Rhino () is a 2021 drama film written and directed by Oleg Sentsov, created as a co-production of Ukraine, Poland and Germany.Rhino (movie official website). rhinomovie.org. 2021
The world premiere of Rhino took place on September 9, 2021, at the 78th Venice Film Festival in the Orizzonti section.
Plot
A young man grows up in a rural Ukrainian village. Coming of age in the 1990s, he is a delinquent and petty thug. He is forced to join the Ukrainian mafia for protection after a smaller mafia-associated gang, led by a man called "Skull", threatens his family. Now that they are both under the same organization, Skull cannot touch him. He is nicknamed "Rhino" by his boss for his headstrong nature.
Rhino rapidly adjusts to criminal life, acting as hired muscle in a variety of tasks, such as protection rackets, abductions, arson, and targeted killings. He prospers, earning a steady wage, earns subordinates of his own, and marries his pregnant girlfriend in a lavish wedding ceremony.
Now in his thirties, Rhino and his gang are largely autonomous; the larger mafia organization lets them act without consequences as long as they provide a consistent cut of profits. Rhino becomes increasingly disillusioned as his gang becomes more violent and the relationship with his wife and child deteriorates.
A special prosecutor is sent from the capital to build a case against Rhino and other mafia members. He offers Rhino a plea deal in exchange for being an informant, but instead Rhino is paid by the organization to assault him and destroy the records of mafia members. After Rhino and his gang have a drunken orgy to celebrate the massive payday, his wife and child leave him, and are killed in an automobile accident. An increasingly paranoid and callous Rhino deteriorates, taking on even more violent jobs while falling into drug addiction as escapism.
While high and hallucinating, Rhino assaults members of Skull's gang. Deciding to break the truce between mafia-affiliated gangs, Skull abducts Rhino, and hammers nails through his feet, pinning him to the floor of a barn. After the torture, Rhino takes the chance to kill Skull, before ripping his feet from the ground and escaping.
After recovering in the hospital, Rhino learns that he has become a fugitive. The other members of his gang are dead or missing, and their stash has been emptied. He meets with one of his mafia contacts to secure cash and a pistol, which he uses to kill the rest of Skull's gang who are driving his stolen car. He smuggles himself to Germany, and works as a laborer. One of his missing gang members shows up and attempts to convince Rhino to return; suspicious, he lures him out to the forest. Discovering that his friend is actually part of a hit squad, Rhino kills and buries them, sparing his friend who promises to lie that the mission was successful.
Still tormented by his dead wife, Rhino returns to Ukraine, and recounts his life story to a mysterious man, the framing device of the film. The man reminds him of a suppressed memory; he had killed a child when he eliminated Skull's gang. Rhino, reflecting on the mysterious man's words, realizes he has nothing left in his life. Provoking a pair of thugs on the street, they stab him repeatedly as he names all the people who died because of his actions. Mortally wounded, he crawls to find a scattering of his family photos on the pavement, which he embraces as he dies.
Cast Serhii FilimonovRhinoYevhen ChernykovMan in the carYevhen GrygorievPlusAlina ZevakovaMarinaMariia ShtofaRhino's sisterIryna MakRhino's motherSerhii SmiianRhino's fatherDmytro LozovskyiRhino's brotherIvan TamashevMiddle RhinoDmytro DimaLittle RhinoOleksandr RudynskyiRedYevhen SvitlychnyiKarasSerhii MaydeburaMeatVladyslav DerduhaScullGeorgiy PovolotskyiTuchaVitaliy TyutenkoChichaVolodymyr "Adolfych' ShamrayDad
Production Budget
In July 2020, Ukraine's Council for State Support of Cinematography made a decision to support the Rhino film project – funding received from the Ukrainian State Film Agency was ₴25million, which amounted to about 50% of the film's total budget of ₴50million (€1.6million).Фільм Сенцова отримає 25 мільйонів з бюджету — Ткаченко // ukrinform.ua. 09.07.2020 Overall the film has received ₴46million (€1.45million) in funding from governmental film institutions which represents around 92% of the overall budget of ₴50million (€1.6million); speficifcally, the Ukrainian State Film Agency contributed 50% (₴25million / €800,000), the Council of Europe's Eurimages Fund contributed 17% (₴8.6million / €270,000),Oleg Sentsov, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Emily Atef among Eurimages funding recipients // screendaily.com/Фільм «Носоріг» Олега Сенцова підтримано фондом EURIMAGES . arthousetraffic.com/ua/. 16 жовтня 2020Oleg Sentsov, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Emily Atef among Eurimages funding recipients. screendaily.com. 16 жовтня 2020Eurimages: Co-production funding in 2020. coe.int 2020 the Polish Film Institute contributed 15% (₴7.5million / €232,600 / 1millionzł),Проєкт фільму «Носоріг» Сенцова виграв фінансову підтримку від Польського кіноінституту. detector.media. 3 квітня 2020Poland: Market analysis 2020. filmneweurope.com. 2020PISF przyznał dotacje. Oleg Sencow otrzymał milion złotych na nowy film. onet.pl. 5 квітня 2020SESJA 1/2020; PO Produkcja filmowa; Priorytet VI: Produkcja koprodukcji mniejszościowych. pisf.pl. 2020 and the German film fund Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg contributed 10% (₴4.8million / €150,000).Medienboard Förderzusagen Film April 2020 medienboard.de. 2020
Screenplay The story centers around a gangster Rhino, who's trying to survive Ukraine's "wild 90s". In August–September 2021 in his interviews for Deadline Hollywood and The Hollywood Reporter Sentsov confessed that he decided to make a movie about Ukraine's wild crime-infested 90s because he believes that to date "[Ukraine hasn't made any] movies about the “wild” 90s". Sensov also shared that the prototype for the film's main character, Rhino, was one of Sentsov's friends.Oleh Sentsov Talks Getting His Life Back After Release From Russian Prison & Making “Wild” 90s Ukraine Story ‘Rhino’ – Venice. deadline.com. August 27, 2021Director Oleh Sentsov on New Film ‘Rhino’ and How His “Spirit Got Stronger” After Time in Prison. hollywoodreporter.com. 3 September 2021
Filming In 2012 film's director and writer Oleh Sentsov presented Rhino film project at the industry platform of the Sofia International Film Festival, where it received awards for Best Project and Best Pitching.First look at Oleg Sentsov’s ‘Rhino’ set for Bulgaria’s Sofia Meetings // screendaily.com/ Top 100 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2021: #68. Oleg Sentsov’s Rhinoceros // IONCINEMA.COM Additionally in 2012 Sentsov presented Rhino film project at the producer pitching meeting of Odesa International Film Festival where the project won a grant of ₴25 thousand.UK Компанія UDP вручила премію за найкращий пітчинг переможцю конкурсу - проєкту "Носоріг". oiff.com.ua. 13 вересня 2012 However, work on the film was suspended in 2014 due to Sentsov's illegal arrest by Russian security services and his subsequent incarceration. Work on the project only resumed after Oleh Sentsov was released by Russia in September 2019 as a part of Russia-Ukraine prisoner exchange.
Filming began in July 2020 and ended in December 2020 and took place in Kryvyi Rih, Lviv and Kyiv.Сенцов завершив зйомки фільму «Носоріг». ukrinform.ua. 05.12.2020
The film is a co-production of Ukraine, Poland and Germany. The Ukrainian side of production is represented by producer Denys Ivanov's Arthouse Traffic and Oleh Sentsov's Cry Cinema. Polish partners are Apple Film Production, German – Ma.ja.de. film company. The international distributor of the film is WestEnd Films.Venice Horizons Contender ‘Rhino’ Picked Up for Global Sales by WestEnd Films (EXCLUSIVE). variety.com. 26 липня 2021
Marketing Promotion On September 6, 2021, industry publication cineuropa.org released the first official international film poster.EXCLUSIVE: Poster for Venice Orizzonti title Rhino. cineuropa.org/en/. 6 September 2021 A day later on September 7, 2021, industry publication Deadline released the first official international film trailer.‘Rhino’ Debut Trailer: Oleh Sentsov Drama Set For Venice Premiere. Deadline Hollywood. 7 September 2021З’явився трейлер нового фільму Сенцова «Носоріг». radiosvoboda.org. 7 September 2021 (in Ukrainian)Вийшли міжнародні трейлер та постер фільму «Носоріг» Олега Сенцова. ukrinform.ua. 7 September 2021 (in Ukrainian)Сенцов презентував трейлер свого нового фільму «Носоріг»: як залишитись людиною в «лихі» 90-ті (ВІДЕО). detector.media. 7 September 2021 (in Ukrainian) Fostylen magazine called the trailer impressive.Sentsov's film "Rhino" about the turbulent 90s in Ukraine to be shown in Venice. The first trailer is impressive. fostylen.com/en/. 08.09.2021
Release The world premiere of Rhino took place on September 9, 2021, at the 78th Venice Film Festival in the Orizzonti section; it was the closing film of the Orizzonti section.‘Rhino’ Helmer Oleh Sentsov Reflects on Life After Prison . variety.com. Sep 2, 2021Orizzonti 2021. labiennale.org/en/. 2021Nosorih (Rhino) . labiennale.org/en/. 2021Nosorih / Orizzonti. daily2021.venezianews.it/en/. 10 вересня 2021
Reception Critical response Rhino has an approval rating of 78% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 9 reviews, and an average rating of 7/10.
Awards and nominations Venice Film Festival — Orizzonti Section, Nomination: Best Film Batumi International Art-House Film Festival — International competition, Nomination: Best Film; Winner: Best Actor (Serhii Filimonov)BIAFF 2021 Closing Ceremony and Awards , BIAFF website (24 September 2021) Warsaw Film Festival — International competition, Nomination: Best FilmINTERNATIONAL COMPETITION, Warsaw Film Festival website (22 September 2021) Thessaloniki International Film Festival — Open Horizons, Non-CompetitionRhino , Thessaloniki International Film Festival website CPH PIX — The Wild Side, Non-CompetitionRhino , CPH PIX website Stockholm International Film Festival — International competition, Winner: Best Film, Best Actor (Serhii Filimonov) Oleg Sentsov's film "Rhino" won at the Stockholm Film Festival, Ukrayinska Pravda (18 November 2021) 52nd International Film Festival of India — International Panorama, Non-Competition55 cinematic gems from across the world to be presented at World Panorama Section, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (18 November 2021) Les Arcs Film Festival — Playtime, Non-CompetitionPlaytime Program , Les Arcs Film Festival website Ulsan International Film Festival — UIFF Premiere, Non-CompetitionRhino, Ulsan International Film Festival website Sofia International Film Festival — Special screening, Non-CompetitionOleg Sentsov's new project - "RHINO" with a special screening at the upcoming 26th Sofia Film Festival , Sofia International Film Festival website (1 February 2022) Taipei Golden Horse Fantastic Film Festival — Fantasy of the Year, Non-Competition12 Films you shouldn’t miss at the Golden Horse Fantastic Film Festival 2022 , Asian Film Festivals (9 April 2022) International Istanbul Film Festival — International competition, Nomination: Best FilmRhino , International Istanbul Film Festival website D'A Film Festival — Transicions, Nomination: Audience AwardRhino , D’A Film Festival website Transilvania International Film Festival — TIFF For Ukraine, Non-CompetitionFree access, special screenings and music for the Ukrainian community at #TIFF2022 , Transilvania International Film Festival website (20 April 2022) Lubuskie Lato Filmowe — Main Competition, Winner: Best FilmWerdykt Jury Konkursu Głównego 51. Lubuskiego Lata Filmowego – Łagów 2022 , Lubuskie Lato Filmowe website (3 July 2022) Aegean Film Festival — Feature films, Non-CompetitionFilms 2022 , Aegean Film Festival website