Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- harrowing
- brooding
- suspicious
- serious viewing
- historical drama night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the performances and forceful historical drama, while some found the film overly violent, slow, and reductive compared with its source novel.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Aliide’s 1992 encounter with Zara gradually exposes their relationship and the family’s earlier history.
Aliide’s memories connect Stalinist repression and deportation with guilt over opportunism and manslaughter.
The women’s rivalry, desire, and losses unfold against Estonia’s Soviet occupation and its aftermath.
Restless camerawork and rapid cuts give the period drama an artificial, agitated momentum.
Films like Purge, and why
The Lives of Others
shared historical trauma, female-centered drama, and intergenerational secrets
Ida
shared occupation-era moral compromise, memory, and intimate political drama
Atonement
shared nonlinear historical revelation, female suffering, and wartime family conflict
Movie Details
- Director
- Antti J. Jokinen
- Release Date
- 2012-09-07
- Runtime
- 125 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (64)
Cast
- Laura Birn
- Liisi Tandefelt
- Amanda Pilke
- Peter Franzén
- Kristjan Sarv
- Krista Kosonen
- Tommi Korpela
- Sonja Nüganen
- Kaisa Kaljusaar
- Laura Kiis
Common questions
- What is Purge about?
- Two Estonian women from different generations confront inherited betrayal and the brutal costs of survival under occupation and exploitation.
- What is Purge like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Purge as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Purge violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Purge as graphic.
- What did critics think of Purge?
- Critics broadly praised the performances and forceful historical drama, while some found the film overly violent, slow, and reductive compared with its source novel.
- Which films are like Purge?
- Films with a similar feel include The Lives of Others, Ida, and Atonement.
- How long is Purge?
- Purge runs 125 minutes.
