The Disciple (2013)
The Disciple is set in the summer of 1939, when 13-year-old Karl arrives in the Åland Islands in the Baltic Sea to work as lighthouse master Hasselbond’s assistant. Hasselbond, however, turns him down because of his young age. Karl struggles desperately to stay on and makes friends with Hasselbond’s oppressed son, Gustaf, but their friendship changes to rivalry and hate when Hasselbond starts to favor Karl over his own son.
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Excellent, a Must See
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Saw this at the Noordelijk film festival 2014 in Leeuwarden (NL). Self-contained story with a rich variety of details and sub-plots, unexpectedly interesting in spite of begin confined to a single island and a single family. Not a feel-good movie, however, and you have to search a long time to find at least one heart warming scene. The story ends better for the two boys (Karl and Gustaf) than initially assumed, which may be deemed the morale to teach us that good always wins over bad.The father figure (Master Hasselbond) is always insistent on never telling lies, but he spreads a few lies himself and upholds these against all odds. We have to wait some time before the real truth is revealed in the final scene. A lot happens between the first and the last scene, much more than I could have assumed beforehand. It was a nice surprise, given the seemingly simple plot and the very confined location of a lighthouse island with only one family living on it.The sub-plots are varied, and easy to overlook when unprepared (like I was). Three hints as a heads up: (1) keep an eye on the daughter and her dog, (2) on the mother with her piano and the musical compositions lying around, and last-but-not-least (3) on the stories that are told (was he really a hero?) about the deceased son. I cannot reveal much more in danger of spoilers.The festival visitors ranked it 14th (out of 64) with average score 8.5 for the audience award.