The Latvian director of Soviet Jeans, the 2024 acclaimed series that narrates a romantic political story set in the Soviet era, after his successful feature films Modris in 2014 and Oleg in 2019, returned to Tallinn Black Night with The Exalted. Juris Kursietis’ satire is about cultural tensions between Eastern and Western Europe, viewed through the prism of an upper-class marriage. Anna, a German world-renowned organ soloist, and her husband Andris, a Latvian businessman, try to bear a delicate relationship in the middle of the chaos as if they are dancing romantically on the floor of fire.
The phrase “People are beautiful on top” describes Anna, who is playing the organ on the stage, surrounded by audience interest and festive cheers, showcasing her distinguished nature. However, as we all know, the narrative conceals the truth. Eventually, the harsh reality reveals itself at the airport, as the couple, fresh from a successful performance in Germany, joyfully departs for their destination. Anti-corruption police arrested Andis upon their arrival in Latvia, suspecting him of bribery. Despite Andris’s release on bail, he and Anna remain steadfast in protecting their reputation, opting to carry out the planned celebration and conceal this scandal from their guests. However, a tabloid drone incident exposes the truth, sparking a heated argument and pushing Andis to the brink of stress. Left to grapple with a life-altering decision, Anna must choose between standing by Andris or living behind the life they have built together.
As the guests arrived, it became evident that Anna’s birthday celebration would continue regardless of the circumstances. The guests from different corners of the world are depicting the European diversity of thought and manner. The guests, including Anna’s sister Alexa (Hanna Hilsdorf), her partner Yorgos (Yorgos Pirpassopoulos), Andris’s daughter Elaz (Gerda Embure), and the local church priest (Egons Dombrovskis), fuel the flame of divergence during their time together. The difference between Anna and Andris unravels when Yorgos asks them questions about their careers and relationships. Anna, a genius organ soloist, thinks of the beauty of the music and its impression on the world while Andris enthusiastically talks about how to hunt animals and skin them. The two different dimensions of a grounded phenomenon named “marriage” highlight the conflict between art and money, as well as the devouring nature of capitalism.
The Exalted, as described by Juris Kursietis, provides valuable insights into the distinctions between the smaller Baltic countries and Western Europe, as well as our mutual perceptions. If you come from our region, there’s no chance you haven’t experienced discrimination in a European context. People still perceive us as the exceptions within the family. The discrimination manifests itself when Andris confronts Gabriela (Judith Hofmann), Anna’s agent, and accuses her of the way she has consistently looked at him. Andris, as he said, knows the humiliation of the German look, and here we see the unhealed wounds open to bleed again and again.
Unlike the tranquillity of a beautiful country house nestled in a vast meadow, we witness the restlessness of the upper-class society and the emotional turmoil as the camera moves and captures brief side-to-side shots, capturing incidents in people’s eyes and objects around the house. There is a secretive rage and anxiety beneath the glitter of birthday night, and the cinematographer Bogumil Godfreijow brings it out under the auspices of the camera. We see the uncertainty of fortune while the scandals unravel. However, the moment of acceptance occurs when the shots align harmoniously and the incidents expertly position themselves within the picture frames.
The director of The Exalted believes this film is the mother of two previous ones. Modris and Oleg delve into the themes of individuals who have experienced a particular form of justice as a result of their social and ethnic background. Kursietis, who co-wrote Oleg with his wife Liga Celma-Kursiete, says he received the concept for the film approximately six or seven years ago when a succession of high-profile corruption scandals involving prestigious businesses made headlines in Latvia. “I wasn’t interested in investigating cases, but in how scandals affect families. Did they know or suspect anything? How do you cope when you suddenly lose control? That started to fuel my interest. Then the war in Ukraine made the topic all the more relevant,” says Kursietis. “What happens when you’re in a safe world and your life is suddenly under threat? How do you adapt?”
The Exalted, in which the fingerprint of European filmmaking style is simply perceivable, portrays the power of a grounded story on the inconsistency of motion pictures. Latvia’s White Picture, Estonia’s Stellar Film, and Greece’s Asterisk* produced The Exalted. France’s B-rated is in charge of the film’s world sales.
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