The Invisible Fight

Nähtamatu võitlus

64th TIFF: Greek Premiere

What on earth could possibly connect a handful of Orthodox nuns with kung fu, the Soviet Union and Black Sabbath? Of course, it’s the most absurd and irreverent martial arts film of recent memory, one that features a Soviet border guard, a hippie, a rocker, and a Bruce Lee enthusiast seeking refuge in a monastery inhabited by Shaolin monks. He grapples with the pursuit of divine enlightenment and the arduous path to sainthood, all the while contending with the persistent allure of a woman. Amidst this, a perpetual rivalry with the monastery's favored individual lurks in the shadows like stealthy ninjas, poised for an imminent showdown of righteousness. A showdown accompanied by (metal) music, fasting, and prayer. The film is like an (un)Orthodox Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon whose arrival no one could have predicted.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Rainer Sarnet

Script: Rainer Sarnet

Cinematography: Mart Taniel

Editing: Jussi Rautaniemi

Sound: Janne Laine

Music: Hino Koshiro

Actors: Ursel Tilk, Ester Kuntu, Kaarel Pogga, Indrek Sammul, Taimo Kõrvemaa, Rain Simmul

Production: Homeless Bob Production, White Picture, Neda Film, Helsinki-filmi

Producers: Katrin Kissa

Co-producers: Alise Ģelze, Amanda Livanou, Helen Vinogradov

Costumes: Jaanus Vahtra, Berta Vilipsone-Ieleja

Production Design: Jaagup Roomet, Mārtiņš Straupe

Executive producer: Hiroko Kubo, Hiroko Oda, Mami Akari, Rain Rannu, Yohann Comte, Aleksi Bardy

Make Up: Anu Konze

Format: DCP

Color: Color

Production Country: Estonia, Latvia, Greece, Finland

Production Year: 2023

Duration: 115'

Contact: Levelk

Rainer Sarnet

Rainer Sarnet is a film director who mainly writes his own scripts, often basing them on literature. Sarnet, who is passionate about Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Orthodox mysticism, has in addition to filmmaking also directed plays in the theater, based on texts by Stanisław Przybyszewski and Elfride Jelinek, among others, and considers reading one of his favorite activities. The Invisible Fight is his third feature film with Homeless Bob Production, after The Idiot (2011) and November (2017). “Art is a poetic way to describe human psychology,” Sarnet has said.