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, Raimonds Celms, Martins Vilsons

12 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Oto Brantevics	...	Arturs Vanags
Raimonds Celms	...	Edgars Vanags
Martins Vilsons	...	Vanags
Jekabs Reinis	...	Mikelsons
Gatis Gaga	...	Konrads
Renars Zeltins	...	Spilva
Vilis Daudzins	...	Sala
Greta Trusina	...	Marta
Ieva Florence	...	Mirdza
Rezija Kalnina	...	Mother
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lauma Balode	...	Mother of Gatis
Oskars Holsteins	...	Extra
Pjotrs Karpuhins	...	Krievijas armijas generals

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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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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User Reviews

Great Latvian movie, reminiscent of 1917

Great movie, just watched it in an English cinema with subtitles. The visit was spontaneous with no prior knowledge of the movie nor the preceding book. It was a fantastic representation of the suffering of a small country torn apart by war. The story gets off to a swift start and scarcely moves away from the battlefield. I don't want to reveal any spoilers, but it's a fairly constant rollercoaster of ups and downs during perilous times. I would highly recommend anyone to watch the movie, very good, and thought provoking. Enjoy.

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