The fencer's children

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Movie
German title The fencer's children
Original title Miekkailija
Country of production Finland ,
Estonia ,
Germany
original language Estonian ,
Russian
Publishing year 2015
length 98 minutes
Age rating FSK 0
Rod
Director Klaus Härö
script Anna Heinämaa
production Kai Nordberg
Kaarle Aho
music Gert Wilden junior
camera Tuomo Hutri
cut Tambet Tasuja
Ueli Christians
occupation

The fencer's children (original title: Miekkailija , finn. For "fencer") is a Finnish drama by Klaus Härö from 2015. The film is based on the life story of Endel Nelis , an Estonian fencer and trainer. Filming began in Estonia in February 2014.

The film was selected as a Finnish entry for an Oscar for best foreign language film and made it into the final selection of nine films. He also received a Golden Globe nomination. The cinema release in Germany was on December 17, 2015.

action

The young fencer Endel Nelis hid from Stalin's secret police on the Estonian coast in Haapsalu in the early 1950s . Under the pretense of a false identity, he gets a job as a physical education teacher. He teaches fencing to students and quickly became very popular. Many of the young people are traumatized by the war and fatherless, and so Endel becomes a compensating father figure for them. The school director, however, regards him with suspicion - also because fencing is viewed critically as a "feudal" sport - at a parents' meeting, however, the pupil's respected grandfather, Jaan, is very committed to Endel Nelis and pulls the other people on his side. The school director then had Endel's curriculum vitae examined by the secret police, and it emerged that at the age of 18, during the German occupation, he was briefly a Wehrmacht soldier and then adopted his mother's maiden name as a camouflage. When his fencing class is invited to a tournament in Leningrad , Endel has to decide whether he wants to take the risk of being arrested there. Against the advice of his colleague Kadri, with whom he fell in love, he decides to take part with four students. Despite the success of his team, he is arrested and probably deported. Stalin dies shortly afterwards, many prisoners are released, including Endel Nelis, whom Kadri is expecting on his return on the platform in Haapsalu, but not Jaan's grandfather, who is also deported.

criticism

The film service judges that the film "combines elements of school drama, historical and sports films and portrays fencing in its potential for resistance". In doing so, he "rather evades a more intensive examination of the vicissitudes of Estonian history and glides over the shallows of the protagonist".

The film does not reflect Endel's work - it was sent to Haapsalu to train a generation of fencers.

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of Release for The Fencer's Children . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , October 2015 (PDF; test number: 150 476-a K).
  2. ↑ Kaire Reiljan: “Vehkleja.” Kaks lugu, elu ja tõde filmis (Estonian) , Lääne Elu. March 16, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2016. 
  3. ↑ Klaus Härös Fäktaren är Finlands Oscar candidate . In: HBL . September 1, 2015. Accessed September 1, 2015.
  4. ↑ Nick Holdsworth: Oscars: Finland Selects 'The Fencer' for Foreign-Language Category . In: The Hollywood Reporter , September 1, 2015. 
  5. ^ 9 Foreign Language Films Advance In Oscar Race . In: Oscars . December 17, 2015. Accessed December 18, 2015.
  6. ^ Gregg Kilday: Oscars: Nine Titles Advance in Foreign Language Category . In: The Hollywood Reporter , December 17, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015. 
  7. ↑ The fencer's children. In: filmdienst.de. Film service , accessed January 11, 2016 .
  8. ↑ The fencer's children. In: fbw-filmbeval.com. German Film and Media Rating (FBW), accessed on January 11, 2016 .