10/08/2021 - We talked to the Estonian director about his film, which is really for the whole family, even though parents might need to answer some questions after the screening

(© Kristin Kalamees)

In Kratt [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rasmus Merivoo
film profile], screening at Fantasia, an old myth literally comes to life once again – thanks to two kids, bored out of their minds during their offline summer. Unfortunately, it means that their grandma is, well, not really their grandma any more, but rather a murderous demon who needs to work all the time. Luckily, there are pancakes that come with it. We spoke to its director, Rasmus Merivoo.

Cineuropa: The “kratt” is something I am slowly discovering thanks to Estonian films, and it’s great – it’s the kind of mythical creature that would make sense in our contemporary world.
Rasmus Merivoo: That was the reason I needed to make the film. We are surrounded by all of these tools that are constantly asking us for more work. I felt that a little warning from the past might be a good idea.

When you make a family-friendly film, too much violence is usually off-limits. But you haven’t really held back, have you?
At one point, I understood that I needed to be honest. It is comedy, and of course there are children in the story, but when something happens in real life, you don’t have a “family filter” on. Besides all the blood, there are words here that aren’t really suitable for children. But if I were to get rid of them, it would be self-censorship. It’s hard to tell honest stories these days because you always have to “sell” it to someone. I got lucky – the guys at [production company] Tallifornia told me I could do whatever I needed to, so it ended up as this weird cocktail.

These kids in the film, they are my own children. I know what they watch: Rick and Morty, Big Mouth. When I would go to see so-called “children’s movies” with them, I felt something was missing. It just felt crooked, like something you want your kids to be interested in. But the world is not just a happy place, and I realised I couldn’t tell this story without giving a clear answer about what happens – that’s where all this body horror came from. When I started to write, it was much gorier – body parts were flying in the air. But I didn’t want to overexploit it either, as giving this impression that violence is fun wouldn’t be honest either. It’s not. Now, families are commenting on social media: “It’s ok; go and watch it with kids, and if they have any questions, it’s your job to answer.” It’s a weird concept, but I have got away with it.

Probably because you know when something is really disturbing, and that’s not the case here. Even though kids might suddenly start asking what’s inside their pizza.
Children are not little idiots, and now, they grow up very fast. When my son was small, he liked this game where you had to hide from a grandmother who wanted to kill you. He started to Google it – they figured out how to do it before they could even write. Later, we found out that on his smartphone, there were all these porn videos featuring grannies. He was looking for images from the game, and that’s what came up!

I was born in the Soviet Union. I remember watching Finnish adverts, hoping I could buy bananas one day. Then, a year later, the Soviet Union collapsed and I was able to do just that. Today, kids are in a similar position – everything changes so fast. My grandfather left me his old car, and I told my kid that one day, he could have it. He said: “I don’t want it – it doesn’t drive itself.” Their ideas of what the future will bring are incredible, so what feels extraordinary to adults can be perfectly normal to kids.

Which is why they react very matter-of-factly to their grandmother’s transformation. They deal with it on their own, also because all the adults are rather hopeless.
There are five storylines that meet in the movie, and I had to condense some ideas. The adults are also more grotesque because of the time limit – they had to bare their soul to the audience much faster. This whole community, that’s where I live as well – it’s the same town. It’s like a small version of Estonia, and Estonia is like a small version of the world. It reflects whatever is happening, even this social-media revolution, although kids aren’t on Facebook any more – their parents are. That’s where they go when they want to change things. In some ways, my film is like a nature documentary: you show how little people live, how the whole world affects them and how they affect the whole world. You know, just like with ants in the forest. It’s like that exchange in the film, when someone asks how long it lasts. “It’s forever.” If you watch Kratt many times in a row, you will understand that it starts right where it ends. It all runs in a loop.