Movie Review
The Singing Revolution (2007)
The Singing Revolution (2007)
Mountain View
Estonians sang in celebration after a successful non-violent defense of the nation's capitol in May of 1990 from "Revolution."
December 14, 2007
http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/movies/14revo.html
By MATT ZOLLER SEITZ
Published: December 14, 2007
By MATT ZOLLER SEITZ
Published: December 14, 2007
Can singing change history? “The Singing Revolution,” a documentary by James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty about Estonia’s struggle to end Soviet occupation, shows that it already has.
The first part of “Revolution” provides a thumbnail sketch of 20th-century Estonian history, and it’s not pretty. This small nation was a satellite state of the former Soviet Union for much of that time, except for a brief period when the Germans controlled it.
Under the Soviets, especially, Estonian culture was brutishly suppressed, but it welled up every five years in July, when Estonians gathered in Tallinn for the Estonian song festival, which often drew upward of 25,000 people. The images of these festivals are moving already; the force of the singers and the precision of their conductors are stunning to behold.
But the emotion swells further when Estonians defy their occupiers by singing nationalist songs. This bold act reclaimed Estonian identity and set the stage for a series of increasingly daring rebellions under the Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, who advocated glasnost and got more than he bargained for.
Imagine the scene in “Casablanca” in which the French patrons sing “La Marseillaise” in defiance of the Germans, then multiply its power by a factor of thousands, and you’ve only begun to imagine the force of “The Singing Revolution.”
THE SINGING REVOLUTION
Opens on Friday in Manhattan.
Directed by James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty; written by Mr. Tusty, Ms. Castle Tusty and Mike Majoros; narrated by Linda Hunt; director of photography, Miguelangel Aponte-Rios; edited by Mr. Majoros; music by John Kusiak; produced by Ms. Castle Tusty, Mr. Tusty, Bestor Cram, Artur Talvik, Piret Tibbo-Hudgins and Thor Halvorssen; released by Abramorama. At the Village East, Second Avenue at 12th Street, East Village. Running time: 1 hour 34 minutes. This film is not rated.
The first part of “Revolution” provides a thumbnail sketch of 20th-century Estonian history, and it’s not pretty. This small nation was a satellite state of the former Soviet Union for much of that time, except for a brief period when the Germans controlled it.
Under the Soviets, especially, Estonian culture was brutishly suppressed, but it welled up every five years in July, when Estonians gathered in Tallinn for the Estonian song festival, which often drew upward of 25,000 people. The images of these festivals are moving already; the force of the singers and the precision of their conductors are stunning to behold.
But the emotion swells further when Estonians defy their occupiers by singing nationalist songs. This bold act reclaimed Estonian identity and set the stage for a series of increasingly daring rebellions under the Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, who advocated glasnost and got more than he bargained for.
Imagine the scene in “Casablanca” in which the French patrons sing “La Marseillaise” in defiance of the Germans, then multiply its power by a factor of thousands, and you’ve only begun to imagine the force of “The Singing Revolution.”
THE SINGING REVOLUTION
Opens on Friday in Manhattan.
Directed by James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty; written by Mr. Tusty, Ms. Castle Tusty and Mike Majoros; narrated by Linda Hunt; director of photography, Miguelangel Aponte-Rios; edited by Mr. Majoros; music by John Kusiak; produced by Ms. Castle Tusty, Mr. Tusty, Bestor Cram, Artur Talvik, Piret Tibbo-Hudgins and Thor Halvorssen; released by Abramorama. At the Village East, Second Avenue at 12th Street, East Village. Running time: 1 hour 34 minutes. This film is not rated.
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