Autumn Ball

Imagine Ulrich Seidl cross-pollinated with a bit of Aki Kaurismaki and the tone of Autumn Ball becomes clear. Bleakly pessimistic yet marbled with moments of very dark humor, pic hovers within the transition period immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union, presenting characters desperately reaching for unattainable happiness. Winter of discontent is more like it, with helmer Veiko Ounpuu withholding any hope that interpersonal connections will germinate in the unfertile soil.
– JAY WEISSBERG, VARIETY

I would appraise the infl uences proportionally as follows: twenty percent Unt, five Viivi Luik, fi fty percent Tarkovsky diluted by Kaurismäki, and twenty-five percent sickly ambition. And, of course, the usual duo – Christ and Karlo Funk – without whom it is impossible to make a good film in contemporary Estonia.
– DIRECTOR VEIKO ÕUNPUU