The Silver Skates (film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Silver Skates
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Lockshin
Produced by	Petr Anurov (ru) Leonid Vereshchagin (ru) Anton Zlatopolskiy (ru) Rafael Minasbekyan Nikita Mikhalkov Grigoriy Stoyalov
Written by	Roman Kantor
Starring	Fedor Fedotov Sofya Priss Kirill Zaytsev Yuri Borisov Aleksei Guskov Severija Janusauskaite Yuri Kolokolnikov Timofey Tribuntsev Alexandra Revenko
Music by	Guy Farley
Cinematography	Igor Grinyakin
Editing by	Maria Likhacheva Dmitry Slobtsov
Studio	Central Partnership KIT Film Studio Kinoslovo Studio TriTe Russia-1 CGF Company AvtoRadio Gazprom-Media Cinema Fund
Distributed by	Central Partnership Netflix (International)
Release date(s)	October 1, 2020 (2020-10-01) (Moscow Film Festival) December 10, 2020 (2020-12-10) (Russia)
Running time	136 minutes
Country	Russia
Language	Russian, English, French
Budget	₽500 million
Money made	₽490.1 million $6.7 million (total amount) $6.7 million (outside the CIS)

The Silver Skates (Russian: Сере́бряные коньки́, romanized: Serebryanye konki) is a 2020 Russian adventure and historical drama film. It is also a romantic movie. Michael Lockshin directed it, and Roman Kantor wrote the story. The film is based on the American book Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge.

The story takes place in the late 1800s in Saint Petersburg, which was the capital of the Russian Empire. The city's frozen rivers and canals become like wide roads. People travel on them using ice-skates and sleds. There are also markets and winter festivals on the ice.

People from different social classes meet in this winter setting. Matvey, a delivery boy, meets Alisa, a girl from a wealthy family. She is very smart and loves science.

The film stars Fedor Fedotov and Sofya Priss. Other actors include Kirill Zaytsev, Yuri Borisov, Aleksei Guskov, and Severija Janusauskaite. Filming took place from January to May 2019.

The Silver Skates was the first film shown at the 42nd Moscow International Film Festival on October 1, 2020. It was released in cinemas on December 10, 2020, even with the COVID-19 pandemic. The movie was also shown in IMAX theaters.

The film earned over 100 million rubles on its first weekend. It made a total of 490.1 million rubles. This was close to its production cost of 500 million rubles.

Netflix bought the rights to the film on June 16, 2021. The Silver Skates was the first Russian film to be released as a Netflix Original.

What's the Story?

A Winter Wonderland in Saint Petersburg

On Christmas Eve in 1899, the city of Saint Petersburg is covered in ice. The frozen rivers and canals look like a magical place. Many fun events and festivals happen on the ice.

Matvey Polyakov is an 18-year-old ice-skating delivery boy. He works for a local bakery. Matvey is known for being very fast. He uses special silver skates that he got from his father. His father was a lamplighter.

Alisa Vyazemskaya is the daughter of a government minister. She loves chemistry and science. But she has to keep her interests a secret from her father. Many wealthy people at that time believed women did not need a higher education.

Matvey's Challenge and a New Friend

A few days before the year 1900, Matvey loses his job. He could not deliver an order because the road was blocked for Alisa's family. He also finds out his father is very sick. The doctor says a costly cure is possible in Germany.

Matvey then meets a group of ice skaters. They are led by a person named Alex. This group takes things from rich people. Matvey decides to train with them to earn money for his father's treatment. The group challenges Matvey to sneak into Alisa's big house.

Matvey climbs onto Alisa's balcony. They meet by accident. Later, Matvey gets two invitations to a fancy ball on ice. He goes with Alex, pretending to be wealthy guests.

Alisa is also at the ball. She is introduced to Captain Arkady Trubetskoy, who her family wants her to marry. Alisa and Matvey meet again. Alisa promises not to tell Matvey's secret. In return, Matvey must help Alisa get into a science school. At that time, a woman needed a man's permission to study.

Difficult Choices and a Growing Love

Even Dmitri Mendeleev, a famous scientist, supports Alisa. But her plan fails because the permission must be written. Matvey cannot write.

Matvey's father refuses the money Matvey earned because it was not honest. Matvey argues with him and goes to live with Alex. Alex and his group live in an old ship stuck in the ice.

On Christmas, Matvey asks Alisa to go on a date. Her parents are at a ball. They skate along the canals and realize they love each other.

The next day, Alex's group is attacked by guards led by Captain Trubetskoy. The guards have been looking for the group. Matvey chases the Captain, but Alex helps him by shooting the Captain's leg. Matvey goes home and finds his father has passed away.

Escaping to a New Future

That evening, Alisa is at a magic show. She explains how the magician's trick works. Her father gets angry and finds her science books. He burns them and fires her governess, Miss Jackson. Miss Jackson tells Alisa to follow her own dreams.

Alisa runs away to go to Paris to study chemistry. She finds Matvey on a ship and asks him to come with her. But then, the Captain and his soldiers surround the ship. The Ice Gang members have been caught. Alex sacrifices himself to save Matvey. Matvey almost freezes but is taken to a hospital.

New Year's Eve arrives. Alisa is back home and very sad. She learns her father has agreed to her marriage with Captain Trubetskoy.

Her father takes her to a masquerade ball. Alisa unexpectedly meets Matvey, who is in disguise. They decide to escape to Paris together using two tickets Matvey bought. But Matvey drops one ticket. The Captain finds it and chases them.

At the train station, Matvey realizes a ticket is missing. He tells Alisa to get on the train. He runs to buy another ticket. The Captain appears with the missing ticket. Matvey fights him and gets the ticket. He jumps onto the train. The Captain shoots him, but the bullet hits Matvey's silver skates instead. Matvey and Alisa make it to Paris.

A Happy Ending

Four years later, Alisa's father visits Dmitri Mendeleev. He learns that Alisa is doing very well in chemistry. She will soon get a degree that lets her work at top universities in Europe.

To bring his daughter home, Alisa's father asks the university to change its rules. Now, women can lead departments. A year later, he watches Alisa teaching chemistry. The film ends with Alisa, Matvey, and their small son Petya skating together. Petya is named after Matvey's father.

Meet the Characters

• Fedor Fedotov as Matvey Polyakov

Matvey is a poor lamplighter's son. His most prized possession is his silver skates. He wants to win Alisa's heart, but they are from different social classes. He shows her a world where they can be happy without strict rules.

• Sofya Priss as Alisa Vyazemskaya

Alisa is the daughter of an important official. She is very interested in science. She learns she is supposed to marry Captain Arkady Trubetskoy. When she meets Matvey, she starts to think differently about her life. She decides to follow her heart with Matvey.

• Kirill Zaytsev as Captain Count Arkady Trubetskoy

He is an officer of the Guard Department. He is the man Alisa's family wants her to marry.

• Yuri Borisov as Alexey Tarasov

Alex is the leader of a group of ice-skating thieves. He believes he is taking from the rich to help the poor.

• Aleksei Guskov as Minister Nikolai Nikolaevich Vyazemsky

He is a government minister and Alisa Vyazemskaya's father.

• Severija Janusauskaite as Severina Genrikhovna

She is Alisa's stepmother.

• Yuri Kolokolnikov as Grand Prince
• Timofey Tribuntsev as Pyotr Polyakov

He is a lamplighter and Matvey Polyakov's father.

• Alexandra Revenko as Margo

She is Alex's girlfriend and a leader in the ice gang.

• Sergey Koltakov as Dmitri Mendeleev

He is a famous scientist.

• Cathy Belton as Miss Jackson

She is Alisa's governess.

• Denis Lavant as Fourier

He is an illusionist, or magician.

How the Film Was Made

Getting Started

The idea for the film might have come from the title of the book Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates. While the film and book share a name and have silver skates, their stories are very different.

This film was the first big movie directed by Michael Lockshin. Before this, he had made short films and commercials.

Choosing the Actors

The main roles went to actors who were not very well known. This was the first major film for Fedotov and Priss. Both of them are from Saint Petersburg.

The actors had to train a lot for the figure skating parts. Fedotov had played ice hockey since he was three. But he had to learn a different skating style for the film. He trained for three months. Most of the difficult skating moves in the film were done by Fedotov himself. Professional skaters and stuntmen also helped.

Many famous actors were also in the film. These included Aleksei Guskov, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Severija Janusauskaite, Kirill Zaytsev, Yuri Borisov, Alexandra Revenko, Timofey Tribuntsev, and Sergey Koltakov. European actors Denis Lavant and Cathy Belton also starred.

Filming Locations

The Fountain House on the Fontanka Embankment was used for Alisa's family estate.

A lot of movie sets were built for the film. They used a very large warehouse for the materials. These sets were put up on special structures on the Great Neva river.

Skates, carriages, sleighs, and cars from the late 1800s were made especially for the movie. The jewelry used in the film was rented from a famous company called Garrard & Co. It was kept under guard.

Filming happened from January to May 2019. Many scenes were shot in Saint Petersburg. Locations included the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Saint Michael's Castle, Vitebsky railway station, and the Stieglitz Museum of Applied Arts. Some scenes were also filmed outside the city, like at the Great Gatchina Palace. Inside scenes were shot in beautiful palaces like the Yusupov Palace and the Marble Palace.

Most of the filming took place on the frozen rivers and canals of Saint Petersburg. The film crew built and decorated ice fairs and skating rinks. When spring started, a large ice set was built indoors. This allowed them to film action scenes on ice even when the real ice melted.

Special Effects

The computer graphics for the film were done by CGF visual effects studio. About 200 experts worked on these effects.

CGF specialists filmed and scanned the center of Saint Petersburg. They used a special camera. This allowed them to add real buildings to scenes filmed in a studio against a green screen.

The Music of the Film

Guy Farley wrote the original music for the film. The London Symphony Orchestra recorded it at Abbey Road Studios. The soundtrack has 24 songs. Two of them use parts of the famous piano piece Moonlight by Claude Debussy.

The film also uses music by other famous composers. These include Johann Sebastian Bach, Joseph Haydn, and John Field. Music by Richard Wagner, Emil Waldteifel, and Pyotr Tchaikovsky is also featured. You can hear pieces from Tchaikovsky's ballets The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty.

Other classical pieces include Tales from the Vienna Woods and Roses from the South by Johann Strauss the Son. Music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, like Russian Easter Festival Overture, is also in the film.

Soundtrack Songs

When Was It Released?

The first teaser in English

Promoting the Film

The first short video (teaser trailer) for The Silver Skates came out on June 19, 2019. A second, longer trailer was released on October 10, 2019.

Showing in Theaters

The film was first planned for release in early 2020. But it was delayed by six months. The Silver Skates then opened the 42nd Moscow International Film Festival in October 2020.

A special showing of The Silver Skates happened on December 3, 2020. It was at the Alexandrinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. The film's world premiere was on December 8, in Moscow.

It was released in the Russian Federation on December 10, 2020. Central Partnership distributed it in Russia. The film was also changed for IMAX theaters using special technology.