of a terrible allergic rhinitis that attacked him that day) is rushing about trying to maintain the status quo. He tries to reason with Udilak, threatens him, but neither Udilak nor guardsmen are afraid of the threatening chancellor anymore and ignore his orders. In the city, an uprising begins.

Meanwhile, Theodore and Ottilia tell Queen Flora and Albina against their will that sixteen years ago King Henry II and Queen Emma were killed as a result of the conspiracy of Theodore, the Chancellor and Ottilia. Albina learns that Patrick is a prince, son of Henry and Emma. After learning the truth about the death of her sister and her husband, Queen Flora takes off her crown and leaves. Albina accuses the Chancellor and his accomplices that they tore Patrick away from her, immediately expressing the intention to marry her cousin. The Chancellor wants to stop the departing Albina, but the king stops him. Theodore, breathing in a magical fragrance, confesses that he does not want any power or honor, he regrets that he lost his family and dreams of a simple life.

Jacques, Martha, Patrick, Penapia, Marcella and Albina return to the palace. Finally, the chancellor discovers the reason for the veracity which overcame everyone in the palace - Marcella tells him about the rose. In the last attempt to return everything back the chancellor shoots at the flower, but hits Marcella instead. Realizing that the game is lost, the chancellor commits suicide.

It's clear to all that Marcella is mortally wounded. The prince sings her last song about hope, all present listen with tears in her eyes. Suddenly, Penapia's face expresses amazement: the rose on Marcella's breast gradually turns from blue to red.

Cast[]

• Lidiya Fedoseyeva-Shukshina as Queen Flora
• Vyacheslav Nevinny as King Theodore
• Varvara Vladimirova as Princess Albina (voiced by Olga Mashnaya, vocals by Natalia Ostrovaya)
• as Patrick (voice and vocals by Anatoly Tukish)
• Svetlana Selezneva as Marcella, maid (vocals by Natalia Ostrovaya)
• Regina Razuma as Ottilia, the wife of Count Daville (voiced by Larisa Udovichenko, vocals by Natalia Ostrovaya)
• Albert Filozov as Count Daville, Chancellor
• Artem Tynkasov as Prince Penapia
• Elena Antonova as Martha Freckle (voiced by Elena Tsyplakova)
• Vladimir Stavitsky as Jacques Freckle (voiced by Boris Shuvalov)
• Anatoly Rudakov as Colonel Odilak (voiced by Viktor Bortsov)
• Yuri Baginyan as Bald Footman (voiced by Leonid Nechayev)
• Alexander Denisov as Ataman (vocals by Pavel Babakov)
• Valentin Bukin as Tavern Owner (voiced by Mikhail Kokshenov)
• Alexander Zanko as Hippocrates, Tavern Owner's son
• Victoria Yablonskaya as Nika, a little girl

References[]

External links[]

Don't Leave... at IMDb