Three Wishes for Cinderella

A girl working in her stepmother's house finds three hazelnuts. Each contains an outfit: a huntsman's clothes, a ball gown and a wedding dress. Dressed as a huntsman she goes into the forest and outshoots the prince. The ball comes afterwards. The subject is not the fairy tale but the girl not waiting for the prince. In this version she rides, handles a rifle and meets the prince first as an equal; the ball arrives on top of that acquaintance. That is the real difference from the classical story. The form is built on winter landscape. It was shot in snow and the forest scenes convey real cold rather than fable, which is one reason the film has lasted. It was a Czechoslovak and East German co-production and became a tradition in unexpected places. It is broadcast every Christmas in Norway, Germany and Czechia. The Norwegian case is stranger still: there the film is known in a version where a single actor, Knut Risan, voices every role, with the Czech audio faintly audible underneath. When television tried to drop it from the schedule in 2012, viewers protested outside the broadcaster. Libuše Šafránková leads. Václav Vorlíček directs. Who it is for: viewers who like classical fairy tale adaptations and Eastern European children's cinema. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a fast narrative; the film is calm and short.