Ice 3, Review: Russian film festival’s six-pack of ice

While Mumbaikars were still mulling to dig into their winter-wardrobe, the Russian Film Festival laid out the white carpet, with huge sheets of ice several kilometres long, for the film was set in the freezing north. Mumbai’s winter would make us blush when compared to North Russia, where the temperatures can be much lower 0 degrees Celsius. This was of course, with solid reason. The fifth of their six-film package, Ice 3, was set in an area where the primary sport for women is figure skating on a deep layered ice-rink. The name gave away the theme, but the suffix 3 aroused curiosity. Search engines lead you to then discovery that the film is a continuation of the stories Ice (2018) and Ice 2 (2020), its predecessors. All three films had different directors breaking the ice. I have not seen its predecessors, but Ice 3, the final part, is a welcome addition to the franchise. An emotional seesaw, set against the figure skating championships, it will bring a lump to your throat, on many an occasion, and have your heart beating as fast as the skaters pirouetting on screen.

In this part, which can stand alone for a viewer who has not seen the previous two outings, we see the coming-of-age story of Nadia, the daughter of Alexander Gorin, as she navigates key moments, in her life leading up to her 18th birthday. After her father suffers a career-ending injury, Nadia refuses to give up on her dreams of becoming a figure skating champion. Despite her father’s prohibition against training, due to the substantial injuries she has suffered in early training, she secretly trains with Sergei Orlov, an ice hockey player who has been transferred to this remote club, who helps her prepare for a prestigious award her mother once desired.

Initially at odds, Alexander eventually approves of Nadia and Sergei's relationship after recognising Sergei’s serious intentions. Although she is supposed to be training with another trainer, Tamara Bezhanova, who was then training her protegée Albina, who was tipped to win the championship. Tamara gave very little attention to Nadia, but she found a soul-mate in Sergei. Secretly, Irina gives tips to Sergei from her hospital bed, which he passes on the Nadia, as his own tips. Irina was Nadia’s coach, till she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, but miraculously survived. With this ‘feedback’, she is able to clear all the hurdles in the championship and beats Albina.

As many as four writers have worked on the script, and they do not include the director: Andrey Zolotarev (major contribution), Aksinya Borisova, Aleksandr Andryushchenko, Oleg Malovichko. That can cause some complications, but the director, Yuri Khmelnitsky has blended their inputs so well that the whole films unravels at a continuous screenplay. Shot mostly on Lake Baikal, a rift lake that is the deepest lake in the world. The Lake is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Republic of Buryatia to the southeast. Ice 3 was shot at a time when the ice is crystal clear and there are no humans within a kilometer radius.

Very cleverly, the director has kept the back story to minimum and there is only a token apparition of Nadia’s mother in the hospital, where she is presumed dead, by Nadia’s mother tells her that her time has not come yet. The way in which the romance develops between Nadia and Sergei is an example of the control the director has on such important plot points. There is also humour, when Sergei after a fall on the ice cover, is told that he should not move till his colleagues arrange for a rescue, because if he does move, the ice would break and he would be droned in the lake. Actually, the ice cover is several metres deep and nothing would have happened to Sergei had he gotten up and walked away, as Nadia, who finds him there, tells him. An example of black humour, if you like. Also, Irina’s illness is well-handled, without going over-board. Among other things to be commended is the handling of the rivalry between Albina, who has an ear for dancing on music cues and beats, a quality that Nadia’s is not gifted with, and Nadia. There is no dark mode here. It is all shades of grey.

Ice 3 is helped by splendid performances from is well-cast actors:

Alexander Petrov as Alexander 'Sasha' Gorin, a hockey player, team coach, and father of Nadia

Mariya Aronova as Irina Shatalina, Nadia's coach

Anna Savranskaya as Nadezhda 'Nadia' Gorina

Vitaliya Korniyenko as Nadezhda 'Nadia' Gorina in as a child

Stepan Belozyorov as Sergey Orlov, an Ice- hockey player from Moscow, Nadia's boyfriend

Veronika Zhilina as Albina, a figure skater

Aglaya Tarasova as Nadia Gorin's mother, seen only in one scene.

Cinematography by Andrey Ivanov, editing by, Aleksandr Puzyryov, Aleksey Starchenko and music by Oleg Karpachev all prove assets. The film's budget was 500 million rubles, and in the first 10 days of its release, it had grossed One Billion rubles. A good example of mass popularity and critical merit, both getting it right.

Seen in a tropical country like India, which, except for its extreme north, does not even have snow, this tale of ice, with ice as regular character in the film, show-cased its six-pack of ice, and swept the audience along with its broad span and attention to detail.

Rating: *** ½

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There is one more review to post, the signing off film, Our Guest from the Future. Will catch-up soon. Watch these columns.