November

A showcase of bizarreness set in a fictional pagan world based on Estonian myths. The film is beautifully shot in black and white, incredibly imaginative and definitely original, but all of these amazing ideas (creatures looking like something out of Švankmajer’s work, composed of old tools, the main protagonist – a werewolf, a sleepwalking countess, spitting out of wafers, the absurd battle between villagers and the plague, love potions mixed with feces, poetic conversations with a snowman, marches of the dead and everything else) are unfortunately present only in the form of isolated strangeness, which at most creates an atmosphere of a magically realistic environment, but they have no significance for the plot. The story about a girl in love, whose lover falls in love with someone else, is then just a torso to which none of the above-mentioned fantasy addons are properly related, and the whole thing falls apart somewhat. However, if the organizers of the Weird Europe festival were looking for suitable candidates to be included in the program, then November is a clear choice. (04.07.2017)

This is basically a story of unfulfilled love with a tragic ending, set in a strange community of people where there is no room for it. The distinctive visual poetics are partially complemented by the oppressively unsettling atmosphere, which serves as a link to the bizarre scenes with occasionally morbid undertones. I admit that I literally fell in love with this audiovisual delight, which is full of secrets. (90%) (28.11.2021)

Who would've thought? I've just watched an obviously artistic film. I can tell because it was black and white. Even though form triumphed over content at times, I couldn't tear myself away because I was fascinated by how powerfully František Vláčil influenced Estonian-Dutch-Polish filmography. It was quite a bizarre film, which made me fond of kratts (except for that chatty globetrotter), learn how to fight the plague and how to make a romantic meal quite cheaply (although I would rather forget that). When I read that the genre was Drama / Fantasy / Romantic, I was apprehensive, but it turned out I was terribly wrong. The romance was a bit different, just like the whole film, which got me scared that something extra had been mixed in with my morning medication, but then I realized that it was the screenwriter and director who took something extra. Plus, it was good for their budget :-) It was a peculiar film that I don't have the conscience to recommend to anyone. Surprisingly enough, I enjoyed it a lot, not just because of the great atmosphere of forests with trees gnawed by hungry villagers. / Lesson learned: If you want to fool the Devil, be innovative. (02.07.2023)