The Fencer

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Klaus Härö directs. Tuomo Hutri behind the camera. Gert Wilden Jr. scores. Ueli Christen cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Germany, Estonia, Finland. Dialogue in Armenian, Estonian, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Shot for just $2.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
• 2Released 11 years ago.
• 3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Armenian, Estonian, Russian.
• 4International production across 3 countries: Germany, Estonia, Finland.
• 5Directed by Klaus Härö, shot by Tuomo Hutri. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Original score by Gert Wilden Jr.. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 7Editor Ueli Christen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 8Märt Avandi and Ursula Ratasepp and Hendrik Toompere carry the top of the cast.
• 9IMDB entry: tt2534634 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Only 90 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography

Tuomo Hutri

Original score

Gert Wilden Jr.

Editing

Ueli Christen

Production design

Jaagup Roomet

Costume design

Tiina Kaukanen

Makeup / hair

Grete Lill

Sound

Maik Siegle

Runtime

98 min · 1h 38m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$2,250,000

Original language

ET

Certification (US)

A

IMDB

The Fencer (2015) ↗

Also by

Klaus Härö

• 
  Letters to Father Jacob

  2009 · ★ 7.1
• 
  Mother of Mine

  2005 · ★ 6.7
• 
  One Last Deal

  2019 · ★ 6.7
• 
  The New Man

  2007 · ★ 6.6
• 
  Never Alone

  2025 · ★ 6.5
• 
  My Sailor, My Love

  2022 · ★ 6.3

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  The Fencer Trailer #1 (2017) | Movieclips Indie

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Reno2016-04-04
  ★ 7.5/10

  Looking for a new start while the past is on the tail. The 2016's Golden Globe nominee and also Finland's submission for the Oscars in the same year, but failed to get into the final five. Produced by the Baltic nations that set in when Estonia was a part of the USSR in the early 50s. It chronicles the story of Endel Nelis, a man who's on the run arrives in a small town called Haapsalu to teach the school children sports. As his life is in danger, he intends to keep a low profile for a while. But seems everything is turning around him against him when he decides to teach his students fencing. It brings a large attention to the surroundings. Then comes a time where he must confront what he's hiding from which brings an end to the narration with little extended end part that reveals further details about the later event. "It's good to have them focus on something, keep them occupied. It takes their mind off things." This is a very short story, but somehow the movie managed to run for the 90 minutes with a good pace. It did not cover the entire life story of Endel Nelis, but a small slice. So you definitely feel desperate to know about his past, but this film does not compromise on that. It has a great background score, and overall it is a very inspiring movie. The actors were so simple, but very good in their parts. Other than the lead character Endel, the two kids Marta and Jaan were excellent. The romance was as its sub-plot, but the theme was sport so all the concentration on the fencing and nothing else. In a couple of sections it feels so cliche, but since it was based on the real, there's nothing to do about it than accepting it. Fencing is not a popular sport in the world, so it is good to see a movie about it, but sadly it was not internationally well recognised. Like I said earlier the story was quite small, so I can't describe it in a large scale. I think I said everything I wanted to. In its limitedness the movie was pretty impressive. Not everyone who saw it going to suggest it for you, but it is worth a try. 7½/10

  Read full review ↓
• badelf2023-12-04
  ★ 8/10

  This post- WW II story is based on real life events. It is an historical film that is both life-affirming and heartwarming. The Fencer is Estonia's Karate Kid. So much so, that it's the best "feel good" movie I've seen in a quite a while.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• KI

  Kick Film

  DE

• 

  Making Movies

  FI

• 

  Allfilm

  EE

Key crew

• Assistant Art DirectorKarin Tetsmann
• Assistant Costume DesignerPille Küngas
• Makeup ArtistGrete Lill
• Makeup ArtistHella Marats
• GafferTaivo Tenso
• ProducerKaarle Aho
• Production DesignJaagup Roomet
• Costume DesignTiina Kaukanen
• Still PhotographerRenee Altrov
• Steadicam OperatorTomas Riuka
• Special Effects SupervisorRauno Linnamäe
• Still PhotographerAnnika Haas
• Steadicam OperatorSiim Kaarel Saluri
• EditorUeli Christen
• Still PhotographerTuomo Manninen
• ProducerKai Nordberg
• EditorTambet Tasuja
• CastingPiret Toomvap-Schönberg
• Special Effects CoordinatorKonsta Mannerheimo
• Makeup ArtistSirle Teeäär
• Sound Effects EditorPeter Riegel
• Visual Effects CoordinatorTuomo Hintikka
• Sound Re-Recording MixerMaik Siegle
• Makeup ArtistKristel Kärner

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• sports
• fencing

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical2016-03-31A

Also known as

International titles

• Endel der FechterDE
• MiekkailijaFI