Setting: a picturesque manor on the Estonian coast. Three couples arrive at a relationship retreat, each burdened by layers of pain built up over the years. The intensive retreat strips away their defences, forcing them to face even their most uncomfortable emotions – all while the couple running the camp struggles to hold their own crumbling relationship together. When comedy and trauma collide, the result is a chaotic yet deeply moving chamber drama.
Writer-director Paavo Westerberg elevates what starts as an everyday drama into an exceptionally vivid kaleidoscope of human relationships. The couples have come to a turning point of love and hate, fears and desires, but it is still uncertain which direction each will take.
Last year’s most impressive ensemble turns the film into a masterclass in acting: every performance breathes and shines in a way that makes Therapy a rare, powerful and rewarding viewing experience.
Otto Kylmälä