KLAUS HÄRÖ

THE FENCER (2016)

Starring Märt Avandi, Ursula Ratasepp, Liisa Koppel and Lembit Ulfsak. Directed by Klaus Härö.

It’s 1953, and Endel is on the run. With his war-time affiliations catching up with him, he eludes the secret police in Leningrad and flees to a remote Estonian village. There he tries to keep a low profile by taking a menial job in the sports department at the local school, but his efforts to give the students a proper physical education are quickly frustrated by a lack of resources.

But once Endel – a skilled fencer – locates a few foils in the gym, he starts an after-school club for the kids, who for their part are eager to learn. Yet the strong rapport he builds with his young students only raises the ire of the party-loyalist school principal, who’s already suspicious of his past. Soon it’s impossible for Endel to avoid attention.