Tolstoy Ressurection

An ancient fox spirit embarks on a diabolical quest to become human after escaping an icy prison, and becomes bound to a disfigured princess who seeks the love of a noble guard as her kingdom crumbles in this lavish supernatural epic. Confined to a frozen cell for centuries, malevolent fox spirit Xiaowei (Xun Zhou) regains her freedom and seeks to preserve her beauty by seducing men and consuming their hearts. Should a man offer her his heart willingly, Xiaowei will become mortal, breaking free of the underworld and experiencing living among the living. Meanwhile, as a dark cloud falls over her kingdom, Princess Jing (Wei Zhao) flees, hiding her deep facial scars under a mask of pure gold while seeking the love of her former protector, who remains haunted by his failure to save her years prior. When destiny brings Xiaowei and Princess Jing together, the battle for the princess' heart begins.

Most of the Tolstoys abandoned their ancestral homeland shortly after the Revolution. Among them were the parents of Nikolai Tolstoy, an author born in England in 1935; he continues to live and write there today. In ''The Tolstoys'' he tells the fascinating and complicated story of his family's glorious and bloody past and, for the most part, he tells it with authority, grace and good humor. The reader will find no startling new revelations on the career or personality of the great writer Leo Tolstoy. It is his less-known but no less colorful relatives who occupy the center of attention.

When Viktoria Tolstoy sings, it is her personal background, the things that have made her who she is, that resonate above all. Her choice of songs is rooted in her own experience, whether it be a deep attachment to her native country ("My Swedish Heart"), the quest for her Russian heritage – she is the great-great-granddaughter of Leo Tolstoy – ("My Russian Soul"), a desire to pay an affectionate tribute to Herbie Hancock ("Letters To Herbie"), or to interpret great film songs ("Meet Me At The Movies"). These thematic threads give Viktoria Tolstoy a way of singing songs which is hers and hers alone. And her voice has something truly special and individual too: there might be a hint of melodrama, or perhaps a certain sadness which is nonetheless underpinned with joy, or happiness, yet with an urgent and dramatic undertone. This innate sense of how to establish an emotional connection also helps to explain why Tolstoy has become one of the most successful singers in jazz from Scandinavia.