The Rifleman (2019)

After losing his mother and his home, Arturs finds some consolation in joining the army. However, war is nothing like he imagined.

Director:

Dzintars Dreibergs

Writers:

Boris Frumin (as Boriss Frumins), Aleksandrs Grins (novel)

Stars:

Oto Brantevics, Greta Trusina, Martins Vilsons

9 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Oto Brantevics	...	Arturs Vanags
Greta Trusina	...	Marta
Martins Vilsons	...	Vanags
Rezija Kalnina	...	Mother
Raimonds Celms	...	Edgars Vanags
Jekabs Reinis	...	Mikelsons
Gatis Gaga	...	Konrads
Renars Zeltins	...	Spilva
Vilis Daudzins	...	Col. Sala
Ieva Florence	...	Mirdza
Natalija Buha	...	Ola
Evita Goze	...	Lola
Ziedonis Lochmelis	...	Apsitis
Sandis Pecis	...	Melcs
Martins Liepa	...	Spelmanis

Storyline

The love story of the sixteen-year-old Arturs gets interrupted by the First World War. After losing his mother and his home, he finds some consolation in joining the army, because this is the first time the Russian Empire permits national battalions. However, war is nothing like Arturs imagined - no glory, no fairness. It is brutal and painful. Arturs is now completely alone as the war takes the lives of his father and brother. Also, no progress is made in the promised quick resolution of the war and timely return home. Within the notion that only he alone cares about returning home and that his homeland is just a playground for other nations, Arturs finds strength for the final battle and eventually returns home to start everything from scratch, just like his newly born country.

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Plot Keywords:

male nudity | male rear nudity | world war one | skinny dipping | murder | 

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Taglines:

A sixteen-year-old Arturs enlists to fight in WWI with dreams of becoming a hero, but after surviving the brutalities of trench warfare and the loss of his family, he wonders if his efforts in battle were futile and if hope is only to be found in rebuilding a family and a home as Latvia itself is born from the atrocities of war.

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Official submission of Latvia for the 'Best International Feature Film' category of the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021.

User Reviews

WOW

Fantastic film. Tough, but it's our history. In my opinion, every citizen of Latvia should see this film. Indeed, one of the best Latvian films I've ever seen. Yes, some battles, especially the Isle of Death and the Battle of Cesis, could have been more depicted, but the scenes of the Christmas fights were something wow.



The only thing I didn't like was the filming style - I don't know if it was done by purpose, but the camera was very often shaking , and at some moments I wasn't able to enjoy the film by 100%. Especially in fighting scenes.



But it's a great movie all over. 9/10



Thank you.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Latvia

Language:

Latvian

Release Date:

8 November 2019 (Latvia)

Also Known As:

The Rifleman

Filming Locations:

Adazi, Latvia

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,750

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kultfilma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 123 min (director's cut)

Color:

Color