Mart Sander seems to be one of the-if not the-most prolific filmmakers to emerge from Estonia, and his films are certainly different, but worth watching.
Listening to dialogue that seems to be written for English speakers and then getting mostly-Estonian speakers to translate that to the screen is not without its challenges, and it often detracts from the final product, but if you can get past that mental hurdle and focus on the aesthetics and the complexities of the story, it becomes easier to fall into the dream-like world Sander has established in films like this.
Many scenes remind me of a Greenaway film but with more entertainment value. Like Greenaway, Sander seems to pull classic artworks off the canvas into cinema (albeit less directly), but I think he does it in a more entertaining way. (If you know Greenaway's work you know it can be challenging to sit through at times, usually due to an almost condescending disregard for the audience's patience.) Sander seems a bit more concerned with exposition than Geenaway-and though the sweet spot often eludes him, his work here is a bit more fun to watch.
The mood and gloom of this film also feels a bit Poe-ish, which adds to the entertainment value as well-at least for those who like Poe, art, and magical realism.
Thankfully, Tubi seems to have picked up quite a a few of Sander's films. Check them out!
