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Kratt
Estonia 2020
produced by Tõnu Hiielaid, Rain Rannu for Tallifornia
directed by Rasmus Merivoo
starring Mari Lill, Nora Merivoo, Harri Merivoo, Elise Tekko, Roland Treima, Mari-Liis Lill, Marek Tammets, Ivo Uukkivi, Paul Purga, Paul Laasik, Venno Loosaar, Juhan Rodrik, Jaanus Mehikas, Alo Kurvits, Jan Uuspõld, Svetlana Zanina, Birgit Veiler, Rolf Põhjala, Steve Vanoni, Endi Säkk, Luciné Alaverdian, Airi Allvee, Siim Neiland, Joonatan Kallaste, Marten Männason, Hugo Oskar Adrat, Arman Alaverdian, Mark Alaverdian, Kristiina Davidjants, Maria Davidjants, Mark Davidjants, Emil Rutiku, Tiit Liivik, Andu Tali, Maarja Merivoo-Parro (voice)
written by Rasmus Merivoo, music by Tauno Aints
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Because their parents (Mari-Liis Lill, Marek Tammets) go on a cleansing
trip, Mia (Nora Merivoo) and Kevin (Harri Merivoo) are shipped away to the
country without their cellphones to stay with their grandma (Mari Lill) -
and they find it hard to cope with country life, especially the chores
that come with it as grandma still runs her own little farm. But they
befriend local kids, twins Juuli (Elise Tekko) and August (Roland Treima),
somehow get their hands on a book of black magic, and decide to build a
Kratt, a mythical creature that's basically a tireless worker and that
should help Mia and Kevin with their chores. Of course, it's also said
that a Kratt goes berserk when its master doesn't give it anything more to
do, but the kids don't think that far ahead. So they build a Kratt out of
kitchen appliances, give it some blood they've stolen from the local blood
bank, and then chant an incantation from the book ... and things go better
than planned and worse than planned at the same time, as on one hand they
successfully build a Kratt, on the other somehow grandma has gotten into
the mix, and now she is the Kratt. At first everything goes great
as the kids use their grandma-Kratt as a source for wish-fulfillment, but
eventually they retire, and the Kratt, out of things to do, goes to her
master - which is the person whose blood she was given, which happens to
be the local, incompetent gouvernor (Ivo Uukkivi), who presently tries to
drown his sorrows in alcohol. And also throw a group of eco-activists led
by Juuli and August's dad Lembit (Paul Purga) into the mix, and you've got
pure chaos ... A very interesting film that's part fairy tale,
part satire, part horror, part comedy, with splashes of coming-of-age
thrown into the mix as well, but above everything it's just lots of fun:
Basically, the film manages to surprise throughout, taking its story into
new directions every now and again while elegantly blending subtle humour
with sight gags and slapstick, and also never shying away from its story's
more gruesome aspects. And a great cast of characters and caricatures,
embodied by a solid ensemble, help bring this to life, while an assured
directorial effort that finds just the right balance between its poles
make this a rather brilliant and immensely enjoyable genre mix.
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