The Temptation of St. Tony 2009
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- Country Estonia, Sweden, Finland
- Production Year 2009
- Language Estonian with English subtitles
- Duration 115 minutes
- Directors Veiko Õunpuu
- Cast Taavi Eelmaa Ravshana Kurkova Denis Lavant
“Midway upon the journey of our lifeI found myself within a forest dark,For the straightforward pathway had been lost.” – Dante Alighieri Divine Comedy
Inexplicably, Tony finds himself in exactly the darkening forest that Dante describes. An unusual problem intrudes upon his moderately prosperous and quiet life – morality. Is it possible to be a ‘good person’? What does that mean anyway? And what’s in it for him? On his journey towards a clearer conscience, he finds an increasingly complicated reality.
“Looking like a grown-up version of the hero of ERASERHEAD, Tony seems at times a two-dimensional character traversing a multidimensional, Lynchian landscape.” – New York Times
“Full of beautifully choreographed and surreal set pieces that virtually define bravura.” – NY Magazine
Estonia’s submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards.
Print source: Homeless Bob Production
Screenings Book your ticket today
Queens Theatre Emmanuel College
06:30 pm Saturday 15th September
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Arts Picturehouse
10:15 am Monday 17th September
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Reviews Add a review
Rex Dunn wrote
Estonian: 'The Temptation of St Tony'. Brilliant opening, using a window to introduce the main character, starting with the cross he has to bear throughout the film, before finally letting it fall, a visual metaphor which sets the scene for what follows. The camera work is very imaginative and the narrative holds together well, despite the odd tangent. Surreal interludes are anchored in reality. (A wife has a nightmare: She is disturbed by a saintly image of her husband. Later her lover ridicules Tony for his irritating saintliness.) The lead character is very well cast as St Tony. Brave of the director to shoot in the wastelands of Estonia as well as making good use of the foul winter weather. We know what he thinks of the new capitalist Estonia. (Its Dante's dark forest of the soul!) But I have qualms about the style. Was it necessary to descend from Kafka into schlock horror? It distracts from the message: The new world may be worse than the old. If so, there is no God. Corruption is everywhere. You can't trust priests anymore. Its a waste of time trying to live the saintly life. By all means interpret the world, but we still have to change it!