Review of Magnus (2008) by Cli O — 27 Jun 2008

26-year-old Kousaar made an interesting and thought provoking film debut which was the first Estonian movie ever in the official selection of Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard), has won awards and screened successfully in the festivals worldwide. The commercial distribution has been destroyed by a stupid court case instigated by a vexatious ex wife of the main actor Mart Laisk.

Kousaar's ?mistake? was to cast her own prototype: businessman Mart Laisk to play the autobiographical role of a careless and hedonistic father, whose negligence ultimately led to his son's suicide. The son just felt he wasn't needed by anybody (the mother seemed to be even worse than the father: a total egoist). Mart Laisk has explained in the interviews that he agreed to play the role to contemplate his mistakes of the past and to deliver a warning message ?not to try this at home?. Kousaar tackles the tragic subject matter without sentimentality, yet with empathy, compassion and occasional humorous twists. The poetic camera work and eerie music give a natural flow to the story.

And Mart Laisk is a fantastic actor!

Now the court case which all Estonia talks about (although only a few Estonians have actually seen the film, as it cannot be released until the court case is over) The ex wife of the main actor Mart Laisk, accuses the film of privacy infringement, although no real names nor facts have been used, and even her family name is not the same as her ex husband's. The whole issue has been a scandal in Estonia where some "pundits" claim that the artists should not draw inspiration from real life and prototypes, as "somebody might get hurt". Why not gather a big fire and burn all the books, paintings, photos, films etc which have some connection to reality? All the books of Hemingway and Shakespeare must be burned! And surely Truman Capote who most perversely drew inspiration from reality, just like Ms Kousaar!

The whole case has been a disgrace to Estonian judicial system ? to ban an art house movie in 2008, in European Union, how sick is that?!!! Let's just hope in the second level court there will be a more intelligent decision.