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The Red Shoes

1983 · 79 min

A somber, storybook-like fable that unsettles as much as it enchants, with a moral chill beneath its fairy-tale surface.

Directed by
John Clark Donahue, John Driver
Genres
Drama, Family, Fantasy
Starring
Rana Haugen, Stephen Boe, Molly Atwood
Overview
The story of a little girl name Karen who was very poor and was given a pair of red shoes made of cloth to keep her feet warm in the winter. When her mother dies, she's adopted by a rich older woman who burns the shoes, saying they're ugly. Karen grows up pretty and happy with the old woman, but one day she sees a princess wearing beautiful red shoes and wants a pair just like them. When it comes time for Karen to be confirmed, she's to have a new pair of shoes. The pair she wants are red leather shoes that were maid for a count's daughter, but were too small. Karen buys them without the old woman knowing and wears them to her confirmation and gets in trouble for it. When the old woman falls ill, instead of taking care of her Karen goes to a ball and dances, but finds she can't stop dancing.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
John Clark Donahue, John Driver
Genres
Drama, Family, Fantasy
Starring
Rana Haugen, Stephen Boe, Molly Atwood
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • eeriestrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • obsession
  • guilt
  • betrayal
  • death
  • identity
Places
  • small town
  • home
Era
period
Audience
family
Form
  • single location
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language none
  • Violence mild
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror4
Humour2
Realism4
Romance2
Tension5
Darkness6
Complexity4
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, family, fantasy
Directed by
John Clark Donahue, John Driver
Written by
John Clark Donahue, John B. Davidson
Starring
Rana Haugen, Stephen Boe, Molly Atwood, Sonja Kostich, Sarah Napier, Julee Cruise, Wendy Lehr, Maria Iverson
Runtime
79 min

TMDBIMDb