Antti J. Jokinen’s “Purge,” Finland’s official Oscar entry, is based on the widely translated novel and play of the same title by Estonian-Finnish author Sofi Oksanen. The film alternates between two different yet interconnected stories set in rural Estonia: a young prostitute on the run from the Russian mafia in the early 1990s, and a village woman battling personal and socio-political demons during the mid-century Soviet occupation. We first see prostitute Zara (Amanda Pilke) running through the damp night and collapsing in front of the backwoods cabin owned by Aliide (Liisi Tandefelt), a reclusive old woman with a tough-as-nails face and a strong distrust for her scantily dressed surprise visitor. Through a series of flashbacks we learn that Zara was abducted by ultra-violent Russian sex traffickers, and subsequently escaped her domineering pimp. Yet coming to Aliide’s residence isn’t entirely promising for the wretched girl, as...
- 11/29/2012
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
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