Estonia

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Set amidst the political and economic havoc caused by the dissolution of the Soviet Union, City Unplugged is based on a simple premise. During World War II, before the Soviet occupation, Estonia sent its national treasury, $900 million dollars in gold, to Paris for safe-keeping, and now they plan to bring it back. That is, if the Russian mob doesn’t have their way. Russian gangsters have hatched a plan to grab the cash during a city wide blackout of their own making. After cornering the market on candles and flashlights, the mob approaches Tovio, a young engineer at the city power plant, and forcefully recruit him into their scheme. Read More »

Tallinn, Estonia, days before the outbreak of World War II. A hotel detective and a Polish writer team up to find Tear of the Prince of Darkness, a legendary ring which can bring Satan’s rule over the world.Read More »

Based on an acclaimed 1935 novel about the War of Liberation (1918-1920) that ensured Estonia’s independence, the film tells about a group of young schoolboys heading to the front to fight the army of Soviet Russia.Read More »

Synopsis:
The young Brazilian journalist Rex Ronney is gathering data for his book on Nordic alcohol smuggling and embarks on a boat trip to Estonia and Finland, where alcohol is prohibited. On the boat, he meets the booze king Kõlgis, whose confidence he wins. Kõlgis issues him a letter of recommendation and sends him to the smuggler Bratt in Tallinn, who is in the service of Mart Martens, who in turn is heavily indebted to Kõlgis. As a result, Betty Martens, his daughter, is compelled to get engaged with Kõlgis. In order to clear her father’s debts, Betty conducts the alcohol transports from Finland herself. When Rex Ronney shows up, it has consequences…Read More »

Kihnu is one of Estonia’s islands, a small piece of land in the Gulf of Riga close to the town of Pärnu. Soosaar looks at the islanders from the point of view of an explorer, just like his filmmaking hero Robert Flaherty once did. Their traditional lifestyle unfolds in front of his camera: customary songs and rituals, and heartfelt images of people’s daily lives. The film takes an anthropological approach to filmmaking, characteristic of a style Soosaar would master in his later pictures.Read More »

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Kaspar and the class pushover Joosep are 16 and life in high school isn’t easy. Without meaning to, Kaspar defends Joosep against the bullying of his classmates, but every time Kaspar tries to him, it backfires, with the class taking it out on Joosep. Kaspar just wants his friends, his girl and his unassuming life back. Joosep wants to regain his dignity and the chance to switch to a high school far away. But their classmates are relentless, going further and further with each incident.Read More »

The young country of Estonia is dancing to the jazzy tune of the 1920’s when on December 1, 1924, the capital Tallinn is overrun by members of the Comintern in an attempt to stage a Communist coup. The film follows the fates of a young soldier called Tanel and his wife, a telephone operator named Anna, amidst the ensuing chaos which determines whether the country remains independent or becomes a minor province in the Communist Empire.Read More »

“Nipernaadi – The Adventurer” by Kaljo Kiisk (1983)

“I walk along gray endless road… I walk and walk”

Review by Taavi Lehari

“Nipernaadi / The Adventurer”, by Kaljo Kiisk (1983) is a sweet Estonian drama with slight humor about Toomas Nipernaadi, a vagabond who hasn’t got any past nor future.

In different Estonian places he gains new identity and presents himself as whoever – sailor, explorer, farmer etc. … whoever as long as he can seduce another young girl and promise her wealth and happiness. Every time before he has to achieve his promises, he disappears leaving everything behind. This is the first impression of this funny fellow.Read More »

Estonia’s first ethnographic film. Made by Johannes Pääsuke in 1913 on his expedition to Setomaa, the South-Eastern region in Estonia.Read More »