An Estonian black-and-white comedy in the style of Bela Tarr? Brace yourself, because Veiko Òunpuu’s “The Temptation of St. Tony” gets way stranger than its unique approach.
Amusing and completely queer, the rest of the film follows the tone set by this opening sequence. Tony, a middle- to upper-class man, begins to question life upon his father’s death. Despite his good deeds in this weird world (which include giving to the homeless and being a good Samaritan), he continues to find difficulty because of his kind soul that is continuously taken advantage of. His wife cheats on him with a co-worker at a party he’s attending, he is a target of suspicion of the police after reporting a discovery of a dozen severed hands in a forest, etc. Things only get worse when he finds mutual interest in a beautiful woman who pushes him away when she discovers he is the man who fired an entire factory, which included her elderly father. Somehow, this woman gets involved in a surreal sex/cannibalistic clique, and our hero attempts to save her in a part redemption, part quest of love.
The driving plot comes out sporadically, spending most of its time developing the main character’s life and the people around him, with various scenes focusing on what it means to be “good.” Is Tony a modern day Job? Could be, as the film is ripe with religious connections (the opening even quotes Dante Aligheri’s work). While always very humorous, the subject matter and narrative of the film can get overly dense and metaphorical at times which makes it very easy to get confused and waste time focusing on what the director is trying to say. Something that also would’ve helped the film would’ve been a deeper look at Tony himself; if Òunpuu had opened the character up more emotionally, scenes toward the end which feature him fighting to get his beloved back would have had a much deeper impact (something along the lines of “Brazil“). Because of its lacking heart, the film can come off as relatively cold.
However, it’s all just part of the observant technique, and more heart to the character could’ve completely destroyed everything. Too much of the film works excellently to speculate what could’ve been, and if it really would have been better. There’s a hugely delicate tone set, one that’s both hilarious and somber, and it’s the thing that really keeps the film going. In fact, what might be the oddest thing of all is how the director is able to make a movie with a minimalist storyline, watchful shooting style, and nearly two-hour running time go by like nothing. It’s certainly commendable and something that the filmmakers responsible for influencing the movie weren’t able to do.
There could not be more acclaim for the comedic aspects, where Òunpuu focuses on the visual rather than the dialogue to elicit laughs. This brings to mind the cinematography, which not only works for farce but for the general atmosphere and mood. The comparison to Bela Tarr is obvious in the shooting style, imploring gorgeous black-and-white long takes. If anything, the camera work is a bit more anxious than Tarr; often moving and tracking quicker than the auteur’s typical work. There’s a blatant class contrast contained in the visuals, showcasing the grand house owned by mid-level manager Tony and detailing the slummy areas in which most of the other characters dwell, including the aforementioned love interest. These framed set pieces not only bring Tarr to mind (specifically the slums) but also early Antonioni (the grand interiors remind specifically of “The Eclipse“). As for how this filmmaker uses it, the visuals only compliment the comedy: in what would be too on-the-nose in a more serious film, a scene of the fired factory workers exiting the premises while Tony slowly cuts through the crowd with his BMW is not only amusing and terrifically blocked, but it’s visually stark and striking, containing the now dormant factory looming in the background with a beautiful grey sky surrounding the rest of the frame. Despite the comedic take on everything, the visuals remind us of the gloominess of each given situation.
Despite its small gripes, the film is mostly successful, and is one of the few modern pictures that is a true experience. While it had a screening at Sundance, surely it didn’t get its due in a festival focusing on the next big quirky indie hit, though props to them for programming something this off-kilter and intriguing. It’s the rare kind of comedy that doesn’t just give laughs and half-ass everything else and expect that to be enough: it works and succeeds in being a great film. Consistently bizarre and cinematically alluring, “The Temptation of St. Tony” is a triumph, and proves that you can make people laugh while taking cues by some of cinema’s best. [A-]