Cannes. Magnus.

"Magnus, written and directed by a young woman named Kadri Kousaar, is the first film from Estonia to be included in the official selection at Cannes," notes Ray Bennett at the Hollywood Reporter. "The film paints such a glum portrait of life in the former Soviet state that it has been banned from distribution there. They could be on to something."

But the Un Certain Regard entry was met with applause, reports Annika Pham at Cineuropa. "Despite its dark subject matter, the film is not all gloom and doom," and what's more, it's only been banned in Estonia because a woman claims the story is based on her own life.

Updated through 5/24.

And Variety's Russell Edwards finds it "a profound emotional experience."

Updates, 5/24: "Shot with a magnificent palette featuring magnificent outdoor locales and smoky interiors, Magnus is an effective mediation on despondency," writes Eric Kohn at indieWIRE. "While the seemingly aimless plot occasionally becomes confusing, the movie is deeply encoded with a radical philosophy that unveils in the final minutes, making it worthwhile to sit through a second viewing. In his very first feature, Kousaar instigates a dialogue that deserves to be revisited."

"[T]he film is an atmospheric exploration of an unusual father-son relationship that is "inspired by true events", with the father more or less playing himself," writes Boyd van Heoij at european-films.net. "Up until the last twenty minutes, the film is very strong, but the rushed finale followed by the most unnecessary explanatory epilogue since Psycho makes foreign distribution unlikely unless the film is recut."

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Cannes @ 60. Index.

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Posted by dwhudson at May 20, 2007 3:31 PM