Andrus Vaarik Movies
- 2005
A humble man becomes a new sensation on Estonian television in this satiric comedy set in the late 1960's. Mati (Tiit Sukk) is a friendly but nerdy guy who works for Estonia's state television network, where he's the cue-card man for Valdo Pant (Raivo E. Tamm), host of a popular and well-respected chat show. Another top show emanating from the studio is "Dit and Dot," a children's program which features Aunt Rutt (Ulle Kaljuste) and her puppet pals Dit and Dot. While "Dit and Dot" has a large following in Estonia, that's not the only place where it's attracting attention; Tipp (Peeter Oja) and Toivo (Robert Gutman) are aliens on the planet Mars who are fascinated with intercepted telecasts of "Dit and Dot," largely because the puppets look almost exactly like them. Tipp and Tovio travel to Earth with a plan to infiltrate the television center in order to find out what (if anything) the Earthlings know about them. Tipp is able to tap into the brain of easily-led Mati and take control of his body, but while the aliens try to find the truth about "Dit and Dot," Tipp's outgoing personality begins to manifest itself. Before long, the Martian-possessed Mati has taken over as host of Valdo's television show, earned dozens of new and powerful friends, and put the spark back in his marriage to Piret (Maria Avdjusko). But what's going to happen to Mati when the aliens accomplish their mission and head back to their home planet? Many of the characters in Kohtumine Tundmatuga (aka Touched By The Unknown) are based on actual Estonian television personalities of the era, in particular Valdo Pant and Aunt Rutt, both of whom were popular TV hosts. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tiit Sukk, Raivo E. Tamm, (more)
- 2007
In the tradition of such acclaimed films as Careful, He Might Hear You, The Children Are Watching Us and A Nos Amours, Kadri Kõussar's childhood drama Magnus (2007) (her first picture) sings a poignant elegy to a damaged youth - and reflects at length on the degree to which parents can unwittingly destroy a child's well-being. At the center of the picture is the title character (Ruuben Rekkor): a young boy whose parents aren't exactly role models of suburban perfection. While his father Mart Laisk indulges in recreational drugs and recruits innocent girls for German hard-core pornography, Magnus's mother shrieks and wails admonitions at the boy that go altogether ignored. Predicted by doctors not to live past the age of 16, Magnus begins to "test fate"; he plays lethal games with life and death and establishes a series of superstitious rituals designed to prolong his life. During adolescence, Magnus rebels, drifting into aberrant behavior - wanton promiscuity, drugs, booze. The combined effect of those experiences - and the emptiness that they yield - propels Magnus ever closer to death and yields two suicide attempts. Following the second attempt, Magnus's father states that he sees the error of his ways and does his best to intervene - but his idea of a 180 entails involving Magnus in his own drug use and wild sex life with women. Meanwhile, Magnus continues to ponder suicide and gives some thought to his own spiritual well-being. As a somewhat unusual aspect of the story - given its subject matter - Kõussar peppers the film with liberal doses of humor and endearingly eccentric characters to offset the pathos. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kristjan Kasearu, Mart Laisk, (more)
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