Blending kitsch, kung-fu, and devout charisma, The Invisible Fight is a test of faith served with a heavy dose of humor—for both its protagonist and any audience rooted in the Christian Orthodox world.
Rainer Sarnet’s latest film is a lot of things. It’s wuxia. It’s Soviet kitsch. It’s Bruce Lee, and Tarantino, and B-movie, and maximalism, and a bit of Wes Anderson. It’s religious satire, coming-of-age, rock’n’roll, ’70s funk—and maximalism again. It’s a stew of influences like the kind you’d only taste from a chef who loves what he’s doing. Above all, The Invisible Fight is a love letter to cinema and to life itself.
The premise, in fact, is deceptively simple: what if martial arts—usually (stereotypically) associated with monks of Eastern faiths—were practiced by Orthodox monks as well? This perceived sacrilege launches a satirical frenzy in a hidden monastery somewhere in the 1970s USSR, unfolding to the sounds of rock and metal. With a healthy dose of humor, Sarnet highlights the similarities between metalheads (bearded, dressed in black) and monks (also bearded, also dressed in black), and mocks the church without a hint of shame—but all in the name of something noble: love and inclusive faith.
So when Rafael (Ursel Tilk), a young border guard stationed at the USSR-China frontier, miraculously survives a kung-fu ambush by hippie monks who worship Black Sabbath, he vows to devote his life to martial arts. Unwittingly, he embarks on an inner journey in pursuit of spiritual purity—a fight that proves impossible to win, especially within the tight confines of Christian Orthodoxy. Not only must he memorize texts and obey commandments, but he must also dodge sin under the watchful eye of Irinei (Kaarel Pogga), adding a buddy-cop dynamic to a film already bursting with genre influences.
The battle for purity gets even harder with the arrival of Rita (Ester Kuntu), a demon-woman whose only real “sin” seems to be her resistance to Christian-masculine dominance. Alongside the two ferocious monks, Rita stands as a sharp (but hilarious!) critique of the normality we live in. The rest of the supporting cast—from the anti-Christian secret agent to the ex-con abbot—only enrich the stew with flavors that feel as authentic and home-cooked as cinema can get. All the more impressive is how far this is from being just another slow, gloomy Eastern European tale. The Invisible Fight explodes with personal flair, cementing Rainer Sarnet as an auteur who—put simply—must be seen.
Sunday, June 15, 9:30 PM / Bánffy Castle, Bonțida
Wednesday, June 18, 8:30 PM / Cinema Dacia, Mănăștur