The Disciple, Finland's Submission for the Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. U.S. : None Yet. Producer: Långfilm Productions Finland Oy
Human lives are in constant transition, always adapting to ever-changing, unpredictable circumstances. Part of that process often includes replacing things that are no longer useful or no longer exist. Separations, moving to a different city or a different school, and more definitively, death, force individuals to replace the people in their lives in order to fill a void or seeking a second change. That's what Ulrika Bengts' suspenseful drama The Disciple (Lärjungen) explores in an almost-deserted island that serves as a microcosm for her characters to fully expose their need to be in control.
Set in the late 1930s and shot with the simple beauty of a classic painting, from the first frames Bengts wastes no time in showing the quietly dangerous realm the island represents. Hardworking Karl (Erik Lönngren), a thirteen year old boy, has arrived as the only available person to assist the lighthouse keeper with the arduous labor. Displeased by Karl’s age and fragile appearance, Master Hasselbond (Niklas Groundstroem), the veteran lighthouse keeper and defacto ruler, wants to send him back, arguing that whatever he can do, his own teenage boy already does. His son and most faithful follower, Gustaf (Patrik Kumpulainen), is a noble kid who wants nothing else than to please his terribly strict father even if he ridicules him and constantly reminds him that he will never amount to much. Based on the fact that the foreign boy is willing to help him with his mathematic assignments, Gustaf develops a brotherly friendship with Karl, who is diligent and proves himself useful by working around the island. Soon Hasselbond notices Karl’s talents and plans to make him his protégé.
Unafraid to use violence to assert his power and retain control over his family, Hasselbond has banned his wife Dorrit (Amanda Ooms) from playing music and has forbidden the entire family, including his young daughter Emma (Ping Mon H. Wallén), from speaking about the death of their older brother Elof. The oppressor finds in Karl a vessel for his unfulfilled aspirations and strict moral parameters. He wants him to become what neither of his two sons could be in his eyes, which turns Gustaf’s amiable relationship with Karl into hatred. The screenplay by Roland Fauser and Jimmy Karlsson efficiently conveys the story of this man with a pathological obsession with power, and it does so without the need of a religious fanaticism subplot.
The two boys and the maniacal patriarch form a trio in which the roles of teacher and student are symbiotic. Gustaf realizes his father won’t recognize his achievements, while slowly, Karl settles into his role of the devoted son who is willing to follow Hasselbond’s orders blindly. Early in the film, the father struggles to teach Gustaf geometrical concepts related to squares and equilateral triangles, shapes that must have equal sides to be complete. He wants to raise the boys in his image, poisoning them with false righteousness and by that, replacing his late firstborn with Karl to complete his vision of a family, his personal perfect triangle. All three actors in the main roles superbly tackle the emotions of their characters, and play off of each other to make this unsettling family drama stunningly frightening.
Working with a seemingly simple premise, Bengts creates an alluring piece whose haunting musical score by Peter Hägerstrand truly becomes an invisible player in the story. Added to this, the misleading peaceful atmosphere of the isolated location conceals the menacing secrets hidden inside the lighthouse. Here, Bengts' characters form a cult-like community in which their evil leader is only preoccupied with living vicariously through another individual with the purpose of denying his responsibility in the family’s tragic past. Tense and strikingly beautiful The Disciple is a film about legacy, about parents' expectations of their children and the alienating lack of individuality those expectations can impose on them.
Read more about all the 76 Best Foreign Language Film Submission for the 2014 Academy Awards...
Human lives are in constant transition, always adapting to ever-changing, unpredictable circumstances. Part of that process often includes replacing things that are no longer useful or no longer exist. Separations, moving to a different city or a different school, and more definitively, death, force individuals to replace the people in their lives in order to fill a void or seeking a second change. That's what Ulrika Bengts' suspenseful drama The Disciple (Lärjungen) explores in an almost-deserted island that serves as a microcosm for her characters to fully expose their need to be in control.
Set in the late 1930s and shot with the simple beauty of a classic painting, from the first frames Bengts wastes no time in showing the quietly dangerous realm the island represents. Hardworking Karl (Erik Lönngren), a thirteen year old boy, has arrived as the only available person to assist the lighthouse keeper with the arduous labor. Displeased by Karl’s age and fragile appearance, Master Hasselbond (Niklas Groundstroem), the veteran lighthouse keeper and defacto ruler, wants to send him back, arguing that whatever he can do, his own teenage boy already does. His son and most faithful follower, Gustaf (Patrik Kumpulainen), is a noble kid who wants nothing else than to please his terribly strict father even if he ridicules him and constantly reminds him that he will never amount to much. Based on the fact that the foreign boy is willing to help him with his mathematic assignments, Gustaf develops a brotherly friendship with Karl, who is diligent and proves himself useful by working around the island. Soon Hasselbond notices Karl’s talents and plans to make him his protégé.
Unafraid to use violence to assert his power and retain control over his family, Hasselbond has banned his wife Dorrit (Amanda Ooms) from playing music and has forbidden the entire family, including his young daughter Emma (Ping Mon H. Wallén), from speaking about the death of their older brother Elof. The oppressor finds in Karl a vessel for his unfulfilled aspirations and strict moral parameters. He wants him to become what neither of his two sons could be in his eyes, which turns Gustaf’s amiable relationship with Karl into hatred. The screenplay by Roland Fauser and Jimmy Karlsson efficiently conveys the story of this man with a pathological obsession with power, and it does so without the need of a religious fanaticism subplot.
The two boys and the maniacal patriarch form a trio in which the roles of teacher and student are symbiotic. Gustaf realizes his father won’t recognize his achievements, while slowly, Karl settles into his role of the devoted son who is willing to follow Hasselbond’s orders blindly. Early in the film, the father struggles to teach Gustaf geometrical concepts related to squares and equilateral triangles, shapes that must have equal sides to be complete. He wants to raise the boys in his image, poisoning them with false righteousness and by that, replacing his late firstborn with Karl to complete his vision of a family, his personal perfect triangle. All three actors in the main roles superbly tackle the emotions of their characters, and play off of each other to make this unsettling family drama stunningly frightening.
Working with a seemingly simple premise, Bengts creates an alluring piece whose haunting musical score by Peter Hägerstrand truly becomes an invisible player in the story. Added to this, the misleading peaceful atmosphere of the isolated location conceals the menacing secrets hidden inside the lighthouse. Here, Bengts' characters form a cult-like community in which their evil leader is only preoccupied with living vicariously through another individual with the purpose of denying his responsibility in the family’s tragic past. Tense and strikingly beautiful The Disciple is a film about legacy, about parents' expectations of their children and the alienating lack of individuality those expectations can impose on them.
Read more about all the 76 Best Foreign Language Film Submission for the 2014 Academy Awards...
- 11/14/2013
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
Producer Riina Hyytiä named producer of the year at Finnish Film Week.
At the closing gala of the Finnish Film Week (Sept 20-26), producer Riina Hyytiä was named Producer of the Year for Johanna Vuoksenmaa’s divorce comedy 21 Ways to Ruin a Marriage (21 tapaa pilata avioliitto).
The comedy is the first Finnish feature by a female director to exceed 400,000 admissions, which only four films have achieved in the last 25 years.
Organised for the fourth time as part of the Helsinki International Film Festival-Love & Anarchy included 24 domestic productions introduced by the filmmakers.
It included previews of Ulrika Bengts’ Lärjungen (The Disciple - Finland’s submission for the Oscars), Rax Rinnekangas’ Luciferin viimeinen elämä (The Last Life of Lucifer), Pekka Lehto’s Luciferin viimeinen elämä (The Surrealist and His Naughty Hand), Dome Karukoski’s Leijonasydän (Heart of a Lion) and Pirjo Honkasalo’s Betoniyö (Concrete Night).
More awards for industry professionals went to:
Director of the Year Simo Halinen for Kerron...
At the closing gala of the Finnish Film Week (Sept 20-26), producer Riina Hyytiä was named Producer of the Year for Johanna Vuoksenmaa’s divorce comedy 21 Ways to Ruin a Marriage (21 tapaa pilata avioliitto).
The comedy is the first Finnish feature by a female director to exceed 400,000 admissions, which only four films have achieved in the last 25 years.
Organised for the fourth time as part of the Helsinki International Film Festival-Love & Anarchy included 24 domestic productions introduced by the filmmakers.
It included previews of Ulrika Bengts’ Lärjungen (The Disciple - Finland’s submission for the Oscars), Rax Rinnekangas’ Luciferin viimeinen elämä (The Last Life of Lucifer), Pekka Lehto’s Luciferin viimeinen elämä (The Surrealist and His Naughty Hand), Dome Karukoski’s Leijonasydän (Heart of a Lion) and Pirjo Honkasalo’s Betoniyö (Concrete Night).
More awards for industry professionals went to:
Director of the Year Simo Halinen for Kerron...
- 9/27/2013
- by jornrossing@aol.com (Jorn Rossing Jensen)
- ScreenDaily
The second edition of the Finnish Film Affair, scheduled for Sept 24-26 in Helsinki, will again showcase hot local titles and works in progress.
This year’s event boasts an expanded guest list of sales agents, buyers and festival programmers, including representatives from Zdf/Arte, Celluloid Dreams, Wild Bunch, Hanway, Tribeca, Palm Springs, Rotterdam and Locarno. About 200 industry experts will attend.
“The first edition introduced the Finnish Film Affair to international decision makers,” said Sara Norberg, executive director of the Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy, which launched the event. “We’re very proud that the success of last year’s works-in-progress and the positive buzz around the event has attracted even more interest from the international industry.”
The new films to be screened include Toronto-bound titles Concrete Night by Pirjo Honkasalo and Heart of Lion by Dome Karukoski, in addition to other festival selections such as Finnish Blood, Swedish Heart by Mika Ronkainen and Alcan Highway by Aleksi...
This year’s event boasts an expanded guest list of sales agents, buyers and festival programmers, including representatives from Zdf/Arte, Celluloid Dreams, Wild Bunch, Hanway, Tribeca, Palm Springs, Rotterdam and Locarno. About 200 industry experts will attend.
“The first edition introduced the Finnish Film Affair to international decision makers,” said Sara Norberg, executive director of the Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy, which launched the event. “We’re very proud that the success of last year’s works-in-progress and the positive buzz around the event has attracted even more interest from the international industry.”
The new films to be screened include Toronto-bound titles Concrete Night by Pirjo Honkasalo and Heart of Lion by Dome Karukoski, in addition to other festival selections such as Finnish Blood, Swedish Heart by Mika Ronkainen and Alcan Highway by Aleksi...
- 8/21/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
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