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'Hukkunud Alpinisti' hotell (1979)
The movie ahead of its time
I have to say "Hotel of Dead Mountaineer" is ahead of its time. OK, script was pretty anachronistic in 1978, because the basic book was written 1970, after social turmoils and "revolutions" in USA and Europe and some moments weren't so obvious in late 70s anymore. But after 9/11 is pretty sure that questions like "terrorist or freedom-fighter?" isn't so stupid at all. So the idea of naive alien helping terrorists doesn't look weird anymore.
Movie's special ultramodern design, cold style and dark atmosphere looked maybe a bit over the top in late 70s but became mainstream in 80s, especially in sci-fi and A- category horror movies. "The Hunger" for example has very similar visual style but was filmed 5 years later. The Grünberg's music isn't typical 70s movie soundtrack, the cold and synthesized soundscape became popular also in 80s and later. Theatralic, unnatural, openly strange acting became popular also years later. I like "HUH" ("HODM") because it works, it looks cool and timeless and the movie is overall unforgettable. Like its one its influence, "Zabriskie Point", "HUH" is panned by critics from premiere but has remained cult classic anyway.
Püha Susanna ehk meistrite kool (1983)
loose comedy about everyday life of Soveiet Estonian actors in early 80s.
Ex-ballet dancer (like Sulev Nõmmik) Ago Hendrik Kerge used to be good comedy director, in drama he usually failed. In "Püha Susanna ehk meistrite kool" ("St. Susan or School of Masters") he uses his confident cast (his wife Elle Kull, duo Juri Kriukov & Urmas Kibuspuu, Salme Reek, Aarne Üksküla etc.) and it does good job. This TV-movie is, unlike "Pisuhänd", very loose and looks like very improvised. But it still is quite entertainy, even looked 25 years later. "Püha Susanna ehk meistrite kool" is actually a real play written by Enn Vetemaa but the movie is not actually filmed after it. The movie is about an average theater company who tries to stage it for TV recording. But most of movie shows the ensemble (with TV cast) visiting a kolhoz (huge agricultural firm in soviet time) in countryside, a noisy party in club and sauna with every kind excesses (human conflicts, sex, booze). The movie is very satirical about both snide theater people and robust but wannabe noble country nation. Life entirely looks quite loose, a bit pointless and decadent. Some characters look copied from real life -- the theatre director Siimeon Susi is very similar to known Estonian theatre director Jaak Allik for example. But tall and handsome AH Kerge looks very stupid as author Enn Vetemaa (who is short fatty and quite ugly man in real life). If you want to see quite realistic look of life of culture people in Soviet Estonia of Brezhnev "stagnation" time, check out this movie. Dialogue is quite pointless, so translation is not obligatory.
Vernanda (1988)
on of greatest Estonian movies
One of best Estonian movies with special aura, strange but fascinating story and great work actors.
Story is quite simple. A man (Sulev Luik) traveling with train makes a short visit to a town called Vernanda to buy a bread. When he returns to railway station he hears from station chief that train is already gone. And then he notices that his bread is clicking. Returning to bakery he sees it is totally destroyed by explosion. And old man (Kaljo Kiisk) searching something from ruins explains that the bread is "souvenir of the city", it contains a clockwork bomb which can explode whenever, even years later. So the movie is about the man wandering around the town trying to get rid of his "bread" and meeting the The movie was shot in small Estonian town called Sillamäe which architecture is totally Stalinist and makes the movie especially eerie. The atmosphere of the film is surrealistic and magical-realistic with quirky elements (loudspeaker in a marketplace reading numbers, mayer of the town looking like Latin-American general etc.). And of course, one of the best cast of actors in the history of Estonian film.
Siin me oleme! (1979)
Best and last of Sulev Nõmmik
"Siin me oleme!" ("Here we are") was last and I think best of famous trilogy of comedy ace Sulev Nõmmik. The multi-talented (started as ballet artists, worked as stand-up comedian, directed musicals etc.) guy was one of few Estonian movie directors who knew how to make really catchy and funny films. He had his certain cast and his movies were simple, compact and well edited. "Siin me oleme" is actually something like musical, filled with hilarious songs and music. It is basing on Juhan Smuul's (writer and poet of Estonia, heavily heralded by Soviet power) satirical monologue about urban middle-aged pair trying to spend summer vacation in small island among a fisherman's family. The movie contains bunch of impressive characters, loads of funny gags, some romantics (sometimes tongue in cheek), but most importantly, great dialogs. And some of them were TOO risky. For example, first lines we hear from Kohviveski (the grotesque middle aged madam from big city): "WE are the SOVIET people, we PAY!". And so on. After the movie the career of film director Sulev Nõmmik was halted and he never recovered. He continued as successful comedian and director of TV shows but only movie he made late was a short pseudo-documentary in late 80s.
Meie Artur (1969)
First Estonian "rockumentary".
The documentary is about Estonian crooner, then middle-aged Artur Rinne, who became known early in 1930s, but was deported to Siberia when the Estonian was occupied by Soviet Union and after rehabilitation returned to Estonia to become even more popular singer in post-Stalin Soviet Estonia (he died in early 80s). Film shows him singing in various places (in concert halls, in lavish parties of kolkhozes, in open air shows etc) and talking with ordinary people, also doing his professional job as TV director. Technically the movie is quite interesting with then-modern lengthy documentary footages with roughly recorded sound, with close-up shoots of late 60s Estonian concert audience etc. Here is some kind of controversy with Soviet power in certain interviews: then-young specialist of psychology Peeter Tulviste talking about reasons of Rinne's popularity and saying that Rinne reminds people the "golden ages 30 years ago" -- the independence period of Estonia. And Rinne himself talking about his years in prison camp. The film also shows one of the first Estonian rock bands called Kontrastid (featuring blues singer Aleksander Müller), but young folks in the footage is shown quite decadent and "bad", contrasting to right-minded middle-aged people listening Artur Rinne. The film was rarely seen in Estonian TV till 1990, so sometimes it is counted as shelved.
Open Water (2003)
"Scary" movie for easy-living middle class people
Many people are blessing this film as "true", "realistic", "impressive" etc etc. Actually I'm thinking what is the main message of the movie? World is a dangerous place? Hahahaha, very original! A yuppie couple killed doing extreme sport is really heartbreaking! (:P :P) My wife is a social worker and she's seeing starving and tortured children every day. That's horrible! These things are happening not only far away in Third World but in Europe. And here is nothing to do with cruel sharks or dangerous nature but everyday people besides us. Technically the movie is quite weak. Dialogs are bleak and stereotypical and plot is clearly constructed. And I hate movies where all the people are made total idiots to make movie more "believable" . Scuba instructor is acting like mindless goofy, first-time divers are swimming like they don't afraid anything and a little bunch of people don't notice that a couple of them are missing. Common, real life is not like CSI Miami. And the couple left alone to the sea don't want to bother another boat. All the "coincidents" reminds me Michael Haneke's "Funny Games" where the victims were made totally stupid and miserable to make the story more painful. Also I hated the cheap trick to make movie more compelling. Mark about "true story" is one of them -- world is filled with horrible true stories, just pick up some of them. Make sharks the most dangerous element in the sea is very cheap and stereotypical move. Actually they are not. Cooling down, lack of drinking water and running out of energy are. Rising the hopes regularly is cheap too. And finale ultimo. semi-open but sad ending -- hahahahaa, how "original" and "deep".
Cheap movie, cheap tricks and I have to great the authors: they have made impressive "realistic" horror movie for middle class people, who doesn't know the world is actually horrible place. Congratulations.