Film review: Rendel

Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by! Today I am very happy, as I will be reviewing a film for you, a first on a series of posts I am planning to do this year. I cannot tell you how shaken I am now and how incredible this feels! I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did watching and writing about it. This is a great film to watch, and I will tell you all about it next.

Our story begins in Finland and our hero is Rendel, a masked vigilante that wages a war against VALA corporation. Rendel is driven by hatred and revenge, as he has suffered a lot at the hands of his enemies. He is blinded by his passion for justice and his will to right the wrongs that VALA did to his city, Mikkeli, with the introduction of an untested vaccine called Nh21. Rendel, we later understand is Hungarian and means order, which is a key point to understand better our protagonist and his actions. He is one tortured fellow and this is the prism under which we should see and judge him.

While starting from the superhero genre, and being Jesse Haaja’s love letter to the genre classics, it is nothing like a light-hearted action film. It is dark and gritty, like the Punisher’s world and morals, while also having a  unique identity that the director has expertly carved. It is not just one more superhero film, like the dime in the dozen out now, it is rather something raw and exciting. The darkness of the film and the noir-esque feel of it in the Finnish background is artfully juxtaposed by genuine hunour injections, like when the goons are fighting over the meaning of “take care of him” or when Radek is taken down in an impressive way.

The film’s photography is very well done, without closely resembling the style of say, J.J. Abrams, which I do not really care for. The dark, raw brutality permeates the whole film, however the fights’ choreography leaves something wanting. At some points it feels too “staged” and not natural enough, and that may distract you from the point the film is trying to make. However, at no moment during the film you will feel scratching your head, as the story follows a logical route. The most important thing? The exposition behind the hero’s (or anti-hero’s) motives is done just right.

Another thing I loved about the film is the musical score. As an avid music listener, I believe that Tuomas Kantelinen did a fantastic job with it. A composer with operas and chamber music under his belt, Tuomas Kantelinen has definitely created something spectacular. The music is aptly placed within the film, it doesn’t distract you; rather it flows and ebbs with the action displayed before you. I think that music in a film should be all about it and have a character and the musical score of Rendel does it justice. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

What really surprised me and what I kept from the film is a phrase that Mr. Erola, the head of VALA corporation, used: “This world would be a better place without investigative journalists”. This is particularly poignant to me, considering that during 2017, 54 journalists were killed and 219 journalists and media assistants were imprisoned, according to the Reporters Without Borders (RWB)’s stats. The world (and its mentalities) needs to change and investigative journalism is the key, so yes in my opinion the film gets a bit political too (and this is not at all bad, don’t get me wrong!)

The film will be out in February 25th, so if you are looking for a brooding, dark and raw superhero film, the Finnish Rendel is the answer to your questions. It may be predictable at times, but the feel of it and its director’s unique glance brings about a tale of a hero that is seriously flawed, like the rest of us. Nuanced and inspiring, Rendel is a film worth-watching in my opinion. You will not feel disappointed!

You can pre-order it now at:

https://amzn.to/2VoT5lV
⬇️https://apple.co/2GIbQvT

Till next time,

Sofia-Maria