Sügisball

Finally an Estonian film that combines "international" know-how in film-making with a story that is at the same time embedded in the Estonian context and universal. The film describes the life of a series of characters in Lasnamäe, a rather grey bloc house area in Tallinn. And the good news: it avoids all the clichés that could come up when thinking about such depressing neighborhoods. Sügisball is deeply human and the characters are all very complex. The movie shows "the human condition" in autumn colours without abandoning all hope. Visually it is very impressive how Lasnamäe is shown. In some shots the audience is literally diving into this monster out of concrete. We see the daily fight of the protagonists to find love and human contact in an environment that "was created for the future". Full of warmth and depth the film depicts the Lasnamäe in all our minds. Very convincing work!

Movies like this are easy to like. Dramatic, brutal stories told with black humor, interwoven in a way that makes it all a journey into a theme. Magnolia and Shortcuts comes to mind as great examples of this. Sügisball is a good attempt with high ambition, but sadly it fails to follow through on it.

Perhaps if the movie was a bit longer it would not be as obvious, but the characters within the stories told are all to similar. Not only in their loneliness (which, to me, seems to be the central theme of it all), but also in their situation, age, etc. I wish the stories were a bit more varied, as it would not have made the movie as dull as it was at times. But as mentioned, this could maybe have been fixed by shortening it by quite a bit.

That said, there are some great scenes in this movie, and some interesting and memorable characters.

Veiko Õunpuu's Sügisball is a quiet and thoughtful film about loneliness, emotional numbness, and the everyday lives of people in post-Soviet Estonia. Set in a grey apartment complex in Tallinn, the movie follows several characters whose lives overlap in sad and subtle ways. Even though the setting feels cold and harsh, there's something deeply human and relatable in the stories it tells.

The film moves slowly and focuses more on mood than on action. It feels more like a poem than a traditional story, showing how each person struggles with isolation and their desire for connection. The characters feel real-not exaggerated or overly dramatic-but each of them is dealing with a kind of quiet pain. The dark humour and occasional odd moments only highlight how bleak their lives really are.

One of the funniest, yet most surreal moments is a doorman dancing like Michael Jackson. It's strange and unexpected, but it somehow fits. Later, a coat-check worker explodes in frustration at a film director who makes romantic comedies-a moment that's both intense and a little sad. It's followed by a strange and moving scene of an old man laughing alone, which perfectly sums up the film's mix of sadness and absurdity.

Sügisball isn't flashy or fast-paced, but it's powerful in its own quiet way. It's a film that captures the beauty and sadness of everyday life, showing how hard it can be to feel close to others-even when they live just next door.

Autumn Ball (Sügisball) is first feature length film by young and talented film director Veiko Õunpuu. Autumn Ball is very surrealistically real. Pasteltones and sleepiness and soundtrack that created the mood and atmosphere. Autumn Ball is talking about different people who are all lost something and now trying to find it. It's full of complex characters.

Autumn Ball is full of great cast also who make this all possible. Rain Tolk is definitely one of the most talented young male actors in Estonia at the moment.

I can't wait Veiko Õunpuu's next film. He showed his talent in Autumn Ball. Let's hope he'll do it again.

My absolutely favorite Estonian film today and ever! It's about happiness and love (characters live life without love, very depressing and empty life). "Sügisball" is based on beautiful book by Mati Unt. Director said this film is for people with gentle soul and weak liver. Characters in this film are so real, they give foreign viewer very good idea about Estonia in post-Soviet timing. Beautiful music score, 10 star cinematography, final results strong and sophisticated. Best of all characters is probably architect Maurer (and not because I like him!) But all others are also deep and well-designed. May be director can be called Estonian Altman? I think so.