'The Days That Confused' is feature debut for director/writer Triin Ruumet. The film is visually breathtaking with sometimes magnificently haunting score and actors are mostly doing top notch job (actually I didn't expect nothing less considering the cast), and with that my praise basically ends. Estonian cinema (and television) is in the craze of the nostalgia at the moment, and 'The Days That Confused' could have been an excellent addition in that department. It could have been great film (or at least good), but it didn't know what to do with all that juicy material. The pacing is off, the story and script is all over the place - it wanted to be youth comedy/drama and crime drama and something philosophical at the same time, but fell apart. Although it occasionally captured the essence of rural and small town mentality and the characters were spot on (these types still can be seen today in smaller towns) the core was missing. Maybe that was the director's intention to confuse the audience thus the title 'The Days That Confused'. But I think that wasn't the case. The film itself was confused (I think that might go for inexperienced writer/director) and it was confusing. The film had some high points that were followed by the 'why' moments and with too many 'what that supposed to be' moments.
'The Days That Confused' is visually stunning, but devoid of substance. The first couple of minutes could be one of the best opening sequence in Estonian movies ever.
'The Days That Confused' is visually stunning, but devoid of substance. The first couple of minutes could be one of the best opening sequence in Estonian movies ever.