LastingAware The greatest movie ever!

ClassyWas Excellent, smart action film.

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Kirpianuscus it is a great travel. across a feeling. across the images of a lost Russia. it is an admirable work. for the details, for the dialogue and for the magnificent art to reflect states out of words. it is a masterpiece and this is not a real surprise from Aleksandr Petrov. the special thing is the emotions after the end of film. as a ball of tenderness and seductive secret and childish - clear feeling. from a long time ago, for me, the films of Petrov are a sort of gifts of the Christmas Eve. but my love is more. maybe because I am East European. or for Slavic origins. it is a form of rehabilitation of a Golden Age using the perfect tools. and the result is more, real more than you expect.

Robert Reynolds This is an animated short by Aleksandr Petrov using the technique of paint-on-glass, where the image is painted directly on sheets of glass. There will be spoilers ahead:This is an adaptation of a work by Ivan Shmelyov, A Love Story. It's the story of a 16 year old boy, the son of a wealthy family, studying for his exams and wrestling with puppy love, which has hit him twice at once, first with Pasha, the family's maid and then the mysterious woman living nearby.Though his interest in the maid is largely returned, his interest in the other older woman has a more uneven pattern to it. Both loves are ultimately doomed and not just because he's 16. Sons of wealth marrying the family maid was all but unheard of at that time and place, for one thing. As for his other interest, she has a past and a reputation, along with a complicated present.The plot is interesting, but unless you can find something with subtitles or speak Russian, the plot is hard to follow. Subtitled copies can be found, but the animation itself is so breathtaking that one can appreciate this for the visuals alone. I've been fortunate enough to see this with English subtitles.There's angst, tragedy, laughter and joy throughout and it's very well crafted. This can be seen online and is most highly recommended.

Rectangular_businessman Words are just not enough to express how marvelous this short is. Each one of the animations directed by Aleksandr Petrov is a flawless and exquisite work of art. He always manage to turn even the most (apparently) mundane story into something incredibly beautiful and poetical, and this short film about the contrast between passion and true love isn't exception. I simply loved every single second from "My Love": After seeing some bland, commercial and ugly animated films and television shows, this was a strong reminder of why I love so much this underrated genre, which is sadly commonly dismissed as something that only kids could enjoy, despite the existence of extraordinary films like this one. Personally, I would recommend this short to anyone.10/10 (And I would rate it with eleven stars if I could)

MartinHafer Aleksandr Petrov has been nominated for three Oscars for Best Animated Short Film and also won the Award for THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA. While only winning 1 of the 4 times he was up for the award, he easily could have won every time, as his artwork is so unique and transcendent--making the films less as cartoons and more like gorgeous works of art. Sadly, there's almost no information about this important artist on IMDb--and this probably reflects the gap between the East and West. Like all of his films, it is long (for a short) and tells a very complex story in vivid colors and textures. If you've never seen one of Petrov's films before, you'll find yourself transfixed. As for me, it's the fourth one I've seen and so some of the newness has worn off--but it's still amazing and I'll be pulling for him at the award ceremony next month.UPDATE---This is the day before the Oscars are announced for 2008 and I just got back from a special screening by our local film society of all five films nominated in the category of Best Animated Short Film. "Moya lyubov" was even prettier on the big screen and of the five nominees it was definitely the most artistic, though I enjoyed watching "Même les pigeons vont au paradis" more. Petrov's film is great and is a pretty good bet for the Oscar. However, it's biggest weaknesses are the plot (which is very unconventional) and the fact that Petrov is a perennial nominee. I think it's definitely between these two films and if I were voting, I'd give the nod to "Même les pigeons vont au paradis" though either one is quite deserving. My advice is regardless of the outcome, see them both.ONE FINAL UPDATE--2/24/08--The Oscar was just announced and the winner in this category was PETER & THE WOLF. It just goes to show what I know!!