Film No. 48 (2016) July 31st. 6.30 PM LUNA Paradiso, Northbridge.
"Your life is at stake and you worry about some kids?"
After 4 previous attempts to win best Foreign Language Oscar, the people of Finland felt they had a chance with The Fencer in 2015.
They were wrong. In fact they missed nomination and I can see why.
However this takes nothing away from this rich and thorough human drama based on a real life story. The era of awards for this type of film has sadly passed.
There was an unabashed Walt Disney feel-good quality about Klaus Haro's feature film but in no way is this a criticism. The story of Endel Nelis (Mart Avandi) is a rich tale of a man, born into the Baltic state of Estonia, a country where the locals had no say when the Germans enslaved them into their army during occupation. The Estonians were then seen as traitors by the Russians as they marched into Estonia at the end of the war. Endel thus needs to escape and live his life incognito in the hope he'll not be noticed.
His problem is, the life he chooses as a teacher in the local school in backwater town Haapslu, has him teaching Fencing; a skill he mastered before the war and which gave him some fame. Like Mr Miagi of Karate Kid fame, Endel uses fencing as a metaphor for the disciplines of life. He is gentle, calm and becomes a saviour as he builds meaningful relationships in the intimate community. The drama expands when his students plead with him to accept an invitation to compete against other schools at a tournament in Leningrad.
What to do? His hard-nosed school principal has already smelled a rat and made enquiries about Endel's past. A visit to Leningrad could be his unravelling but his priory in life is his dedication to his students and Kadri (Ursula Ratasepp) a fellow teacher and lover. We hope for a von Trapp family like ending but the story is based on a real life Fencer and teacher. The story needed to remain true to history, and it does! 9GUMS.
They were wrong. In fact they missed nomination and I can see why.
However this takes nothing away from this rich and thorough human drama based on a real life story. The era of awards for this type of film has sadly passed.
There was an unabashed Walt Disney feel-good quality about Klaus Haro's feature film but in no way is this a criticism. The story of Endel Nelis (Mart Avandi) is a rich tale of a man, born into the Baltic state of Estonia, a country where the locals had no say when the Germans enslaved them into their army during occupation. The Estonians were then seen as traitors by the Russians as they marched into Estonia at the end of the war. Endel thus needs to escape and live his life incognito in the hope he'll not be noticed.
His problem is, the life he chooses as a teacher in the local school in backwater town Haapslu, has him teaching Fencing; a skill he mastered before the war and which gave him some fame. Like Mr Miagi of Karate Kid fame, Endel uses fencing as a metaphor for the disciplines of life. He is gentle, calm and becomes a saviour as he builds meaningful relationships in the intimate community. The drama expands when his students plead with him to accept an invitation to compete against other schools at a tournament in Leningrad.
What to do? His hard-nosed school principal has already smelled a rat and made enquiries about Endel's past. A visit to Leningrad could be his unravelling but his priory in life is his dedication to his students and Kadri (Ursula Ratasepp) a fellow teacher and lover. We hope for a von Trapp family like ending but the story is based on a real life Fencer and teacher. The story needed to remain true to history, and it does! 9GUMS.
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