Writer-director Rainer Sarnet’s deliriously weird The Invisible Fight would be irksome if it weren’t crafted so lovingly and with a charming earnestness. Part wuxia homage, part coming-of-age story, this slice of absurdist historical fiction has little on its mind other than to amuse, which it does regularly enough to stay on the audience’s good side.
The film is set in the Soviet Union circa 1973, with the drabness of life under an authoritarian regime sharply contrasting with the more fulfilling, vibrant existence that our protagonist, Rafael (Ursel Tilk), is chasing after. The young man, who still lives with his mother in a modest apartment, is the only survivor of an attack by three Chinese bandits at the Soviet-Chinese border, where he works as a guard. When his car breaks down one day near a monastery, Rafael, a rebel in search of radicalization, goads the monks and does his...
The film is set in the Soviet Union circa 1973, with the drabness of life under an authoritarian regime sharply contrasting with the more fulfilling, vibrant existence that our protagonist, Rafael (Ursel Tilk), is chasing after. The young man, who still lives with his mother in a modest apartment, is the only survivor of an attack by three Chinese bandits at the Soviet-Chinese border, where he works as a guard. When his car breaks down one day near a monastery, Rafael, a rebel in search of radicalization, goads the monks and does his...
- 2/17/2024
- by Charles Lyons-Burt
- Slant Magazine
"I'm going to be a monk." Kino Lorber has unveiled their official US trailer for the Estonian film known as The Invisible Fight, a martial arts comedy made by Estonian filmmaker Rainer Sarnet (also of the cult hit November). This is finally set to open in US theaters in February, starting at the Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan, with more cities to follow throughout March. It premiered at Locarno and played at Fantastic Fest and Sitges (where I caught up with it). The Invisible Fight is described as a satirical take on the martial arts film, artfully paying tribute to the genre's Chinese wuxia roots. Set in the 1970s, it's about an Estonian guard on the Soviet-Chinese border who, after surviving and watching a deadly attack, decides to become a monk but must continually prove along the way that he's capable of becoming the enlightened man that he set out to be.
- 1/30/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
"The demons are your own thoughts. You must fight against them!" There's a must see early festival trailer available online for an Estonian film called The Invisible Fight, a martial arts comedy made by filmmaker Rainer Sarnet (also of the cult hit November). This first premiered at the 2023 Locarno Film Festival, and just played at Fantastic Fest, with a stop at the Sitges Film Festival next. Kino Lorber in the US has already picked up distribution rights, with plans to release it in early 2024. Add it to your watchlist!! The Invisible Fight is described as a satirical take on the martial arts film, artfully paying tribute to the genre’s Chinese wuxia roots through a Northern European story. Set in the 1970s, it's about a guard on the Soviet-Chinese border who, after surviving a deadly attack, decides to become a monk but must continually prove along the way that he's...
- 9/28/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
In out-there Estonian comedy “The Invisible Fight,” a clueless Russian border guard somehow escapes a surprise attack by three formidable Chinese action figures — gravity-defying kung fu warriors who swoop in out of nowhere, blasting Black Sabbath on their bright red boombox — so he does what anyone in his position would do: He resolves to become an Orthodox monk. Huh? “I guess God has other plans for you,” a less-fortunate comrade wheezes with his dying breath, setting up one of the oddest plots audiences are likely to find on the art-house circuit this year.
After attracting international attention with 2017 festival discovery “November” —a hyper-stylized, black-and-white folk horror novelty involving pagan stick monsters known as “kratts” — writer-director Rainer Sarnet swings to the color-saturated opposite extreme to make a genre-splicing martial arts satire. Set in the highly repressive, mid-’70s Soviet Union and shot like a vintage drive-in movie, “The Invisible Fight” treats kung fu as comedy,...
After attracting international attention with 2017 festival discovery “November” —a hyper-stylized, black-and-white folk horror novelty involving pagan stick monsters known as “kratts” — writer-director Rainer Sarnet swings to the color-saturated opposite extreme to make a genre-splicing martial arts satire. Set in the highly repressive, mid-’70s Soviet Union and shot like a vintage drive-in movie, “The Invisible Fight” treats kung fu as comedy,...
- 8/23/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
LevelK has boarded “The Invisible Fight,” Estonian director Rainer Sarnet’s kung fu comedy set in an Orthodox monastery in the former Soviet Union. The film world premieres Aug. 11 in the main competition of the Locarno Film Festival.
“The Invisible Fight” is set in 1973 on the Soviet-Chinese border, where Private Rafael is on guard duty when his border post is attacked by a band of Chinese warriors schooled in the ancient art of kung fu. The only one to miraculously survive, Rafael, is fascinated by the long-haired, black-clad, kung fu hippies flying through the treetops while blasting forbidden Black Sabbath music from their portable radio. He’s suddenly struck by a revelation: he, too, wants to become a kung fu warrior.
Faith leads Rafael to an Orthodox monastery where the black-clad monks do their training, but his road to achieving the almighty power of humility required is long, winding and full of adventures.
“The Invisible Fight” is set in 1973 on the Soviet-Chinese border, where Private Rafael is on guard duty when his border post is attacked by a band of Chinese warriors schooled in the ancient art of kung fu. The only one to miraculously survive, Rafael, is fascinated by the long-haired, black-clad, kung fu hippies flying through the treetops while blasting forbidden Black Sabbath music from their portable radio. He’s suddenly struck by a revelation: he, too, wants to become a kung fu warrior.
Faith leads Rafael to an Orthodox monastery where the black-clad monks do their training, but his road to achieving the almighty power of humility required is long, winding and full of adventures.
- 8/9/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias and Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
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