Other film and media material on Estonia

As it happened again, I wanted a more permanent fixture off a forum post on IMDb.

A list is available titles @amazon.com with the search string Estonian film.

From Amazon's two-page list, I can also recommend the following:

• "Broidit" (2003, IMDb score 3.8/10 (I don't know why such a low rating while the film picked up a few accolades), roughly titled "Brothers" and is an Estonian/Finnish co-production), which I haven't seen, but the synopsis of which I am familiar with and which I know was featured in the 2003 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival/PÖFF). The plot itself revolves around the title subject, love and loss.
• "Sigade revolutsioon" (2004, IMDb score 6.3/10, "Revolution of Pigs"), which is is a comedy/coming of age movie set in a Soviet pioneer camp during the perestroika era. It has quite a historical/nostalgic flare to it and it picked up the Special Jury Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival.
• "Klass" (2007, IMDb score 8.2/10, "The Class", Wikipedia article) is about what a bad school environment may lead to. This is typically a staple for students in Estonia and the film has won four awards, two each from Karlovy Vary and Warsaw international film festivals. The plot slightly resembles that of "Heart of America".
• "Sügisball" (2007, IMDb score 7.6/10, "Autumn Ball"). I haven't seen this film, but it's contemplative and is about life and love in tower blocks that were built during the Soviet era. "Sügisball" has won numerous awards from around Europe.

Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR), the national TV and radio broadcaster in Estonia, has its own e-shop (in Estonian, though):

• Main page
  
• Film and documentary features:
  
  
  
  • "Mehed unustatud armeest" ("Men from a forgotten army") is about Estonian soldiers in the Estonian Guard Company (Eesti Vahikompanii) 4221, who fought on the German side during WWII and then guarded German prisoners during the Nuremburg trials (not always at the trials but near the court house) after the war as part of occupying forces of the U.S.
  • "August 1991" is also available.
• History series and music suggestions from the catalogue:
  
  
  
  • "Eesti aja lood" (Vol. I) is a history series that concentrates on life during the First Republic. Has English-language subtitles and is currently the best multimedia resource about what life during the Old Estonian Republic was like (includes both politics, economy, and ordinary life and how people lived).
  • Estonian song and dance festivals — These are recordings of national song and dance festivals, which take place every 4–5 years. This is if you are interested in classical and choir music.
  • "Öölaulupidu Märkamisaeg" is the 2008 song festival "Märkamisaeg" ([i]märkama[/i] is to notice, so "A Time To Notice"), which is a very large nighttime festival that lasted for like six hours and features all kinds of music throughout the history of Estonia (not just choir music).
  • "Laulupidu 2009" is about this year's song and dance festival
• Order information:
  You can order by e-mail and there's a mail-in charge: 1 item is 40 EEK and then it's progressively less the more you order.

Truth be told, I am not much into Estonian film, despite some interesting material available. What I really like are Estonian documentaries about history and nature.

Estonian films on the history of Estonia

I just saw the "Names in Marble" movie on DVD, so when looking on IMDb for Estonian films about Estonia's and Estonians' history, I felt compelled to write a primer, a list of Estonian movies to those interested in Estonian history. The list is by no means complete.

• "Noored kotkad" (1927, IMDb score 8.2/10, roughly titled "Young Eagles", Wikipedia article) is one of only very few Estonian films made before 1940 that wholly remained intact. It depicts the War of Independence.
• "Inimesed sõdurisinelis" (1968, IMDb score 7.1/10, roughly "Humans in Soldier's Uniform" — inimesed means both 'people' and 'humans' in plural form) is a film made during Soviet times about Estonian Shooting Corps, formed by the Red Army and so these men fought for that side during WWII.
• "Tants aurukatla ümber" (1987, IMDb score 8.6/10, roughly "The Dance Around a Steam Boiler"). This one chronicles peasant life throughout much of the century until about 1986/1987.
• "Äratus" (1989, IMDb score 6.8/10, roughly "Wakeup"). This one is about the March-deportations of Estonians to Siberia. That one was made under the Soviet reign, but at the time of glasnost. I recently saw that on TV.
• Then there is "Need vanad armastuskirjad" (1992, IMDb score 6.8/10, "Those Old Love Letters"), about the adult life of Raimond Valgre, an Estonian composer. Throughout the film one will also see some of the history of Estonia throughout approximately 1930–1949.
• "August 1991" (2005, IMDb score 6.9/10), a TV drama production on video made by Ilmar Raag chronicles the events of the month in 1991 when Estonia regained independence.
• "Georg" (2007, IMDb score 7.2/10) is about the life and times of Georg Ots, an all famous (both in Estonia and all of the Soviet bloc) opera singer and baritone. The film also dwells around war-time, WWII, more specifically.

I don't know if "Tants aurukatla ümber" is a staple on local TV, but it's the one movie that I liked the most and it's also one of those in this list that has the highest overall rating.

Skulskaja valimiseelne kommentaar

Jelena Skulskaja on, nagu alati, tasemel ning kirjutas "Postimehes" väga hea jutu kohalike inimeste meelsusest üksteise suhtes.

Seega teatud reaktsioon juba kirjutatud viiele kommentaarile:

Võib-olla püüab Skulskaja lihtsalt meelde tuletada, et kõiki ja kõike, mis ei paista "oma", ei saa alati ühe puuga võtta.

Arvan, et kohalikel (väga vokaalsetel?) eestlastel ja venelastel ei ole endi seas veel täielikult välja kujunenud taju sellest, et mõlemad pooled on üksteise suhtes teatud transformatsiooni-faasis. Selle taju puudumist võivad eri pooltelt läbi erisuguste väljaannete toita äärmuslikult meelestatud instantsid ja üksikisikud, olles siis oma eesmärkides enam varjatud või vähem varjatud.

Kas poolte teisenemine liigub siis üksteisele lähemale, ei tea, kuid et transformatsioon kätkeb endas seda, mida Skulskaja kirjeldas ettekujutusena riigist -- rahvakeskne vs. üksikisiku-keskne. Loodetavasti liigub see üksikisiku-kesksuse suunas, aga kuhu see teisenemine tegelikult liigub kohalike venelaste eri kihtide seas, ei ole selge.

Võimalik, et mõnel noorel sotsioloogil oleks hea teha yks huvitav uurimustöö (või rohkem?) selle kohta, kuidas ja millisena vastavalt Skulskaja ülaltood kriteeriumitele peamised rahvusgrupid Eestis tajuvad Eesti riiki, kuidas ja millisena Vene riiki ning millised on näiteks nende kahe riigi vahelised võrdlusmomendid. — Nii igapäevaelus ja asjaajamises kui ka ametliku suhtlemise tasandil.

Võib-olla oleks see teatud meelsusmonitooring, mida paljudki küsitlusfirmad teevad, kuid nende kriteeriumid on tihti suhteliselt kuivad, et ehk siis midagi jääb ikkagi puudu. Kas on siis võrdlusmomente vähe või kui võtta kohalikke venelasi, et kas on siis nende identiteedis kahestumine, jäigastumine, kriis või hoopiski ühestumine/samastumine asukohaga, kus nad praegu on, jäädes samal ajal iseendaks.

Tugeva eesti identiteediga poolvenelasena on niisuguseid küsimusi väga huvitav vaagida. Et kas siis minu identiteet võimaldab või pärsib arusaamist kahe kogukonna vahelistest suhetest — kas olen ma kummalegi poolele venelane/eestlane või ei olegi ma eestlane eestlastele ja venelane venelastele? Jahnoh, ma tunnen ennast rohkem eestlasena ning Vene klassikute kultuuri tunnetus on nõrgavõitu.

Näiteks Vene kultuuri tunnetuses kätkevad minu jaoks olulist rolli näiteks klassikaline muusika, mõned filmid ("Kured lendavad", "Intertüdruk", Šuriku seiklused) või umbes käputäis väga häid koomikuid (osad neist on ukrainlased: Jevgeni Petrosjan, Jelena Stepanenko, Jelena Vorobei, Ponomarenko-vennad, Vladimir Vinokur, Svjatoslav Ješenko, Uued Vene Vanamemmed, Igor Hristenko jpt). Nii palju siis praegu.

Eestimaalaste oodatav eluiga

Postimees: Eestimaalaste oodatav eluiga purustas 50 aasta rekordi (ning mitte kõige intelligentsemad kommentaarid takkaotsa ka)

Kes veel asja väga hästi ei mõistnud:

Artikli iva on mitmetine, aga seda pole vist eriti täpselt välja toodud (konjunktuurne kantseliit?).

1. Statistikat oodatava eluea kohta on vähemalt uue Eesti ajal kogu aeg tehtud ja seda saab ka tagantjärele teha, arvutades vastavalt vanemate andmete sündide ja surmade (ja rännete) numbrid lihtsalt kokku. Iseasi, kas 50 aasta tagused numbrid väga õiged olid, sest ametlikke andmeid võidi ja saadi nõukogude ajal moonutada. Seega on numbrid saadud vastavalt olemasolevatele andmetele, olgu siis nende kvaliteediga nii nagu on.
   
   
2. Ma ei märganud oodatava eluea tõusu kohta väljatoodud põhjuseid. Ainus ega ka määrav faktor pole mitte ainult positiivne iive, vaid ka enneaegsete surmade vähenemine.
   Selle fenomeni näitajaiks on sellel ja eelmisel aastal (mille andmete põhjal arvud saadi) vähemalt kaks head uudist ja üks mittehea:
   
   
   • Surmaga lõppevate autoõnnetuste suur vähenemine (50 aasta parim tulemus);
   • Suitsu- ja tuledetektorite kohustuslikuks tegemine, mille tulemusel siis surmaga lõppevate tulekahjude oluline vähenemine;
   • Masu: osa inimesi rahapuudusel välja reisida ei saa ja jääb Eestisse, sisseränne on piiratud ja illegaalseid immigrante riiki ei lasta. Samas on tööjõu vaba liikumise tingimused EL-is põhjustanud selle, et riskialtimad inimesed on välja rännanud ja teevad välismaal tööd.

Obituaries, John Hughes, and feelings

This is the best obituary that I have ever read so far — one remembering John Hughes, a filmmaker who's films have defined the look and feel of 1980's youth.

The blog post reminded me of an obit poem I once wrote and published (granted, I won't publish the link to it here) to remember a young man who was killed in action. I wrote the poem, because I looked a the released document photo depicting him and suddenly felt infatuated of him. Even though he was dead.

When re-reading the poem I wrote, it now appears a bit cheesy and maybe rough around the edges, possibly a result of my infatuation at that time, but then decided to keep the poem intact, perhaps because it represents a snapshot of how I felt about the loss of a person I didn't know, but knew somehow that he was a good person, nevermind his occupation.

Kiiruga: Puuetega inimestelt võetakse toetused ja muud

Viide: MINA, 22.06.2009 17:15 /1-20
http://www.delfi.ee/news/paevauudised/eesti/article.php?id=24180097&com=1#c24180479

_Ootan põhjalikku õlevaadet sellest, kui palju riik on omavalitsuste rahakotist raha võtnud?_

Oota siis edasi.

_Linnal on tegemist sundkäiguga._

Ei ole. Tallinna linnal on võimalik ka kokku hoida, iseasi, kas ta tahab.

_Selle arvelt on siis tulnud need nn eelarvekärped._

Eelarvekärped on eelarvekärped. Kui raha riigikassasse piisavalt ei laeku, peabki kärpima.

_Riik on oma kulutusi tõmmanud koomale minimaalselt ja seda just omavalitsuste arvelt._

Minimaalselt ehk "võimalikult vähe"? Minu meelest isegi arvestatavalt ning seda tehakse veel. Lihtsalt ei toimu see ühe suure pauguga, vaid tasapisi, et löök ei oleks nii valus.

_Üheks suurimaks kärpekohaks on just olnud KOV eraldised._

On olemas ühed väga suured kohalikud omavalitsused (või aiult üks), mis majandada lihtsalt ei oska ja raiskavad nii robinal, et vähe pole.

_Nii loodab valitus lihtsalt kogu süü enda õlgadelt veeretada._

Valitsus pole ainus süüdlane. On olemas üks kohalik omavalitsus, mis maksab sadu tuhandeid kroone mingisugustele tegelinskitele, et nad teeksid filmi isiku- ja sõnavabadusest, samal ajal kui puudega inimeste toetusi kärbitakse. Miljoneid kroone pannakse magama mingi tobeda telekanali tarvis, mida keegi nagunii ei vaata.


Viide: Milleks viriseda?, 22.06.2009 17:36
http://www.delfi.ee/news/paevauudised/eesti/article.php?id=24180097&com=1#c24180717
Kui Tallinna linnal oleks sotsiaalsüsteem hästi korraldatud, siis ei kärbiks ta puuetega inimeste toetusi, või mis?

Riiklikul tasandil on sotsiaalne süsteem saanud põntsu muidugi sellepärast, et pensionide väljamaksmisega oli hiljuti suur skandaal (kui keegi veel mäletab). Pr. Maripuul, kes on ehk hea inimene, puudus kompetents ning teisalt jäi temagi osaliselt talle kaela kukkunud sündmuste ahela ohvriks, sest pensionide pangaülekannete kaudu maksmise süsteem taheti käima panna varem kui see süsteem läbi testitud oli ning ka peale seda kui Eesti Post tõstis pensioni kojukannete eest makstavat summat. Targem oleks siis sellisel juhul olnud Eesti Posti asemel palgata mingi muu postiteenust osutav firma, mis oleks pensioni kojukande eest väiksemat hinda küsinud.

* Puudega inimesed ei ole ainult noored, vaid ka arvestatav hulk vanureid, keda tuleb hooldada.

Breastfeeding in the public and my take on it

In terms of breastfeeding as such and the debate around breastfeeding in the public, then I have mixed feelings about this. While I support a woman's right to breastfeed her child, I still think that it should be performed with some level of discretion. There's probably a fine line between this and that. Maybe discretion should be expected of the people who notice this, given that it's a natural thing to do between a mother and a child.

Then again, we have separate and often compartmentalised facilities for exerting bodily fluids (toilets), eating (cafe or restaurant or whatnot), smoking, children's areas in shopping malls and so on.

Unfortunately, people too absorbed in themselves being moral compasses can roam almost everywhere.

Massive Attack, "Unfinished Symphony"

Tegemist on muusika ja videoga, mis 1991. aastast. Video filmiti katkematu ülesvõttena ning see oli tõenäoliselt esimene omataoline videote seas. Teos näitab inglise lauljatari Shara Nelsonit kõndimas mööda Los Angelese West Pico puiesteed ja laulmas, pööramata suurt tähelepanu ümbritsevale reaalsusele tänaval.

Seda videot polnud ma algselt sellel ajal näinud, kuid kui nägin, siis soovisin, et oleksin seda juba 1991. aastal näinud.

Sest laul koos muusikaga on omamoodi ajastudokument, mis näitas tükikest tõelisest Ameerikast, mis on oluliselt rohkemat kui see, mis klantspildil või massidele suunatud filmidest peale paistab. Kui ma kunagi tahaksin näidata kellelegi midagi, mis näitab Ameerikat, siis antud video oleks kogumiku üks osa.

Kompilatsioonis oleks veel järgmised filmid: "25th Hour", "Memento", "Brokeback Mountain", "Good Night and Good Luck" jpt. Võib-olla lisan veel midagi hiljem.

17.07.: Päris hiljutine kommentaar videole (inglise keeles)

19.06.2009. suri Jonny Dollar, kodanikunimega Jonathan Peter Sharp (s. 20.02.1964), kes oli loo ja Massive Attacki tollase albumi "Blue Lines" produtsent. Ta tegi veel suurepärast tööd ka Kylie Minogue' "Confide In Me" loo kallal, Gabrielle'i lugu "Rise" ning Neneh Cherry looming. Dollar suri vähki ja oli 45 aastat vana.

"Gilmore Girls", why I dislike it and other TV that I enjoy

Originally, this post was submitted in reply to a guy who likes "Gilmore Girls".
Links to come later.

"... and I think Gilmore Girls was a brilliant show."

I beg to differ about "Gilmore Girls": For all of the substance it purports to show, the show lacks much of it anyway because of its superficiality and unrealistically fast pace — Too much information. The series is essentially about people who are hearing one another, but not really listening.

In a similar fashion, other 'next-door-girl' youth-targeted television is just as well ungrokkable:
"7th Heaven" (the worst), "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Xena", "Felicity", "The O.C." and much more of that.

All of these paint a variation of "A Catcher in the Rye" in a female soup.

Maybe it's just a matter of taste — or that I am a 27-year-old guy of the Cold-Y Generation and that I don't watch, nor pay attention to this kind of blather anymore. Hence I tend to prefer 'guy' shows over 'girl' shows.

Despite that, qualities that I've enjoyed in some of the recent 'woman stuff' film and television are context, narrative, thoughtfulness and emotion.

For example, "The Golden Girls", "Valley of the Dolls", "Sex and the City" and "Desperate Housewives" pretty much sum up the fun parts. Whilst two of those do share similarities with "Gilmore Girls" for being relatively fast-paced, they still harbor the aforementioned qualities.

"Saved by the Bell", "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Melrose Place" (and all the preceding soaps and telenovelas) were important novelties in the Post-Soviet era in Estonia — My three sisters and I watched that stuff with abandon (Once the novelty fell off, I quickly opted for Trek :). Maybe then it didn't matter whether the series centered around boys or girls, these shows were simply cool to watch when we were kids.

Just that I am past all of that and there is very little in me that relates to much anything in "Gilmore Girls".

Some of the 'next-door-neighbour' and similar shows featuring women and female youth that had their moments (in order of importance):
"Malcolm in the Middle", "That '70s Show", "Scrubs", "Dawson's Creek", "Smallville", "One Tree Hill".

Youth-oriented TV shows that I enjoy (or really enjoyed at the time of watching):
"Heartbreak High" (AU), "Daria", "Family Guy", "Kyle XY" (notice how the first and last letter are K and Y :) and "Roswell".

Chick flicks, like "Moulin Rouge!", "Down With Love", "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", "Bend It Like Beckham", "Kill Bill" Volumes 1 & 2, "Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion" also keep the standard high up.

Säästupirnidest

Seesinane on siis vastukajana eri kommentaaridele "Tartu Postimehes" säästupirne kajastava artikli juures. Kirjutama ajendas see kommentaar.

Umbes 2004/2005 ajaperioodil (või isegi pistu varem) sattus minu peresse ka terve posu säästupirne, mille kohta on mul kaks-kolm ehedat näidet. Kuna nad põlevad väga kaua (kui on ka piisavalt kvaliteetsed), siis nende läbipõlemine ja kestvus tuleks kasvõi sportliku hasardi huvides ära dokumenteerida.

Vist umbes 2006. aastal panin laualampi spiraalikujulise säästupirni, mis lõpetas töö selle aasta veebruaris. Kestis umbes kolm aastat. Enne seda oli laualambis (varem mujalgi) umbes kaks aastat üks väga tore 7W sinise värviga lamp. Meeldis õieti seetõttu, et see väga sobis hommikul ülestõusmiseks ning ei riivanud minu unist silma.

2006. või 2007. aastal läks tualeti lambipesasse üks suuremate gabariitidega säästupirn, mis põleb edukalt siiani. Peale pikemat põlemist on pirnil juures mingi lõhn, kuid see võib olla ka sellest, et lambisokkel on ka oma 40 aastat vana. Isegi kui faktoriks oleks ka säästupirni küsitav kvaliteet (ei ole tuntud bränditootja), siis selle eelis on vähemalt see, et põleb kasutamisel enamasti lühiajaliselt. Samuti ei sega ka see, et võtab eredaksminekuga aega. Ega tualetis seda valgust kohe niiväga ka vaja ole.

Juba nimetatud põhjuste hulgas iga E14 säästupirn Livali igale poole kinnitatavatele E14 pesaga lambikestele (mida sai tellida soome kaubakataloogidest) ei kõlba. Põhjus on rohkem levinud suurte säästupirnide kaalus, kuna kinnitatava lambikese haare on nõrk, lamp võib juhuslikult maha kukkuda ning pirn katki minna. Seega poest tuleks valida niisugune säästupirn (õige nimetusega kompaktluminofoorlamp), mis on väga väike ja kaalub ka väga vähe.

Fame (1980 film)

To those not in the know, here's a link to the Wikipedia article about the film.
I submitted a very similar comment at the film's IMDb discussion board.

Saw it on Turner Classic Movies, I think since the part of the musical rumble in the cantina.

What I found to be so incredible, or perhaps really interesting, is that this is the kind of film that might mark an era in many, mostly positive ways. Not a Christmas movie, but perhaps something to be aired once school is (finally) out. Maybe it is aired at that time.

What had me interested were the hairdos, the clothes, the music, kids' attitudes and all of them listening to that music and wearing some of what was to become the mainstream fashion well into the 1980's. The cars of the period, too.

As I kept watching (while missing some parts for the snacks, because TCM doesn't play ads inside the movies), the things that made the film interesting were the trends in diversity that we now seem to take for granted almost everywhere throughout the nowadays' TV- and movie-land.

The film stays faithful to the title subject and the adage of how there are people who are artists and those that want to be artists (or someone at all).

And then, the movie is still about the youth of that time. Being 27 myself, it was a year before I was born (behind the iron curtain, no less). So for me it served as something of a revelation about how the ostensibly average young people of 29 years ago lived and interacted, what were their thoughts and dreams and what did they do to realize their dreams.

We the People... and guns

This writeup is actually a draft to a reply comment in a thread in an IMDb message board of a film about guns and people titled "Dear Wendy".

The conspiratorial part of me thinks that the Dandies were all set-up by the sheriff, who's half-confession to Dick (the main protagonist) later in the film indicates his desire for a gun monopoly. Those who want a power monopoly on guns are just fine with getting the Second Amendment scrapped.

Sebastian was brought to the town to infiltrate (to try to seek some more information about the group, confirm its intentions and stuff) and and report on it. He had to do it, since he was the one who had the most to lose in the first place. Sebastian might not even have been a relative of Clarabelle, who couldn't remember anything anyway.

The first warning sign was Sebastian using another person's gun. In a way he might have wanted to indicate that he was more trouble than it seemed, but I don't know if it was intentional on Sebastian's part or not.

The Dandies could as well have gotten off the hook, with the quite possible exception of Sebastian himself, since it was Clarabelle who had the shotgun hidden deep in her purse anyway.

The typical reaction the gang had post Clarabelle's shooting an officer was fear, so they reacted accordingly. The correct reaction would (IMHO) have been to take the gun away from Clarabelle or to distance oneself from her, but not leave the scene and appear deeply red-handed. Another way to clear up the situation would have been to make clear who shot the shot. No-one knew that Clarabelle had the gun with her. Well, I was wathing with just half-an eye (figuratively).

The beginning of the movie has the main protagonist (Dick) gaining a newly-found confidence in himself, such that he had not felt before in his life. The end of the movie ends with people wielding guns with more confidence than they have ever deserved in their own petty lives.

Sebastian is finally shown slowly making a turnaround for the Dandies and their core principles, as along the film's progression he realises, that the Dandies are just kids with a rather strong ethical focus towards guns.

The short end of the morale: The cops got killed, the kids got killed. Lack of trust and mutually assured destruction. The lack of other items besides guns that could instill such confidence in disaffected people -- Little else other than a gun instills people with as much confidence.

The longer end:
The film draws a harsh comparison of two gun-owning societies by showing which one of them is sufficiently mature to actually bear arms.