Welcome to my 2026 project honoring the first quarter of the 21st century. In this extremely lax project I watch a movie from each year to hopefully give myself some insight with what has changed within cinema during this century. At the very least I’ll have watched 25 interesting films and paired them with a dinner inspired by the movie, the place its from, and maybe a little bit of nostalgia for the past 25 years. You can watch along with me or find out what’s up next by checking out the full list of movies.
Today’s feature is from the year 2009, we are headed to Estonia to descend into horror with…
Movie: Püha Tõnu kiusamine [The Temptation of St.Tony]
Year: 2009
Director: Veiko Õunpuu
Country: Estonia
The Elevator Pitch: Middle aged Tõnu suddenly discovers that being a good person in modern society might become a task that destroys him.
How Was the Movie?: If you don’t count Electric Dragon (which I will never stop talking about) this was easily the best movie I’ve seen all year. I think it’s extremely hard to give a review of this movie simply because there is no way to recount the plot without simply not making sense or talking just about the themes without losing a lot of the emotional weight that happens scene to scene.
Suffice it to say that this movie is deeply rooted in traditions of cinema, of economy, of morality, and even of faith. The movie has the borrowed aesthetics of a lot of movie greats, for me it especially brought to top of mind David Lynch and Ingmar Bergman. Unlike Lynch’s delve into the human psyche or Bergman’s religious musing though this film is more (unsurprisingly but also surprisingly because of the name) secular seeming.
In the film our main protagonist Tõnu has a very bad day which begins a series of increasingly strange and frightening confrontations with himself and the people around him which mirror both the land, his personal life, and his inner life. He is consistently asked to be a good person or a bad person and finds there are no real ways to do either. It is both a deeply personal story about mortality in the face of a sick system but also seemingly mirrors Estonia as a state in the global system. Where being a moral actor, making moral choices, come with real trade offs and consequences. The same as we’re seeing on the global stage today.
It’s a deeply beautifully shot film with some wonderful location photography. The black and white is not a gimmick but a way to highlight these brilliantly blinding light and dark situations. While this all seems a bit heavy it’s actually also quite funny and even more so, it’s clever and engaging. I’m not sure how much other people will appreciate its logic which is less dream-like and more mythological and allegorical but as a person who loves epic poetry, I rather enjoyed that. Would recommend to anyone who likes to sit in the dark after the movie is over for a few minutes to think.
What was for Dinner?:
I made the most quintessential Estonian food, hakklihakaste which means minced meat sauce in Estonia and is basically what it says on tin. Minced meat with sour cream, stock, and a bit of flour and seasonings usually served on or with roasted potatoes or mashed potatoes. It’s as delightful as it is comforting. There’s not much to say about it because I’ve actually made it quite a few times but it’s the kind of thing that is a crowd pleaser and makes good leftovers also. I absolutely recommend making a big batch of it for a busy weeknight because it actually tastes even better the next day over rice. 10/10 no notes.
That’s it for 2009, see you in the future year of 2010!