60
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Time Out LondonTime Out LondonProps should go to director Klaus Härö for making such a predictable premise feel fresh and his cast of characters – from a suspicious, disapproving headmaster, to the foil-swinging kids – feel engaging.
- 80Total FilmPhilip KempTotal FilmPhilip KempAcutely acted, The Fencer strikes home.
- 70VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangThis well-acted, smoothly crafted drama tells a story of cross-generational bonding in the face of historical oppression, in touching if unsurprising fashion.
- 60Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganScreen DailyFionnuala HalliganThe Fencer plays an entirely predictable match right down to its final bout, but the period Soviet Block setting gives the game an interesting hook, and DoP Thomo Hutri’s muted location shots prove atmospheric.
- 60The GuardianLeslie FelperinThe GuardianLeslie FelperinThe set-up is a bit schmaltzy and the only guesswork is how bitter the bittersweet ending will be, but Haro coaxes strong performances from the cast.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonThe Hollywood ReporterStephen Dalton[A] blankly heroic, clunkingly predictable portrait.
- 50Village VoiceAbbey BenderVillage VoiceAbbey BenderThe Fencer is ultimately too staid: It’s at its best when Nelis shows the art of fencing to his students and the elegant yet dangerous swords are wielded.
- 50The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe director, Klaus Haro, films the proceedings involvingly enough.... But the movie is almost relentlessly predictable and formulaic — a story of one man’s refusal to conform that dutifully hits all its marks.
- 50RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyRogerEbert.comGlenn KennyNone of this is particularly difficult to watch; the cinematic competence, the sincerity with which the clichés get served up, and so on, make a relatively smooth viewing experience. But they also render what would have been an at times harrowing real-life story into something safe and bland.
- Finnish Director Klaus Haro has a sharp eye, and his shots deftly juxtapose the delicate beauty of the Estonian lowlands with the harsh reality of life under Soviet rule. But the script, written by Anna Heinamaa, gives him little more than an aesthetic landscape to work with.