Jaak Kilmi film takes the easy route, ERR critic says

Jaak Kilmi’s film “Musta pori näkku” takes a straightforward approach where it could have explored deeper themes, ERR culture writer Kaspar Viilup argues. The film, based on Mihkel Raud’s novel of the same name, follows young men dreaming of a music career.

Viilup says the film has an audience and value as a simple coming-of-age road movie. Its broad humour and detailed period atmosphere create a nostalgic ride, but the story remains schematic and gives little depth to its themes. The focus, he writes, falls on crude jokes and caricatured characters.

The film could have explored how the foundations of modern Estonian pop and rock music were laid in a short time, or offered a portrait of counterculture under foreign rule that might speak to audiences beyond Estonia. Instead, it mostly invites viewers to fill in the gaps with their own memories.

Viilup also questions whether audiences have already seen too many films built around bittersweet memories of the recent past. He says the popularity of Raud’s book meant viewers were already likely to be interested, giving the filmmakers room to lead them beyond the familiar. The film’s progressive-rock-style theme music, he adds, hints at a broader meaning that the story does not fully pursue.

Fighting game adaptations disappoint again

Viilup also criticises film adaptations of fighting games, arguing that they have yet to make an impact comparable to the games themselves. Feature films based on “Mortal Kombat” and “Street Fighter” first appeared in the mid-1990s. This year, “Mortal Kombat 2” and a new “Street Fighter” film arrived about six months apart, but Viilup describes the latter as a much weaker effort.