WarmHearted Film About a StoneHearted Boy T

rauma awareness has improved considerably in the past years. At least, that’s how it seems when you look how the media spotlight moves to the corners that have remained largely in shadows until now: from domestic abuse to mental health problems. These topics are hard to tackle, even for grown-ups, not to mention kids, for whom the experience of grief and loss is even harder to process, and it is up to the adults to figure out how to discuss such matters with them.

Screenwriters Livia Ulman and Andris Feldmanis, and director Ilmar Raag have taken on the complex task of doing just that. Children’s films tend to have a reputation for being overly sincere and simplistic – stories about a world that is still untouched by

The critics have done their job mundane adult problems; about a brighter, lighter, more noble life. Erik Stoneheart could be called a children’s film as well, but the makers have much more on their mind than your average brightly-coloured adventure.

Talking about genre, the beginning of the film contains even traces of horror. The film’s title character Erik (Herman Avandi) and his parents arrive at their new family home – a mansion that resembles a bleakish castle, inherited from grand-aunt Brunhilde who was interested in occultism. Instead of ghosts they encounter another family living at the far end of the house – a schoolteacher father, and his daughter Maria (Florin Gussak) who doesn’t exactly give Erik a warm welcome.

Maria sets the film’s central journey in motion when the kids

Erik Stoneheart

By Andrei Liimets

start looking for the girl’s mother. She vanished on a science expedition, captured by Somalian pirates. So a small motorboat heads out to sea and the journey to Africa commences. But instead of the faraway continent, the kids end up in the mysterious In-BetweenWorld – a place where life and death meet.

Ships and pirates in the worlds of children have set sail a few times before in Estonian cinema – Peeter Simm’s 1982 adventure Arabella, Pirate’s Daughter and Captain Morten and the Spider Queen by Kaspar Jancis come to mind. Captain Morten and Erik Stoneheart are both international co-productions with some of Estonia’s all-time highest film budgets.

Technically, the kids’ journey is impressive. There is an abundance of visual effects at play, uncommon for an Estonian production – talking paintings, cloud masses covering the sky, the world turning to ashes. In an unusual move, two cinematographers were employed – Tuomo Hutri and feature film debutante Ivar Taim both contributing to the high-quality visual style, emphasized by the great work of production designer Kari Kankaanpää, and costume designer Anu Lensment. The InBetween-World looks like a very convincing post-apocalyptic place.

Unfortunately, Captain Mor- ten also serves as a cautionary example, because despite its ambitious artistic execution, the story remained uninteresting for kids, and the box office was a shipwreck.

Erik Stoneheart will most likely not experience the same fate, but its tonality is just as risqué. Mostly dark and threatening, especially on the pirate ship where the bulk of the story takes place; the premiere was witness to a few walkouts and lots of tears during the final act. The authors were most probably well-aware of their choices and the possible consequences.

Erik Stoneheart doesn’t try to steer clear of the more serious topics, it addresses them head on.

Today, when children’s suicide attempts are breaking new records, with Estonia near the top of the list, there is no reason to believe that the situation can be resolved by talking to kids in the language of shiny rainbows and pink ponies. Erik Stoneheart gets its title from the character’s belief that nothing can hurt him. This is not an expression of strength, but isolation, due to a lack of intimacy and understanding.

The children find themselves from the In-BetweenWorld – a place where life and death meet.

Ilmar Raag, a film director with a strong social conscience, is known for addressing young audiences. Mainly slightly older ones, like in The Class about bullying, or the road movie I Will Not Come Back. The standards will not be lowered here due to the “children’s film” tag though, and as always, Raag refrains from giving a black and white interpretation of good and evil, much like in his previous films.

The central symbol of Erik Stoneheart’s fantasy world is a mirror that forces everyone to look right back at themselves and reality. To deal with a problem, one has to acknowledge and address it first, regardless of age. Similar to Jaak Kilmi’s The Sleeping Beast, Erik Stoneheart seems to be driven forward by its desire to tell stories for children without simplifying the world around them, or avoiding difficult questions. Beyond the dark tones beats a warm heart that believes in speaking to children as equals; and believes that empathy can perform the real miracle that helps us out from the darkest corners. EF