Fleeing from the Russian secret police, a young Estonian fencer is forced to return to his homeland, where he becomes a physical education teacher at a local school. The past however catches up and puts him in front of a difficult choice.
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Reno
4/4/2016
7.5 / 10
> Looking for a new start while the past is on the tail.
The 2016's Golden Globe nominee and also Finland's submission for the Oscars in the same year, but failed to get into the final five. Produced by the Baltic nations that set in when Estonia was a part of the USSR in the early 50s. It chronicles the story of Endel Nelis, a man who's on the run arrives in a small town called Haapsalu to teach the school children sports.
As his life is in danger, he intends to keep a low profile for a while. But seems everything is turning around him against him when he decides to teach his students fencing. It brings a large attention to the surroundings. Then comes a time where he must confront what he's hiding from which brings an end to the narration with little extended end part that reveals further details about the later event.
> "It's good to have them focus on something, keep them occupied. It takes their mind off things."
This is a very short story, but somehow the movie managed to run for the 90 minutes with a good pace. It did not cover the entire life story of Endel Nelis, but a small slice. So you definitely feel desperate to know about his past, but this film does not compromise on that. It has a great background score, and overall it is a very inspiring movie.
The actors were so simple, but very good in their parts. Other than the lead character Endel, the two kids Marta and Jaan were excellent. The romance was as its sub-plot, but the theme was sport so all the concentration on the fencing and nothing else. In a couple of sections it feels so cliche, but since it was based on the real, there's nothing to do about it than accepting it.
Fencing is not a popular sport in the world, so it is good to see a movie about it, but sadly it was not internationally well recognised. Like I said earlier the story was quite small, so I can't describe it in a large scale. I think I said everything I wanted to. In its limitedness the movie was pretty impressive. Not everyone who saw it going to suggest it for you, but it is worth a try.
7½/10
This post- WW II story is based on real life events. It is an historical film that is both life-affirming and heartwarming. The Fencer is Estonia's Karate Kid. So much so, that it's the best "feel good" movie I've seen in a quite a while.
