Estonian film makes history
by Annika Pham
The presence of Kadri Kõusaar’s Magnus in Un Certain Regard is a first not only for Estonia, whose last Cannes entry was in 1990 with Peeter Simm’s A Man Who Never Was, shown in the Directors’ Fortnight.
The film is also the country’s first feature to be produced and financed without any public funding whatsoever, as a majority UK co-production. It furthermore unites 26 year-old first-time director Kõusaar (famous at home as a novelist and journalist) with first-time UK producer Donal Fernandes, first-time line producer Aet Laign, and a cast the majority of which are making their acting debuts.
The leads are played by Kristjan Kasearu, a well-known Estonian pop star, and Mart Laisk, who plays himself (“the Father”), reviving events that happened to him six years ago.
Scripted by Kõusaar, Magnus is indeed based on a true story. Magnus is a sensitive young boy (Ruuben Rekkor) who grows up in a family where no one really cares about him. His parents think that children grow up on their own and that if they have food and shelter all is fine and no more effort must be invested in them.
Magnus suffers from a lung disease that is said to be fatal and plays bizarre games with death. However, ten years later, modern medicine has managed to cure the disease but Magnus' death wish is still there. When a grown-up Magnus (Kasearu) makes his second suicide attempt, his father's conscience awakens. He tries to teach his son some lessons and convince him to go on living, up to a shocking conclusion.
Commenting on the film’s selection, Karlo Funk, head of Production and Development at the Estonian Film Foundation, said: “In every way, this film is totally incredible and it demonstrates true talent from the director. It also shows that it is now possible to make films in Estonia without public support. The Estonian Film Foundation was involved at a much later stage, when Kõusaar asked us to support her with the making of a print for the film’s selection at Cannes”.
According to Funk, more good news will come for Estonia with the May 3 announcement of the 2007 Directors’ Fortnight programme.
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