Directed by:
Kadri KõusaarScreenplay:
Kadri KõusaarCinematography:
Jean-Noël MustonenCast:
Lee Ingleby, Bille Neeve, Andrea Lowe, Lina Leandersson, Taavi Eelmaa, Anthony Flanagan, Tony Aitken, Rita Raave, Henry Garrett, Patrick Brennan, Paul Bown (more)Plots(1)
John is an ambitious young scientist working at Cambridge University and enjoying success in his field. Following a downturn in his private life he decides to take a long hiatus to carry out a carefully prepared plan that he thinks will make the world a better place to live in.... After her successful debut with the film Magnus, Kadri Kõusaar returns to the screen with an English-language coproduction for which she wrote the screenplay. The dense, cleverly constructed atmosphere of this visually engrossing picture is reinforced by an unsettling musical score. With this confidently crafted and provocative film, the talented Estonian director poses a number of disconcerting questions that the audience must answer. Of her artistic intention she says: “What did I want to do? Provoke? Give a warning? Mystify? All of that together.” (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)
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Reviews (2)
This is a more right-wing film than an instructional video for young Nazi Party recruits. It’s a cold, detached Nordic provocation that digs into the skin precisely by keeping an uncompromising distance from the viewer. The transformation of the young pretty boy into the arbiter of the human right to exist is too well crafted to not think about it long after it's over. The Machiavellian "the end justifies the means" stops at nothing in building up the protagonist's plan, and thus the emotional peak comes with the insertion of the sword of St. Vojtěch. However, it does not detract from the vigor and disputability of his actions - quite the contrary. I look at myself in the mirror with a smug expression and give myself a thumbs up.
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I once again watched a movie which made me think about it hard not only during the end credits, but also the following day. It is not an easy flick, but visually it is hard to match. If the heavy philosophical story does not interest you, which I personally do not understand, then you at least have to enjoy the beautiful shots of the English countryside and I think even a bit of the North. Probably it was Estonia, as I didn’t see anything else Estonian in the movie. That is, except for the Estonian actor Taavi Eelmaa, who is also one of the most distinctive faces of Scandinavian films and also the most distinctive face of this film. Even despite the fact that he actually appears here only very briefly. The actor in the leading role was also great. Actor Lee Ingleby convinced me in the beginning that this film could be lenient to the viewer, just so he could then show me how strict it could be, too. And I admit that I haven’t seen such a distant and gloomy movie in a long time. The ideas and opinions made me feel really bad and depressed. But it was worth it. You don’t get to see a film like this every day, as well as the surprisingly good filmmaking with an amazing camera.
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Gallery (11)
Photo © Ela Film
![The Arbiter - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/157/699/157699559_8a9361.jpg)
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