This is the fifth film in the Stuttgart Nights Festival.
Wow! This is the first Estonian film I've ever seen. I wonder if it's typical.
The story takes place while Estonia was part of the Soviet Union, so it's some
time between 1944 and 1991. My guess is that it takes place towards the end of
that period.
Rafael served in the Soviet army as a guard on the Russia-China border. While
there he learned kung fu. After returning home to Estonia he wants to continue
with his martial arts, so he applies to become a monk in an Orthodox monastery
which teaches martial arts. I didn't know the Russian Orthodox Church
encourages martial arts. I learn something new every day. Rafael only wants to
stay a short while in the monastery, but the head monk sees something special
in him. He says that Rafael will become a saint. Rafael doubts this, because
he likes drinking vodka and listening to heavy metal, but maybe the head monk
is right.
This is a hilarious film. Interestingly, no fun is made of the Christian
religion itself. Christianity is assumed to be correct, and the humour comes
from the way Rafael and the monks practise it.
It's already been released on Blu-ray in America.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Tick the box "Notify me" to receive notification of replies.