A glorious excursion into Technicolor fantasy and a film that remains very true to the spirit of Russian/Ukrainian master Nikolai Gogol, Nights in the Village is one of the most beautiful works in the rich strain of Russian cinematic fantasy. The tale of a blacksmith from a darkened village sent on an endless quest on Christmas Eve by his beloved - ending in St. Petersburg and with a stop along the way for a conference with the devil - has been filmed a few times throughout Russian film history, but never with so much charm and such rich feeling for the satiric, folkloric power of the source material.

by Kent Jones