Wooley & Torgo's September Excite-o-rama!

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a world where the country's myths are real: there are animated assortments of farm equipment that steal livestock called kratts, ghosts walk among the living, shapeshifting creatures bring plagues and deals with the devil happen in exchange for one's soul.
I admired the way they were able to make all of the folklore stuff pretty easy to follow.
When something happened I understood why it happened, no matter how weird that something was.

Gorgeous film.
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Weirdly it looks like I'll be kicking off October with a (60's, Czech) sci-fi film, Ikarie XB 1. Which sounded interesting enough that I'd toss it out to this thread as it wraps up.



Victim of The Night


This Estonian fantasy tale is like a black metal album come to life. Besides nearly every frame resembling the typical album cover in the genre, it has the same oppressive hopelessness and wintry atmosphere found in the typical song. It's set in a tiny village in the woods with little to nothing going for it and in a world where the country's myths are real: there are animated assortments of farm equipment that steal livestock called kratts, ghosts walk among the living, shapeshifting creatures bring plagues and deals with the devil happen in exchange for one's soul. While the movie flits between the town's residents - my favorites being the local witch, a couple of desperate treasure hunters and the thieving servants of a local German baron (Dieter Laser, famous for the Human Centipede movies) - the central drama is a love triangle between Liina, who pines for Hans, a man who is willing to do anything to win the affections of the sleepwalking baron's daughter.

The look of the movie is again worth calling out for how it rides a fine line between compelling and eerie. This applies especially to the look of the first kratt we see, which resembles a spider made of metal scraps - a special effect that's so impressive that I'd rather not know how it was accomplished - and the ghosts, who may just be people clad in white and lit differently, but they need no further visual enhancement. The soundtrack all but enhances the movie's fatalistic vibe, which besides black metal has tinges of folk and dark ambient. This sounds like the movie is incredibly depressing, but it actually manages to be very funny - albeit darkly - and at just the right times. I particularly liked a servant's convoluted justification for stealing a chest full of underwear and Jaan Tooming's flamboyant performance, which is my favorite in the movie, as The Devil.

As is typical with foreign films, especially ones from small countries, I felt out of the loop sometimes, such as when the movie mentions Estonia's history and its relationship with Germany. That is not a fault of the movie, though, but it's on me since I jumped in cold. It wouldn't hurt to get a primer on the country's history and its mythology before watching. I still found it to be an involving tale that's sometimes sad, sometimes scary, and sometimes funny about what happens when the only means to not only make one’s dreams come true, but also simply get through the day is to turn to witchcraft or make a trade with The Devil. Eventually, one of these deals is going to conflict with another.
Oh wow, this is pretty new. I sort of assumed from the poster that it was older. I see where a number of sources have cited this film's visual appeal. Most interesting...



Victim of The Night
Great job, fellers. This was entertaining and my watchlist has been enriched by you both.
Thanks, brah!



Victim of The Night
Weirdly it looks like I'll be kicking off October with a (60's, Czech) sci-fi film, Ikarie XB 1. Which sounded interesting enough that I'd toss it out to this thread as it wraps up.
I can dig that.



A system of cells interlinked
Oh, and if the story doesn't leave you teary-eyed, Joan Baez's songs definitely will.
1000 times this. This is one musician that just immediately sets my teeth on edge, and I had a hard time finishing this movie solely for that reason. Just dire. Other than that, this flick is a product of its time, both technically and politically, and I enjoyed it for what it was. But man, I was hoping someone would nuke ol' Joan as I watched.
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“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ― Thomas Sowell



1000 times this. This is one musician that just immediately sets my teeth on edge, and I had a hard time finishing this movie solely for that reason. Just dire. Other than that, this flick is a product of its time, both technically and politically, and I enjoyed it for what it was. But man, I was hoping someone would nuke ol' Joan as I watched.
SpelingError and I liked the songs a bit more than you did. I meant tears of sadness, not tears of pain!



A system of cells interlinked
SpelingError and I liked the songs a bit more than you did. I meant tears of sadness, not tears of pain!
I figured that might be the case, but I had to take a shot at Joan anyway!