Kratt is one of the quirkiest movies I have seen in some time. Directed by Rasmus Merivoo, it follows some children stuck with their Grandma while their parents go on a trip. The kiddos make local friends, but otherwise are incredibly bored. One night, they listen to their Grandma’s tale of a strange creature called a Kratt that would do work for you if you buy a soul from the devil. This leads to the children trying to make their own Kratt and things going humorously awry.
Filmed in Estonia with Estonian as the main language spoken, the movie takes place in a rural village in the modern day with a nice timeless vibe you get in little towns. There are some really good jokes about the hold technology sometimes has over our lives and the way it impacts our reality in the same manner as a literal devil could.
The closest tonal comparison to Kratt would possibly be the movies of Wes Anderson.
There is just such a zany and off-kilter vibe to all the proceedings, with the movie never being especially scary but at times having some gory and horror elements. After all, if the Kratt isn’t given work it becomes quite homicidal.
The mix of silly and grotesque is good fun, but if I were to have a criticism of the movie it would be how it takes a while to get to the actual Kratt and its shenanigans. With a runtime of just under two hours, we’re about thirty minutes in before the movie really gets going.
Once Kratt gets its main plot in motion the flick is a good time and worth viewing should you be into offbeat productions that meld the silly, snarky, and (at times) slightly nasty. I’d recommend checking it out!
4 out of 5 stars
* * * * *
Produced by Rain Rannu, Tõnu Hiielaid
Written and Directed by Rasmus Merivoo
Starring Mari Lill, Nora Merivoo, Harri Merivoo, Elise Tekko,
Roland Treima, Mari-Liis Lill, Marek Tammets
