Tony (Taavi Eelmaa) is trapped in a Kafkaesque nightmare in Veiko Õunpuu’s THE TEMPTATION OF ST. TONY
THE TEMPTATION OF ST. TONY (PÜHA TÕNU KIUSAMINE) (Veiko Õunpuu, 2009)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between Fifth Ave. & University Pl.
Opens Friday, September 17
212-924-3363
www.thetemptationofsttony.com
www.cinemavillage.com
An absurdist morality tale of good and evil, Veiko Õunpuu’s THE TEMPTATION OF ST. TONY is a sly, ironic black comedy about one poor man’s search for compassion. Taavi Eelmaa gives an extraordinary performance as Tony, a middle-aged factory manager unable to find happiness in his mundane life, even as it is turned upside down after he runs over a dog, finds a bunch of human hands in a swamp, rescues a woman in a wedding dress, discovers that his wife is cheating on him, and speaks with a priest who has some very odd ideas — and some very strange powers. Estonian director Õunpuu’s second film, the follow-up to his highly praised, award-winning AUTUMN BALL (2007), THE TEMPTATION OF ST. TONY is an existential journey through a bizarre cinematic landscape that would make such auteurs as Jim Jarmusch, Federico Fellini, Aki Kaurismäki, David Lynch, and, of course, Ingmar Bergman proud (as well as Kafka and Dante). Filled with religious and sexual imagery and shot in captivating black and white by Mart Taniel, the film opens with the question “Why does man exist?” then proceeds to take audiences through the same dark forest that encompasses Tony’s ever-more-incongruent life, not necessarily offering any answers but instead heaping on a never-ending stream of complexity and confusion. THE TEMPTATION OF ST. TONY is an absolute treat for adventurous filmgoers looking for something very different.