Adapting novels, folklore, and religious self-help for the big screen with irony and personal flair, Rainer Sarnet is a director in constant search of new formulas—from modernization, to horror, to kung fu monks. Each time stranger, each time endlessly captivating.
A common criticism aimed at directors who achieve the status of auteur is that they become complacent, endlessly repeating the same stories, themes, and tones. Rainer Sarnet belongs to that rarefied air of the unpredictable auteur, always seeking something new. This was perhaps clear even before he began directing films—Sarnet spent a year working in an animation studio before shifting toward live-action cinema.
Once at the helm of his own projects, Sarnet gradually built a loyal audience in his native Estonia, breaking onto the international scene with The Idiot (2011), a contemporary reimagining of Dostoevsky’s novel. Adapting and directing the Russian author in the 21st century is a natural starting point for Sarnet’s work, as he has consistently stated that he is guided by faith—though his films suggest this guidance is never blind or domineering.
Sarnet’s explosion in popularity came five years later, in 2016, with November, an Estonian take on The Witch (dir. Robert Eggers, 2015), centered around the folkloric monster Kratt—a kind of proto-AI demon robot. The film is far from your standard folk horror, leaning heavily on a striking black-and-white visual identity, amateur acting, and a strange (yet welcoming) sense of humor. Faith is also present in this historical landscape, this time intersecting with an authentically Estonian occultism.
After a bold adaptation and a piece of folk horror, Sarnet’s next step came from an entirely different realm of influence. This time, he blends 1970s Wuxia films with Orthodox monks, drawing inspiration from the book Not of this World by Andrey Shapoval. The film boasts all the glitz of a Hollywood action movie, yet is launched into a shamelessly Slavic kitsch space—in the best possible way.
The Idiot
Tuesday, June 17, 4:45 PM / Cinema ARTA
Sunday, June 22, 10:00 AM / Cinema Victoria
November
Tuesday, June 17, 10:15 PM / Sapientia University
The Invisible Fight
Sunday, June 15, 9:30 PM / Banffy Castle, Bonțida
Wednesday, June 18, 8:30 PM / Cinema Dacia, Mănăștur
Article by Șerban Mark Pop