Living Images (2013) - full transcript
The main character, Helmi, is born into the house of Baron von Strandmann in Old-Town Tallinn, in 1908. The only thing that she knows for sure about her past is that her mother was an Estonian servant girl. Everything else is a discovery during a life that runs the course of a century - a life that has quite a lot of surprises in store for Helmi. In this house she finds happiness and suffering, passion and disappointment. She grows up alongside young Erik and waits for her big love to blossom. But one floor down lives projectionist Julius - a man who is far from indifferent when it comes to Helmi. All of the biggest historical events of the century leave their mark on the house. Its hardwood floors have born soldiers' gruff boots and gentleman's shiny oxfords. Its walls have held the fates of people from far and near, foreigners and locals. Helmi's home becomes a German salon, a revolution museum, and a working class commune. And as freedom comes, real estate crooks start sniffing around the place. The only things that remain unchanged in these turbulent times are the cinema hall projecting living images on the screen and Julius's quiet love for Helmi. Director Hardi Volmer's historical love story combines the grotesque of early silent films with the melodrama of the golden age of cinema with elements of both the epic and the comic.
Coming, coming...
Who's talking? - Uncle Jull, it's me.
Hello, Paul. Coming home? - Listen,
would you try to clean up
the cinema room a little bit?
But why?
An agent wants to see the house.
Well, I can clean alright.
That's all I can do.
Uncle Julius?
Julius! - Yeah! I'm here!
Oh, I have never been here.
What are you doing?
Your brother told me to clean all this up.
I don't know where to start.
Why? - I take it that
he's selling the house.
You haven't heard?
Wait.
See what I found.
Ok. I don't know
if I'm even allowed to touch it.
Show it, please.
There are no good times, nor bad.
There's only this moment we have.
Look, Old Mamma
How old is she there?
Quite young, I can't remember.
Did you make this movie? - No, I didn't.
Old Mamma loved to sit in a cafe,
and so she got into a movie.
I edited her out of there
and made a new reel.
Why? - What is life then, but a movie?
Somewhere you are edited... - Where?
Some bits are ok,
some are garbage.
And in the end... - What's in the end?
In the end, nobody remembers a thing.
Have you known Old Mamma that long?
Since my birth.
There was a cinema here
even before I was born
The Baron renovated it
from a carriage shed.
And my father showed
the "living images", as they were called.
The machines were driven
by crank.
Living Images
Ruptured century - Broken hearts.
During the revolution in 1905,
the Baron's manor was looted.
And then he finally moved to
the city with his family.
Well, it wasn't a real family anymore.
His wife, a Russian
Baroness had fled abroad.
You do know that Old Mamma's mother
was the Baron's maid.
Barbarians,
you're killing people with my globe!
Wilhelmine, what is it!
Parasite! Out of my house!
I was born, when the First WW had started
and my dad was taken to war too.
I'm going to a real cinema now.
To the cinema? Alone?
Does Old Mamma let you?
I'm not going alone but with
friends and yes, she lets me.
What are you going to see? - "Mummy".
Mummy? - Like ?A mummy?!
Listen...
He said that Roberto is not my brother.
Hey, Helmi, see what I brought you.
What's that? - Don't you remember?
Rosen's booze.
Where did you find this? - Downstairs.
Paul wants to sell the house.
- Did you know?
Sell? He can't!
- He just called that he will.
An agent is coming to see it.
And I have to clean the place up.
To whom? - How should I know?
But I was born in this house. - Me too.
No. I won't let him. I have
an agreement with the city.
It will become a children's music house.
I know. You told me.
Oh, if Erik were alive, he
wouldn't let it happen.
You do remember Erik, don't you?
You were but a baby then.
You don't remember a thing.
But I do.
The First World War was on,
when I already played in the cinema.
But Erik was a brave boy.
Yeah, who could praise him enough!
Gentlemen,
it's already as bad as in St. Petersburg.
The Red Navy
has taken the city!
Where's the vodka?
Hold on, Wilhelm! He has a gun!
They'll come looking for him!
There are sailors below!
Take him to the alley!
Sidoroff came here!
I really haven't seen anyone.
Gentlemen, my new summer manor!
Germany's victory is nigh!
Cheers, gentlemen!
We will nominate you, von
Rosen as Minister of
Economy and we'll flood Germany with vodka!
The capital of the dukedom will be Riga.
Estonians have proclaimed a republic!
Manifest to the people of Estonia
Papa, I'm going to fight for Independence!
The whole school is going!
You're not going anywhere Erich.
This is not the Estonia
to die for.
That's the boy's mother, who fled to Italy!
My dad is going to war again,
but I'm not going to cry.
Julius, you have to fight
to earn your freedom!
Your dad perished in battle
and now you want to show
?living images? here.
Erik, I'm going to tell Papa
that you're smuggling booze!
Enough of this lewdness!
But we're going to marry, won't we, Erik?
Erich, I found the right school for you.
You will become a captain!
JUri, find yourself
a new buddy to end up
in a Finnish jail with!
But you tell me, where is my real father?
I'm going with Erik.
Well, the Germans are flying
to the North Pole again.
This is for Helmi. - I'll deliver it.
From Germany, again. - Yes. Give it to me.
Will you let me watch a film then?
In secret? Or are you too proud?
?Mister Cinema?. - Give me the letter!
Why don't you write her
yourself, if you want to so much?
The mail delivery? - Ah, yes.
Nothing for me?
Julius?
Where are you going? - To propose!
Dear God. To whom? The postgirl?
The Baron can't have a single
bad word to say about me!
Maybe you'll wait another couple of years?
It's so sad. Why do I have to suffer?
Why do I have to live, when there's no you?
You went with someone else,
and won't come any more.
I will not see you again
or hear your voice.
It's so sad. Why do I have to suffer?
Why should I live,
when there's no you?
Wilhelmine, listen! It says
that a treaty with England
allows Germany to build up a navy again.
This is a great victory!
He writes that he will
have to stay in Germany.
Who?
Erik! Who else have we been
talking about all these years?
Well, that's good news. The
German navy is growing.
What a fantastic career opportunity!
You tricked him into this career!
So that he wouldn't come home!
You will become a great singer.
Tell me! Am I right?
You have connections everywhere!
Yes, I'm grateful for the food and shelter,
but if Erik's not coming here,
I'll go there! - Wait!
You don't know everything.
Absurd! You made this up!
You, my father? - Yes.
And who's Erik then? - Your brother.
Erik? My brother? - Yes. Half brother.
Impossible. You're lying! - My dear!
Haven't you realized it yourself?
We should be happy now that you know,
at least that's how I imagined it.
You imagined!
I'm 25 years old! - A perfect age!
You knew this all the time and
you're telling me only now?
Wilhelmine!
Did you think I should kiss your feet now?
Don't talk to me this way!
I'll talk how I please! Get out!
Dear daughter! - Burn in hell!
Juula!
Julius! - Erik is out of the game!
Dead? - Erich is out! Out!
The grand seventy-five!
Hirsch? Where is our present? - Oh, yeah!
I wonder where the daughter is.
The latest Zeiss optics.
Ordered from Riga.
Can you see the future with that?
Of course!
You have to know the right people,
if you want to achieve anything.
Who is that Hirsch?
And that simple peasant boy
who talks about flying?
The Jew is the new bookkeeper
of the Rosen distillery
The other's the captain
of their organization.
The captain? An Estonian? - Yes.
But why didn't Erich come home on that day
to greet his father?
Come in, come in, don't be shy.
I'm the lawful mistress here.
Wilhelmine!
And the name of the mistress is not
Wilhelmine von Strandmann anymore.
It's simply Helmi Rannamaa.
Youth will take over...
I do apologise.
Willi... All the best!
We have to go, too.
Taavi, what's our hurry? The
party is just beginning.
Indeed.
Any news from Erik? - Not interested.
Well, well...
Does Miss... Helmi has someone else?
But when will you find
yourself a girlfriend?
I've just set my eyes on you.
Peasants will remain peasants.
What's that supposed to mean?
Don't you know?
It's a national policy now.
Taking Estonian names.
Yes, but this is voluntary.
Why Wilhelmine?
What are you doing here?
It's very late, you're
supposed to be at work!
Have a cookie and go! Now!
Let's dance.
Raims, play something joyful!
How joyful? - Improvise.
Where are you going?
- Helmi, you know I don't know how.
Yes, you can. Look.
Helmi, please stop.
Helmi, don't stop...
Then JUri may become a dancer...
Helmi, would you teach me so
I could become a dancer here and now,
As the rhythm of jazz has got into me,
and this charming music plays.
Helmi, would you show me
a step or two of foxtrot right away,
Just a few steps should be enough for me
so I could just dance with thee.
Shall we have a cup of
coffee before the rehearsal?
I think I'll skip the rehearsal!
Do you like it?
Hello. Is the Baron here?
Mom went to the pharmacy. - Julius!
Julius was a tiny tip-tip-tee,
darling huggie bunny-ho.
Are you still a bachelor,
or maybe a confirmed one?
And life has gone by like a dream...
And a bullet may find him anywhere.
It's so beautiful outside.
You know, Helmi...
Julius, wait!
Will you stay as you are, so good.
Helmi...
Would you...
Would you know where my puppet is?
It's my guardian angel.
Hello.
Then, at last, the
giant army is followed
by a united nation,
the people that have been so shattered.
Oh, Papa!
Sorry. I didn't want to disturb you.
What is it? - It's time to go now.
Go where? - The Fuhrer is calling.
The historical homeland
has always been there.
What's the hurry now?
It's in no hurry at all.
But I think this
self-established state here...
They say that Estonia has
been given away to Stalin.
I'm not coming. My home is here!
I think I should go.
Perhaps you'll change your mind?
Dresden's Semperoper, and...
Farewell then...
Helmi... Rannamaa.
Father!
Baggage inspection for
immigrants to Germany
With the last ship, in October,
800 more Estonian Germans leave.
With this, the number
of re-settlers in 1939
has risen to 12000.
And as the Fuhrer has said,
most of them will live in Poznan
in Poland, newly divided between
the Soviet Union and Germany.
Helen? Back already?
What would I know of these documents?
Your passport, for example.
You are his grandmother, right?
It's very simple.
A notary will come,
you sign a power of attorney and that's it.
Well, Julius, did you hear?
The boy is selling the house.
What's the hurry with this sale?
If the price is right,
then what's the problem?
Where'd you get the key?
Wait. You're the cinema-guy, right?
I'd like to see the cinema, too.
Damn. It's pitch black.
We may end up having to bargain here.
When was the last time a
movie was shown here?
12. May '93.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
You can see that. But ok.
You better make a Judgement
Day for yourself, too.
The buyer will be here soon.
And the notary.
It was a pleasure.
But where will you put me?
That's up to Paul.
It's a time of change.
Excuse me? - It's a time of change.
Mankind is bidding farewell to its past.
Well, the people have
been rounded up there.
Excuse me? Who rounded them up? - Sorry.
It's all voluntary.
Why does it smell of ?bourgeois? here?
Listening to too much foreign radio?
Little nationalist piece of shit.
Put these on as soon as I finish.
USSR and Estonia are becoming
closer to each other.
The Mutual Assistance Treaty of 1939
is inevitable.
Clearly,
the nationalist government
cannot ensure
Estonia's neutrality
and peaceful development.
The Baltic nations were eager
to use the opportunity
to show their free will
and end the capitalist yoke forever
by joining
the friendly Soviet family.
The Germans knew the Russians were coming.
They say that dead bodies
are being removed from
this very police building.
And the survivors are being
sent directly to Siberia.
Children, too. Everyone.
What have they done wrong?
Only under the fruitful conditions
of Soviet rule,
will the Estonian working class
be heading towards a bright future.
Applause
to the working people of Soviet Estonia!
What are you looking for?
I want to know what the
German radio is saying.
You think you will hear
something about Erik?
Roosi, do you think that...
What are you doing here?
She's chasing her Erik!
Obviously. Radios have been banned!
Why?
If they find one, you're finished.
You know...
What's that?
This can only mean war.
Helmi? - JUri!
How sure are you about
the people downstairs?
They are our own people. - Own or not,
when you're shitting your guts,
you will sing.
And you? - I thought they came for me.
But I won't surrender. - Right.
Who's chasing you?
- Who? The NKVD, of course.
And the bastards in our
destruction battalions.
How far is the front?
Just behind Tartu.
The Germans went towards Leningrad
and we were surrounded.
Here. This is Erik's old one.
Do you know anything about Erik?
Father promised to find him.
You mean Old Willem? Your father? - Yes.
JUri! What are you talking about?
What is it with my father?
What do I know? - JUri!
Tell me what you know!
Are you expecting someone? At night?
Mother sent... - JUri!
Step in.
Well, the festive part is over.
A red star on your forehead
and a rifle in your hands?
I didn't volunteer... - Yes.
We'll be shooting at
each other soon enough.
I hid in the basement and all...
Today they told my mother
that if I don't show up by morning,
they will shoot... Mother.
Damn Hitlers!
Liberated Latvia in two days
but are letting us be wiped out.
In the open, under a bush,
an Estonian soldier is lying.
On his face so beautiful
a tear of death is glittering.
Quiet! Julius, you too!
In fact...
You are... - I know, Julius.
I don't want to go!
Be brave.
Here. You left the pot.
See you after the war.
I think I should hit the sack.
No, you are not.
You're going to tell me
what you know about Erik.
The bloody year of red
terror is finally over.
The blue-black-white tricolour
flies all over Estonia again.
People have come to the streets
to greet their liberators
the 61 st infantry
and battle group Friedrich,
Also including their own Estonian boys.
The victims of the Bolshevist executioners
are being honoured, people are
looking for their lost relatives.
Every dusk is followed by a new dawn
and the people are eager
to re-establish their normal lives.
Helmi Rannamaa, an operetta singer
of the Estonia theater,
is not wasting any time.
Long years separate her
from Erich von Strandmann
and now she has decided
to travel to her loved one.
But destiny is larger than life.
There is no longer any point
in looking for an address,
as Erich has himself arrived home.
Oh, what joy!
Nothing can restrain this passion any more.
But what's this?
This is Erik's brand new leg.
Don't take me as a complete cripple.
When did this happen?
But I wrote to you about that.
I haven't heard about you
in a very long time.
Father wrote occasionally, but...
Forgive me.
But it was because of dad
that I didn't write you.
He lied that you are my brother.
But I'm not!
I know. JUri told me.
Did he also tell you who my real father is?
A stable boy of the manor.
That's why Mamma went
abroad in the first place.
But once you knew, why didn't you come?
I thought...
I thought you wouldn't want me any more.
Because of that new leg... - Silly you!
You could be new all over,
as long as your heart is the same!
Battles don't cease during the holidays.
But for the wounded frontline men,
a Christmas mood
is created using all means.
For the Christmas season,
the Estonia theater has staged
a production of the beloved opera
The Count of Luxembourg.
How was the performance?
It was more like a concert.
Milvi Laid shone as always? - Yes.
But I had a friend there as well...
Is there any news from the front?
They say that the Estonian boys
have all been slaughtered
near Velikije Luki.
Roosi, these are just rumours.
The boys will return
and your Julius will be home by Christmas.
Helmi... An old friend of
yours came to see you.
I let him in.
Can't recall the name.
Kirss, or something...
and we're completely out
of meat and vodka coupons.
Roosi, everything's well. - Yes.
Hello, Helmi. - Taavi! You here, like that.
Almost from Lappland!
Let me guess. Erich von Strandmann.
Herr Hirsch, I presume.
Father has told me about you.
Dear children,
Santa was only able to come to you
because nazis fieldpatrol
does not check Santa's papers.
Well, will you sing or just recite a poem?
The remainders of Mr Rosen's stock.
Santa should go to other homes now, but...
Tell us where you have been.
I managed to escape from
the camp in Jagala.
Two months ago. No one can believe it.
What camp? Here? In Estonia?
2000 people were slaughtered right away.
Do you know about Doris and August?
- Yes, I heard.
So horrible! - What?
August was our leading baritone.
He sang mainly in Berlin and Vienna.
What an irony. - What irony?
He committed suicide
together with his wife.
Why?- Because Doris was Jewish.
Why are you looking at me?
Yes, I'm an officer of the German Navy.
I have nothing to do
with their damned Nazi party.
Is that clear?
I'll bring you something
more comfortable to wear.
Estonia: Territory and residents.
Taavi...
Does anyone else know you are here?
Besides Roosi.
I know what you are risking, Erik.
They have complete lists. - You see,
I'm on the list of those
who went to Russia.
Yes, but you didn't.
I was a banker for von Rosen.
It didn't suit me so well.
Europe has done you good, Erik.
You radiate modern values.
I think that as soon as the war is over,
I'll cross the ocean.
I have relatives there.
The movie business is big in America.
Cinema has an amazing future.
The Leningrad-Novgorod front
is being firmly held by
the Army Group Nord.
Retreating is not an option.
The front is just being reorganised
to fortify the Narva river
The Third Division of Estonian
volunteers is being formed.
They will hold the Narva river.
Berlin has promised
independence for Estonia.
And Narva is the border
of Europe and Russia,
as was stated by...
Can't you sleep?
I took a vacation.
Going away with Helmi?
No, she doesn't know.
If I were you, I'd go while you can.
I will try, too. To the
West, to the Allies.
If, of course...
A soldier's place is at the front.
It's not your war.
Yes. But it is my country. It is my home.
Erik!
Helmi!
This evening of 9. March 1944
will forever remain in history
as an example of the barbarism
of the Bolshevist Stalinist regime.
In two air raids,
the heart of the capital
of Estonia was destroyed.
The symbol of Estonian culture,
the Estonia theater is also in ruins.
But Erik will be back! Then what?
He will be glad you managed
to flee with the child.
What shall I do in Sweden?
We're not going to stay there!
We'll come back after the war.
Trust me, the Allies won't sell
us out to the Russians again.
Everyone knows what they have done here.
Going already? Are the Reds so close?
They just entered the city.
The German bastards have fled.
Which flag shall I fly now? This? Or that?
Fly all three, so all the
bastards will be happy.
Let's go.
He's the spitting image of his father.
Is he? - Like a living picture.
Take him.
Helmi, where are you going?
We have one more family to pick up.
The boat's not waiting.
What shall I say to Erik?
He won't come.
The vehicle's papers are in order. Shit!
They left. And JUri...
It's the only picture of us together.
Paul, what are we going to
do about the cinema guy?
Look, isn't this our crow? - Fuck you!
Sorry, I wasn't talking to you.
Our guest is arriving!
Turn off the beat!
It's not Russia, dork!
Three very tough years...
The yoke of the German conquerors
has finally been broken.
Tallinn, the capital of
Estonian SSR is free at last.
Once again, the red flag flies
in the tower of Tall Hermann.
Happy people are crowding
on the streets in thousands,
to greet the liberators
with flower bouquets and dancing.
Our own lads
of the Estonian Rifle Corps.
Arriving with the troops
of the Leningrad front,
Corporal Julius Naagu has come home.
He immediately sets his steps
towards someone dearly missed...
Julius...
You are alive!
It doesn't feel like you're
just back from the war.
As they said at the front,
only cannon flesh is Russian.
Do you know what's going to happen now?
Nothing. I fought on the right side.
No one would dare touch us.
Us. You mean...?
We'll make ourselves
comfortable here and...
Most importantly, the worst is behind us.
We'll put the boy to school.
It is a boy? - Yes. Mihkel.
Mihkel-boy...
We'll hold a little party, too.
I'll put on something fancier.
Mother, I guess. She went to the market.
What's the problem, comrades?
Everything's alright here. I'm...
Don't interrupt. We're working.
You are Rannamaa, Helmi,
daughter of Wilhelm?
At the present, you are married
to an officer of the army
of the German Fascist conquerors,
Erich von...
Excuse me... It must be a mistake.
Who are you?
I'm a frontline man.
8th Estonian Rifle Corps, Corporal.
Wounded at Velikiye Luki.
You're shit, not a frontline man.
Wilhelmina von Strandmann...
Damn, that's hard to pronounce.
By order of the government
of the Soviet Union,
you will be deported
from the territory of the Estonian SSR
to the far regions of the country.
Any questions?
No questions.
Guys, would you relax for a minute.
Let's get going, Pal-
You, my little fascist-nazi.
A beauty.
Good...
Hold Still!
I'm sure they'll let us live here.
The working class rules
now, and we're so happy.
Quit drinking.
Don't waste the floor paint.
Hello, Yulich. - Hello.
How's it going?
What are you showing today?
What film? - About Siberia.
About Siberia? That's good.
Right, we'll see.
Would you like some tea?
Such a big apartment.
Do you live here alone? - Well...
It will soon become
a military commissariat
of the Lenin district.
Quiet!
Today, the 29th August 1949,
at the Semipalatinsk Test Site,
the first Soviet nuclear bomb
was successfully tested.
Guys, we have a nuclear bomb!
To Comrade Stalin!
Perish, international imperialism!
Hooray, comrades!
Aah, that's good!
Get the ball rolling!
A bomb for America!
Look...
How precise. - A hit on Moscow!
Listen, we're on duty tomorrow.
What are you talking about...
Boys...
It's 7.30 in Moscow.
Good morning, comrades!
Yes. Sidoroff, Nikolay Nikitich.
Yes, a rifle, too. No, he is dead.
I already checked.
A seaman from Kronstadt.
Everything's clear.
He's a hero of the revolution.
Yes. Right, I'll be waiting.
They were interested.
Here. Let's have one.
You sure you don't know who killed him?
I don't. Never seen him before.
I swear!
Who used to live here?
A woman. - Where is she now?
I don't know.
To: Siberia, Tomsk, Helmi Rannamaa...
What do you want?
Ah, you... See, I'm back as promised.
You wouldn't think - she's issue of 1908!
We're going downstairs.
What if she doesn't give us the passport?
Power of attorney alone is useless.
The hag has to come with us to the notary.
The hag can't walk, you idiot.
So what? - The notary must come here!
Memorial Museum of Revolutionary Seaman
S. I. Sidoroff,
He was killed in an uneven fight
with the bourgeois in this very building.
There are bullet holes in that globe.
Boys!
Yes, please ask.
But why was he killed?
He was killed while defending
the ideas of Lenin and Stalin
of happiness
for the working class of the world.
They came on a few ships from Kronstadt.
In the capital of the Czarist state,
St. Petersburg, now Leningrad,
workers, peasants and seamen
had already seized power.
What year is it now?
1954. - Very good.
A Bolshevik was killed 37 years ago,
but his memory lives on eternally.
I'll do it. Go!
Well, children. You can write, right?
Of course they can! - And this is all
thanks to heroes
like this Sidoroff...
Dear God. A feast.
Just a moment... - You've changed.
And... You haven't. - Yes.
But the boy... What about him?
Or...? - He was taken to an orphanage.
Or so I was told.
I looked for him,
but his name had already changed.
Oh...
And you? You haven't married?
No. Hasn't happened.
Shall we have some tea?
Or do you drink coffee here?
Julius, sit down.
Well, how's life? - Well...
Surviving, somehow.
Where's Roosi?
She took to the drink.
Couldn't quit till she was six feet under.
So nice that you've kept this.
Julius...
It's as if I've always had you
my whole life.
You understand...
I don't.
All the way from Sverdlovsk to Tallinn
I thought that if you are still here,
then I'd marry you.
Why didn't you write?
I didn't write what?
Not a single line.
That wasn't forbidden, was it?
God, did you...
Even a few words. That you are alive.
And I was... - You were what?
Nothing.
Julius, would you have answered me?
Yes, I understand.
An enemy of the people, after all.
No. It's not that.
I'll go then. - Where to?
You know that people like me aren't allowed
to live in their home region.
Hello. You're Mr...
Comrade Hirss? - Goodbye.
Helmi... - Helmi?
You are her friend, right? Hirss.
And you are the... Comrade...
Cinema man.
Do you know where Helmi is now?
In a collective farm.
How is it going, dear guests?
All's well, comrade farm chairman.
Yulich... Yulich! Give me a glass.
Oh, Yulich... - Has something happened?
Our museum is screwed.
In what sense? - Screwed. Incorporated
in the Museum of Revolution.
The hell With it...
Wait! What's going to be here?
Housing for the working class!
How? - What? You're worried?
You are safe!
You're like in God's back chamber here!
Who are you? A cinema man!
What did Lenin say?
Cinema is
the most important of all arts!
I have to rewind this. - Rewind!
Light in Koordi. What's it about?
There's this frontline man. Georg Ots.
He's made chairman of a collective farm.
That's how it should be!
Good film.
What? A colour film? Way to go!
Look what's written here! - What?
Americans want to be the first
to fly to the moon!
Earlier than us. - Seriously?
See. The first man on the moon
will be an American.
Well, we're going to fly to Mars first!
Mars is a bit far. We'll run out of gas.
Be quiet there!
OK, I'll wait there.
What are you doing there?
What? Fascists! Go away!
Hockey? Why'd you turn that off?
Who's playing? - Krylja vs Dinamo!
Gulya, let's get married. - Get lost!
Get lost! I see you every day...
Good evening.
Is Helmi Rannamaa living here?
Wilhelm's daughter.
Our people's enemy? Here.
Yes, but she went to the attic,
to hang laundry. Some time ago.
Have you seen her?
Ask Gulya. They're, like, friends.
Captain 2nd rank,
Yagodin, Matvey Sergeyevich.
Collective farm...
It's a particularly curious fact
here in America
that Hollywood is filming
The Bridge at Remagen in Prague.
When Soviet troops saw American tanks,
they thought that NATO
had captured the city.
Helmi!
The KGB is looking for you.
Helmi Wilhelmovna Rannamaa?
Mother?
Why're you hanging around here?
Do you need help?
Quiet. He's in a bad way.
Of course. He's been
drinking for three days.
Rookie.
He has to get himself together
or he'll die.
What? He's just drinking!
Don't shout! - Stupid...
I don't understand what happened.
He found out that seaman Sidoroff,
the hero, raped his mother.
Tried to rape her. - She told him herself.
But why should that drive him to drink?
She showed him a photograph.
Of Sidoroff? - Of her own wedding picture.
And? - He found out who his father is.
Vodka!
I'm sorry for Mikhail.
Working in the system,
yet his father was a German officer.
He may even lose his job!
His name is Mihkel.
Americans made it
to the moon before us, too.
Gulya...
Agnes! - Take this hound from hell!
Our heirloom is freedom!
Excuse me.
Is Frau Wilhelmine von Strandmann...
Rannamaa living here?
Yes. - Would Frau be at home?
No. Everyone is at the parade.
Is Wilhelmine still singing opera? - No.
She works at the opera's front desk now.
Tell Frau Wilhelmine
that von Stahl Jr was here.
From West Germany.
Come, Peter, we're going to see
the old town and your birth house.
One moment, darling.
Damn, how beautiful. - Tchaikovsky.
A great Russian composer.
Yet you don't love the
great Russian nation.
Give this letter to Frau Wilhelmine.
What a beautiful city!
Take care.
Why aren't you at the parade?
What do you know about parades?
But I have shed blood for peace.
So let's drink to that, my dove.
You are the woman who lived here
a long time ago.
During the bourgeois rule.
Yulich has mentioned something...
Let's drink!
Why don't you love me?
Fascist beauty.
What do you want here?
Nothing. I thought...
You can only dream...
Let's drink to the broad.
With character. I like that!
Let's drink!
To the lady. - Don't touch me!
I like that!
What are you doing, bastard?
It's my flower.
Uncle Matvey has been killed!
But you are going to prison now.
What are you doing there?
You hear me, thug?
Don't start. Paul gave me permission.
I'm going to call the police now.
Stop hassling.
Better help me look for it.
Fuck it!
Julius, what happened? Are you ok?
It's not his house!
It's our house, yours and mine.
Let me show you something. - What?
Before the mobsters kill me.
North Tallinn Ambulance
There are balconies.
Civilisation!
Or, as our wise Party says:
life has to get better.
I'll wave to you from there.
Let's sit for a moment
before going our own ways.
Don't be sad.
Your turn will come, eventually.
Well... Farewell.
Your ironing board...
I forgot.
Leena!
What? - It doesn't fit in.
The suitcase doesn't fit in.
See?
It'll fit!
It doesn't. See for yourself!
Bye!
Yeah, well... I'm going, too.
Thank you anyway for saving this place.
Quite honestly...
It'll all be torn down.
There'll be an important breakthrough.
Prospect of Communism.
From the airport to the port.
When will this be? Torn down?
In the future. Next quinquennium maybe.
Maybe six.
We are going to the pharmacy as well.
Do you want something? - No.
Do you know that you are
devilishly like your father.
Even your son's position in the KGB
won't help you here.
Mihkel has left the KGB.
Noone leaves the KGB
by himself.
He's working
at a horse track now.
In the stables. Like his grandfather.
Erik's father.
Well... Do you know anything about Erik?
Well then, live as long as they let you.
Hello.
Mihkel!
Uncle Jull!
So how's life here? - Thank God, not bad.
How's your mother... Helmi.
Go up and see for yourself.
Mihkel, come! - Right away!
What?
Go inside. I'll put the kettle on.
It's so beautiful here.
The communal life is gone.
You've kept my room tidy.
I didn't even recognise it at first.
The biggest thanks to you
for writing to me all these years.
Where did you get this?
Every other inmate is a
supplier of something.
Well, I'll...
Julius, the most important thing
had to remain unwritten anyway.
Stop it. You saved my life.
But what about you? Are you still alone?
You know, at times I see Erik in my dreams.
He has gotten so old.
I think, if he's aging in my dreams,
then he is not dead.
What do you think?
I saw Mihkel at the door.
With some hairy chaps.
He's preaching God's
word in his spare time.
In some church of...
Methoditians or I don't know.
Getting Gulya and the boy
also to receive God's blessing.
Sings his gospel
every evening.
But you haven't seen little Paul.
He is also the spitting image of Erik.
Oh, I'm just talking about
myself all the time.
Tell me about your life.
Was it hard? - No.
In jail, I became a cinema man, too.
I wanted to give it to you earlier, but...
But I couldn't.
Gravely wounded Erich von Strandmann
sank with the hospital-ship Moero,
after being torpedoed by Russian vessels
near Danzig.
You are not angry with me
for not giving it earlier?
Oh, Julius...
Well, you're just going to
start showing cinema again.
Yeah. There's no escape.
It's my profession.
Let's go to the cinema.
What's on today?
Some Estonian film.
A Time to Live, a Time to Love.
This summer of 1988 in Estonia
is like one big singing revolution.
One day we will win anyway!
The leaders of the Estonian
National Front have said
that there will be big
changes in the Soviet Union.
A hero of the revolution,
Nikolay Sergeyevich Sidoroff.
Hello. We've come from the school
named after him
to visit the historical place. Look.
But this museum has moved long ago.
We know that.
But we wanted to see the house
where he fought and was killed.
And we also wanted
to bring some soil from his hometown.
Here you go. - Look! That same globe!
Yes! - Let's put the
soil in the globe then.
We also have a little act.
Hello, perestroika, hi, democracy
the dictatorship has fallen,
everyone is glad.
Hello, perestroika, hello many flags
we are not afraid
of this dirty old red flag.
Is there any problem? - It's ok.
Have you talked to your granny
about the notary? - Sort of.
You didn't dare? - She's your grandma.
So? I can't force her, can I?
Did they leave for good?
Don't be silly!
Berta from my theater
found a treatment for Mihkel there.
Maybe they can help fix him.
And Gulya went with him
only because Mihkel doesn't
get around alone anymore.
It must be quite expensive. - What?
The treatment in Sweden. - Berta said
that if one was forced to go to Chernobyl,
then it's free.
That a Swedish state institution
will carry out the tests and treatment.
Bleedin' Chernobyl.
Listen, shall we have a little drink?
What are we drinking to today?
The future, of course.
And for Mihkel getting well.
And for Estonia to stay free.
And not to get sold out again.
You, old bachelor,
are helping me to my bed?
I have seen thousands of love movies.
So I know how.
Good night, old lady. - Good night.
What's in there?
A friend of Papa or his son
found this box
among his father's things.
With a note that in this box,
there is ash from the city of Dresden.
Papa wished that his ashes
would be returned to his homeland.
And as he burnt up
with Dresden in 1945,
these ashes are pretty much...
The old Baron's ashes?
Alright then. I know where it belongs.
Help me!
The Estonia ferry crew is trying
to contact Silja Europe.
Is this soil? I'll throw it away.
Papa's globe. Leave it there.
I guess it's supposed to be there.
There was a strong wind last night.
I wonder if they got any
sleep on that ship?
"Shipwreck"
Helmi...
Take him to his hotel.
Grandma, do you have
your passport somewhere?
You want to take it to a notary?
No, the notary will come to you.
I need you to give me
your power of attorney.
I heard you are planning to sell the house.
Yeah... Wait.
But look, we can buy this instead.
Or something from there.
Or... What do you think?
I think you should let us die here.
Then do what you please.
You can't do anything here anymore.
And they've paid an advance.
You think I can't?
But see, I can!
And I can stop my home
from being sold off just like that!
This house is my life, Papa's life,
Julius' life! You understand?
Do you understand anything at all, boy?
How much are they paying you?
Can you at all imagine
what has taken place in this house?
How much suffering, worries, tears,
hope and love there has been here?
You think that if you just show me
this glamorous picture
I should gladly agree?
Let's sell it to these thugs.
No, Paul, this house will be turned into
a children's music house.
But on the other hand...
Can I fight against the future?
Of course I may not like your plans,
dear Paul.
But everyone has
to make their own mistakes in life.
That's the way life is.
Thank you.
Dear Helmi,
as soon as I get your address,
I will come to you.
If they won't let you return to Estonia
I'll come there.
I don't know how to be without you.
Damn! Now what? A mass suicide?
A bloodclot in her lungs.
If we had arrived earlier,
it wouldn't have helped.
At her age...
She had an
Agreement with the city.
And now what?
I don't know. I'll have to check.
What do we do with the black guy?
Mr. Lemmik, it just happened that...
We'll find our own way out.
My condolences.
There is an ambulance outside.
Helen, you see...
Grandmother has left us...
Old Mamma!
Old Mamma is at home after all!
You see, auntie Helmi,
your little act almost had
much graver consequences.
Dear Helmi, where are you?
I know you are alive there, somewhere.
I have been searching for you,
but Siberia is vast.
All the letters are being sent back.
Why don't you write me?
That's not forbidden, is it?
Who's talking? - Uncle Jull, it's me.
Hello, Paul. Coming home? - Listen,
would you try to clean up
the cinema room a little bit?
But why?
An agent wants to see the house.
Well, I can clean alright.
That's all I can do.
Uncle Julius?
Julius! - Yeah! I'm here!
Oh, I have never been here.
What are you doing?
Your brother told me to clean all this up.
I don't know where to start.
Why? - I take it that
he's selling the house.
You haven't heard?
Wait.
See what I found.
Ok. I don't know
if I'm even allowed to touch it.
Show it, please.
There are no good times, nor bad.
There's only this moment we have.
Look, Old Mamma
How old is she there?
Quite young, I can't remember.
Did you make this movie? - No, I didn't.
Old Mamma loved to sit in a cafe,
and so she got into a movie.
I edited her out of there
and made a new reel.
Why? - What is life then, but a movie?
Somewhere you are edited... - Where?
Some bits are ok,
some are garbage.
And in the end... - What's in the end?
In the end, nobody remembers a thing.
Have you known Old Mamma that long?
Since my birth.
There was a cinema here
even before I was born
The Baron renovated it
from a carriage shed.
And my father showed
the "living images", as they were called.
The machines were driven
by crank.
Living Images
Ruptured century - Broken hearts.
During the revolution in 1905,
the Baron's manor was looted.
And then he finally moved to
the city with his family.
Well, it wasn't a real family anymore.
His wife, a Russian
Baroness had fled abroad.
You do know that Old Mamma's mother
was the Baron's maid.
Barbarians,
you're killing people with my globe!
Wilhelmine, what is it!
Parasite! Out of my house!
I was born, when the First WW had started
and my dad was taken to war too.
I'm going to a real cinema now.
To the cinema? Alone?
Does Old Mamma let you?
I'm not going alone but with
friends and yes, she lets me.
What are you going to see? - "Mummy".
Mummy? - Like ?A mummy?!
Listen...
He said that Roberto is not my brother.
Hey, Helmi, see what I brought you.
What's that? - Don't you remember?
Rosen's booze.
Where did you find this? - Downstairs.
Paul wants to sell the house.
- Did you know?
Sell? He can't!
- He just called that he will.
An agent is coming to see it.
And I have to clean the place up.
To whom? - How should I know?
But I was born in this house. - Me too.
No. I won't let him. I have
an agreement with the city.
It will become a children's music house.
I know. You told me.
Oh, if Erik were alive, he
wouldn't let it happen.
You do remember Erik, don't you?
You were but a baby then.
You don't remember a thing.
But I do.
The First World War was on,
when I already played in the cinema.
But Erik was a brave boy.
Yeah, who could praise him enough!
Gentlemen,
it's already as bad as in St. Petersburg.
The Red Navy
has taken the city!
Where's the vodka?
Hold on, Wilhelm! He has a gun!
They'll come looking for him!
There are sailors below!
Take him to the alley!
Sidoroff came here!
I really haven't seen anyone.
Gentlemen, my new summer manor!
Germany's victory is nigh!
Cheers, gentlemen!
We will nominate you, von
Rosen as Minister of
Economy and we'll flood Germany with vodka!
The capital of the dukedom will be Riga.
Estonians have proclaimed a republic!
Manifest to the people of Estonia
Papa, I'm going to fight for Independence!
The whole school is going!
You're not going anywhere Erich.
This is not the Estonia
to die for.
That's the boy's mother, who fled to Italy!
My dad is going to war again,
but I'm not going to cry.
Julius, you have to fight
to earn your freedom!
Your dad perished in battle
and now you want to show
?living images? here.
Erik, I'm going to tell Papa
that you're smuggling booze!
Enough of this lewdness!
But we're going to marry, won't we, Erik?
Erich, I found the right school for you.
You will become a captain!
JUri, find yourself
a new buddy to end up
in a Finnish jail with!
But you tell me, where is my real father?
I'm going with Erik.
Well, the Germans are flying
to the North Pole again.
This is for Helmi. - I'll deliver it.
From Germany, again. - Yes. Give it to me.
Will you let me watch a film then?
In secret? Or are you too proud?
?Mister Cinema?. - Give me the letter!
Why don't you write her
yourself, if you want to so much?
The mail delivery? - Ah, yes.
Nothing for me?
Julius?
Where are you going? - To propose!
Dear God. To whom? The postgirl?
The Baron can't have a single
bad word to say about me!
Maybe you'll wait another couple of years?
It's so sad. Why do I have to suffer?
Why do I have to live, when there's no you?
You went with someone else,
and won't come any more.
I will not see you again
or hear your voice.
It's so sad. Why do I have to suffer?
Why should I live,
when there's no you?
Wilhelmine, listen! It says
that a treaty with England
allows Germany to build up a navy again.
This is a great victory!
He writes that he will
have to stay in Germany.
Who?
Erik! Who else have we been
talking about all these years?
Well, that's good news. The
German navy is growing.
What a fantastic career opportunity!
You tricked him into this career!
So that he wouldn't come home!
You will become a great singer.
Tell me! Am I right?
You have connections everywhere!
Yes, I'm grateful for the food and shelter,
but if Erik's not coming here,
I'll go there! - Wait!
You don't know everything.
Absurd! You made this up!
You, my father? - Yes.
And who's Erik then? - Your brother.
Erik? My brother? - Yes. Half brother.
Impossible. You're lying! - My dear!
Haven't you realized it yourself?
We should be happy now that you know,
at least that's how I imagined it.
You imagined!
I'm 25 years old! - A perfect age!
You knew this all the time and
you're telling me only now?
Wilhelmine!
Did you think I should kiss your feet now?
Don't talk to me this way!
I'll talk how I please! Get out!
Dear daughter! - Burn in hell!
Juula!
Julius! - Erik is out of the game!
Dead? - Erich is out! Out!
The grand seventy-five!
Hirsch? Where is our present? - Oh, yeah!
I wonder where the daughter is.
The latest Zeiss optics.
Ordered from Riga.
Can you see the future with that?
Of course!
You have to know the right people,
if you want to achieve anything.
Who is that Hirsch?
And that simple peasant boy
who talks about flying?
The Jew is the new bookkeeper
of the Rosen distillery
The other's the captain
of their organization.
The captain? An Estonian? - Yes.
But why didn't Erich come home on that day
to greet his father?
Come in, come in, don't be shy.
I'm the lawful mistress here.
Wilhelmine!
And the name of the mistress is not
Wilhelmine von Strandmann anymore.
It's simply Helmi Rannamaa.
Youth will take over...
I do apologise.
Willi... All the best!
We have to go, too.
Taavi, what's our hurry? The
party is just beginning.
Indeed.
Any news from Erik? - Not interested.
Well, well...
Does Miss... Helmi has someone else?
But when will you find
yourself a girlfriend?
I've just set my eyes on you.
Peasants will remain peasants.
What's that supposed to mean?
Don't you know?
It's a national policy now.
Taking Estonian names.
Yes, but this is voluntary.
Why Wilhelmine?
What are you doing here?
It's very late, you're
supposed to be at work!
Have a cookie and go! Now!
Let's dance.
Raims, play something joyful!
How joyful? - Improvise.
Where are you going?
- Helmi, you know I don't know how.
Yes, you can. Look.
Helmi, please stop.
Helmi, don't stop...
Then JUri may become a dancer...
Helmi, would you teach me so
I could become a dancer here and now,
As the rhythm of jazz has got into me,
and this charming music plays.
Helmi, would you show me
a step or two of foxtrot right away,
Just a few steps should be enough for me
so I could just dance with thee.
Shall we have a cup of
coffee before the rehearsal?
I think I'll skip the rehearsal!
Do you like it?
Hello. Is the Baron here?
Mom went to the pharmacy. - Julius!
Julius was a tiny tip-tip-tee,
darling huggie bunny-ho.
Are you still a bachelor,
or maybe a confirmed one?
And life has gone by like a dream...
And a bullet may find him anywhere.
It's so beautiful outside.
You know, Helmi...
Julius, wait!
Will you stay as you are, so good.
Helmi...
Would you...
Would you know where my puppet is?
It's my guardian angel.
Hello.
Then, at last, the
giant army is followed
by a united nation,
the people that have been so shattered.
Oh, Papa!
Sorry. I didn't want to disturb you.
What is it? - It's time to go now.
Go where? - The Fuhrer is calling.
The historical homeland
has always been there.
What's the hurry now?
It's in no hurry at all.
But I think this
self-established state here...
They say that Estonia has
been given away to Stalin.
I'm not coming. My home is here!
I think I should go.
Perhaps you'll change your mind?
Dresden's Semperoper, and...
Farewell then...
Helmi... Rannamaa.
Father!
Baggage inspection for
immigrants to Germany
With the last ship, in October,
800 more Estonian Germans leave.
With this, the number
of re-settlers in 1939
has risen to 12000.
And as the Fuhrer has said,
most of them will live in Poznan
in Poland, newly divided between
the Soviet Union and Germany.
Helen? Back already?
What would I know of these documents?
Your passport, for example.
You are his grandmother, right?
It's very simple.
A notary will come,
you sign a power of attorney and that's it.
Well, Julius, did you hear?
The boy is selling the house.
What's the hurry with this sale?
If the price is right,
then what's the problem?
Where'd you get the key?
Wait. You're the cinema-guy, right?
I'd like to see the cinema, too.
Damn. It's pitch black.
We may end up having to bargain here.
When was the last time a
movie was shown here?
12. May '93.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
You can see that. But ok.
You better make a Judgement
Day for yourself, too.
The buyer will be here soon.
And the notary.
It was a pleasure.
But where will you put me?
That's up to Paul.
It's a time of change.
Excuse me? - It's a time of change.
Mankind is bidding farewell to its past.
Well, the people have
been rounded up there.
Excuse me? Who rounded them up? - Sorry.
It's all voluntary.
Why does it smell of ?bourgeois? here?
Listening to too much foreign radio?
Little nationalist piece of shit.
Put these on as soon as I finish.
USSR and Estonia are becoming
closer to each other.
The Mutual Assistance Treaty of 1939
is inevitable.
Clearly,
the nationalist government
cannot ensure
Estonia's neutrality
and peaceful development.
The Baltic nations were eager
to use the opportunity
to show their free will
and end the capitalist yoke forever
by joining
the friendly Soviet family.
The Germans knew the Russians were coming.
They say that dead bodies
are being removed from
this very police building.
And the survivors are being
sent directly to Siberia.
Children, too. Everyone.
What have they done wrong?
Only under the fruitful conditions
of Soviet rule,
will the Estonian working class
be heading towards a bright future.
Applause
to the working people of Soviet Estonia!
What are you looking for?
I want to know what the
German radio is saying.
You think you will hear
something about Erik?
Roosi, do you think that...
What are you doing here?
She's chasing her Erik!
Obviously. Radios have been banned!
Why?
If they find one, you're finished.
You know...
What's that?
This can only mean war.
Helmi? - JUri!
How sure are you about
the people downstairs?
They are our own people. - Own or not,
when you're shitting your guts,
you will sing.
And you? - I thought they came for me.
But I won't surrender. - Right.
Who's chasing you?
- Who? The NKVD, of course.
And the bastards in our
destruction battalions.
How far is the front?
Just behind Tartu.
The Germans went towards Leningrad
and we were surrounded.
Here. This is Erik's old one.
Do you know anything about Erik?
Father promised to find him.
You mean Old Willem? Your father? - Yes.
JUri! What are you talking about?
What is it with my father?
What do I know? - JUri!
Tell me what you know!
Are you expecting someone? At night?
Mother sent... - JUri!
Step in.
Well, the festive part is over.
A red star on your forehead
and a rifle in your hands?
I didn't volunteer... - Yes.
We'll be shooting at
each other soon enough.
I hid in the basement and all...
Today they told my mother
that if I don't show up by morning,
they will shoot... Mother.
Damn Hitlers!
Liberated Latvia in two days
but are letting us be wiped out.
In the open, under a bush,
an Estonian soldier is lying.
On his face so beautiful
a tear of death is glittering.
Quiet! Julius, you too!
In fact...
You are... - I know, Julius.
I don't want to go!
Be brave.
Here. You left the pot.
See you after the war.
I think I should hit the sack.
No, you are not.
You're going to tell me
what you know about Erik.
The bloody year of red
terror is finally over.
The blue-black-white tricolour
flies all over Estonia again.
People have come to the streets
to greet their liberators
the 61 st infantry
and battle group Friedrich,
Also including their own Estonian boys.
The victims of the Bolshevist executioners
are being honoured, people are
looking for their lost relatives.
Every dusk is followed by a new dawn
and the people are eager
to re-establish their normal lives.
Helmi Rannamaa, an operetta singer
of the Estonia theater,
is not wasting any time.
Long years separate her
from Erich von Strandmann
and now she has decided
to travel to her loved one.
But destiny is larger than life.
There is no longer any point
in looking for an address,
as Erich has himself arrived home.
Oh, what joy!
Nothing can restrain this passion any more.
But what's this?
This is Erik's brand new leg.
Don't take me as a complete cripple.
When did this happen?
But I wrote to you about that.
I haven't heard about you
in a very long time.
Father wrote occasionally, but...
Forgive me.
But it was because of dad
that I didn't write you.
He lied that you are my brother.
But I'm not!
I know. JUri told me.
Did he also tell you who my real father is?
A stable boy of the manor.
That's why Mamma went
abroad in the first place.
But once you knew, why didn't you come?
I thought...
I thought you wouldn't want me any more.
Because of that new leg... - Silly you!
You could be new all over,
as long as your heart is the same!
Battles don't cease during the holidays.
But for the wounded frontline men,
a Christmas mood
is created using all means.
For the Christmas season,
the Estonia theater has staged
a production of the beloved opera
The Count of Luxembourg.
How was the performance?
It was more like a concert.
Milvi Laid shone as always? - Yes.
But I had a friend there as well...
Is there any news from the front?
They say that the Estonian boys
have all been slaughtered
near Velikije Luki.
Roosi, these are just rumours.
The boys will return
and your Julius will be home by Christmas.
Helmi... An old friend of
yours came to see you.
I let him in.
Can't recall the name.
Kirss, or something...
and we're completely out
of meat and vodka coupons.
Roosi, everything's well. - Yes.
Hello, Helmi. - Taavi! You here, like that.
Almost from Lappland!
Let me guess. Erich von Strandmann.
Herr Hirsch, I presume.
Father has told me about you.
Dear children,
Santa was only able to come to you
because nazis fieldpatrol
does not check Santa's papers.
Well, will you sing or just recite a poem?
The remainders of Mr Rosen's stock.
Santa should go to other homes now, but...
Tell us where you have been.
I managed to escape from
the camp in Jagala.
Two months ago. No one can believe it.
What camp? Here? In Estonia?
2000 people were slaughtered right away.
Do you know about Doris and August?
- Yes, I heard.
So horrible! - What?
August was our leading baritone.
He sang mainly in Berlin and Vienna.
What an irony. - What irony?
He committed suicide
together with his wife.
Why?- Because Doris was Jewish.
Why are you looking at me?
Yes, I'm an officer of the German Navy.
I have nothing to do
with their damned Nazi party.
Is that clear?
I'll bring you something
more comfortable to wear.
Estonia: Territory and residents.
Taavi...
Does anyone else know you are here?
Besides Roosi.
I know what you are risking, Erik.
They have complete lists. - You see,
I'm on the list of those
who went to Russia.
Yes, but you didn't.
I was a banker for von Rosen.
It didn't suit me so well.
Europe has done you good, Erik.
You radiate modern values.
I think that as soon as the war is over,
I'll cross the ocean.
I have relatives there.
The movie business is big in America.
Cinema has an amazing future.
The Leningrad-Novgorod front
is being firmly held by
the Army Group Nord.
Retreating is not an option.
The front is just being reorganised
to fortify the Narva river
The Third Division of Estonian
volunteers is being formed.
They will hold the Narva river.
Berlin has promised
independence for Estonia.
And Narva is the border
of Europe and Russia,
as was stated by...
Can't you sleep?
I took a vacation.
Going away with Helmi?
No, she doesn't know.
If I were you, I'd go while you can.
I will try, too. To the
West, to the Allies.
If, of course...
A soldier's place is at the front.
It's not your war.
Yes. But it is my country. It is my home.
Erik!
Helmi!
This evening of 9. March 1944
will forever remain in history
as an example of the barbarism
of the Bolshevist Stalinist regime.
In two air raids,
the heart of the capital
of Estonia was destroyed.
The symbol of Estonian culture,
the Estonia theater is also in ruins.
But Erik will be back! Then what?
He will be glad you managed
to flee with the child.
What shall I do in Sweden?
We're not going to stay there!
We'll come back after the war.
Trust me, the Allies won't sell
us out to the Russians again.
Everyone knows what they have done here.
Going already? Are the Reds so close?
They just entered the city.
The German bastards have fled.
Which flag shall I fly now? This? Or that?
Fly all three, so all the
bastards will be happy.
Let's go.
He's the spitting image of his father.
Is he? - Like a living picture.
Take him.
Helmi, where are you going?
We have one more family to pick up.
The boat's not waiting.
What shall I say to Erik?
He won't come.
The vehicle's papers are in order. Shit!
They left. And JUri...
It's the only picture of us together.
Paul, what are we going to
do about the cinema guy?
Look, isn't this our crow? - Fuck you!
Sorry, I wasn't talking to you.
Our guest is arriving!
Turn off the beat!
It's not Russia, dork!
Three very tough years...
The yoke of the German conquerors
has finally been broken.
Tallinn, the capital of
Estonian SSR is free at last.
Once again, the red flag flies
in the tower of Tall Hermann.
Happy people are crowding
on the streets in thousands,
to greet the liberators
with flower bouquets and dancing.
Our own lads
of the Estonian Rifle Corps.
Arriving with the troops
of the Leningrad front,
Corporal Julius Naagu has come home.
He immediately sets his steps
towards someone dearly missed...
Julius...
You are alive!
It doesn't feel like you're
just back from the war.
As they said at the front,
only cannon flesh is Russian.
Do you know what's going to happen now?
Nothing. I fought on the right side.
No one would dare touch us.
Us. You mean...?
We'll make ourselves
comfortable here and...
Most importantly, the worst is behind us.
We'll put the boy to school.
It is a boy? - Yes. Mihkel.
Mihkel-boy...
We'll hold a little party, too.
I'll put on something fancier.
Mother, I guess. She went to the market.
What's the problem, comrades?
Everything's alright here. I'm...
Don't interrupt. We're working.
You are Rannamaa, Helmi,
daughter of Wilhelm?
At the present, you are married
to an officer of the army
of the German Fascist conquerors,
Erich von...
Excuse me... It must be a mistake.
Who are you?
I'm a frontline man.
8th Estonian Rifle Corps, Corporal.
Wounded at Velikiye Luki.
You're shit, not a frontline man.
Wilhelmina von Strandmann...
Damn, that's hard to pronounce.
By order of the government
of the Soviet Union,
you will be deported
from the territory of the Estonian SSR
to the far regions of the country.
Any questions?
No questions.
Guys, would you relax for a minute.
Let's get going, Pal-
You, my little fascist-nazi.
A beauty.
Good...
Hold Still!
I'm sure they'll let us live here.
The working class rules
now, and we're so happy.
Quit drinking.
Don't waste the floor paint.
Hello, Yulich. - Hello.
How's it going?
What are you showing today?
What film? - About Siberia.
About Siberia? That's good.
Right, we'll see.
Would you like some tea?
Such a big apartment.
Do you live here alone? - Well...
It will soon become
a military commissariat
of the Lenin district.
Quiet!
Today, the 29th August 1949,
at the Semipalatinsk Test Site,
the first Soviet nuclear bomb
was successfully tested.
Guys, we have a nuclear bomb!
To Comrade Stalin!
Perish, international imperialism!
Hooray, comrades!
Aah, that's good!
Get the ball rolling!
A bomb for America!
Look...
How precise. - A hit on Moscow!
Listen, we're on duty tomorrow.
What are you talking about...
Boys...
It's 7.30 in Moscow.
Good morning, comrades!
Yes. Sidoroff, Nikolay Nikitich.
Yes, a rifle, too. No, he is dead.
I already checked.
A seaman from Kronstadt.
Everything's clear.
He's a hero of the revolution.
Yes. Right, I'll be waiting.
They were interested.
Here. Let's have one.
You sure you don't know who killed him?
I don't. Never seen him before.
I swear!
Who used to live here?
A woman. - Where is she now?
I don't know.
To: Siberia, Tomsk, Helmi Rannamaa...
What do you want?
Ah, you... See, I'm back as promised.
You wouldn't think - she's issue of 1908!
We're going downstairs.
What if she doesn't give us the passport?
Power of attorney alone is useless.
The hag has to come with us to the notary.
The hag can't walk, you idiot.
So what? - The notary must come here!
Memorial Museum of Revolutionary Seaman
S. I. Sidoroff,
He was killed in an uneven fight
with the bourgeois in this very building.
There are bullet holes in that globe.
Boys!
Yes, please ask.
But why was he killed?
He was killed while defending
the ideas of Lenin and Stalin
of happiness
for the working class of the world.
They came on a few ships from Kronstadt.
In the capital of the Czarist state,
St. Petersburg, now Leningrad,
workers, peasants and seamen
had already seized power.
What year is it now?
1954. - Very good.
A Bolshevik was killed 37 years ago,
but his memory lives on eternally.
I'll do it. Go!
Well, children. You can write, right?
Of course they can! - And this is all
thanks to heroes
like this Sidoroff...
Dear God. A feast.
Just a moment... - You've changed.
And... You haven't. - Yes.
But the boy... What about him?
Or...? - He was taken to an orphanage.
Or so I was told.
I looked for him,
but his name had already changed.
Oh...
And you? You haven't married?
No. Hasn't happened.
Shall we have some tea?
Or do you drink coffee here?
Julius, sit down.
Well, how's life? - Well...
Surviving, somehow.
Where's Roosi?
She took to the drink.
Couldn't quit till she was six feet under.
So nice that you've kept this.
Julius...
It's as if I've always had you
my whole life.
You understand...
I don't.
All the way from Sverdlovsk to Tallinn
I thought that if you are still here,
then I'd marry you.
Why didn't you write?
I didn't write what?
Not a single line.
That wasn't forbidden, was it?
God, did you...
Even a few words. That you are alive.
And I was... - You were what?
Nothing.
Julius, would you have answered me?
Yes, I understand.
An enemy of the people, after all.
No. It's not that.
I'll go then. - Where to?
You know that people like me aren't allowed
to live in their home region.
Hello. You're Mr...
Comrade Hirss? - Goodbye.
Helmi... - Helmi?
You are her friend, right? Hirss.
And you are the... Comrade...
Cinema man.
Do you know where Helmi is now?
In a collective farm.
How is it going, dear guests?
All's well, comrade farm chairman.
Yulich... Yulich! Give me a glass.
Oh, Yulich... - Has something happened?
Our museum is screwed.
In what sense? - Screwed. Incorporated
in the Museum of Revolution.
The hell With it...
Wait! What's going to be here?
Housing for the working class!
How? - What? You're worried?
You are safe!
You're like in God's back chamber here!
Who are you? A cinema man!
What did Lenin say?
Cinema is
the most important of all arts!
I have to rewind this. - Rewind!
Light in Koordi. What's it about?
There's this frontline man. Georg Ots.
He's made chairman of a collective farm.
That's how it should be!
Good film.
What? A colour film? Way to go!
Look what's written here! - What?
Americans want to be the first
to fly to the moon!
Earlier than us. - Seriously?
See. The first man on the moon
will be an American.
Well, we're going to fly to Mars first!
Mars is a bit far. We'll run out of gas.
Be quiet there!
OK, I'll wait there.
What are you doing there?
What? Fascists! Go away!
Hockey? Why'd you turn that off?
Who's playing? - Krylja vs Dinamo!
Gulya, let's get married. - Get lost!
Get lost! I see you every day...
Good evening.
Is Helmi Rannamaa living here?
Wilhelm's daughter.
Our people's enemy? Here.
Yes, but she went to the attic,
to hang laundry. Some time ago.
Have you seen her?
Ask Gulya. They're, like, friends.
Captain 2nd rank,
Yagodin, Matvey Sergeyevich.
Collective farm...
It's a particularly curious fact
here in America
that Hollywood is filming
The Bridge at Remagen in Prague.
When Soviet troops saw American tanks,
they thought that NATO
had captured the city.
Helmi!
The KGB is looking for you.
Helmi Wilhelmovna Rannamaa?
Mother?
Why're you hanging around here?
Do you need help?
Quiet. He's in a bad way.
Of course. He's been
drinking for three days.
Rookie.
He has to get himself together
or he'll die.
What? He's just drinking!
Don't shout! - Stupid...
I don't understand what happened.
He found out that seaman Sidoroff,
the hero, raped his mother.
Tried to rape her. - She told him herself.
But why should that drive him to drink?
She showed him a photograph.
Of Sidoroff? - Of her own wedding picture.
And? - He found out who his father is.
Vodka!
I'm sorry for Mikhail.
Working in the system,
yet his father was a German officer.
He may even lose his job!
His name is Mihkel.
Americans made it
to the moon before us, too.
Gulya...
Agnes! - Take this hound from hell!
Our heirloom is freedom!
Excuse me.
Is Frau Wilhelmine von Strandmann...
Rannamaa living here?
Yes. - Would Frau be at home?
No. Everyone is at the parade.
Is Wilhelmine still singing opera? - No.
She works at the opera's front desk now.
Tell Frau Wilhelmine
that von Stahl Jr was here.
From West Germany.
Come, Peter, we're going to see
the old town and your birth house.
One moment, darling.
Damn, how beautiful. - Tchaikovsky.
A great Russian composer.
Yet you don't love the
great Russian nation.
Give this letter to Frau Wilhelmine.
What a beautiful city!
Take care.
Why aren't you at the parade?
What do you know about parades?
But I have shed blood for peace.
So let's drink to that, my dove.
You are the woman who lived here
a long time ago.
During the bourgeois rule.
Yulich has mentioned something...
Let's drink!
Why don't you love me?
Fascist beauty.
What do you want here?
Nothing. I thought...
You can only dream...
Let's drink to the broad.
With character. I like that!
Let's drink!
To the lady. - Don't touch me!
I like that!
What are you doing, bastard?
It's my flower.
Uncle Matvey has been killed!
But you are going to prison now.
What are you doing there?
You hear me, thug?
Don't start. Paul gave me permission.
I'm going to call the police now.
Stop hassling.
Better help me look for it.
Fuck it!
Julius, what happened? Are you ok?
It's not his house!
It's our house, yours and mine.
Let me show you something. - What?
Before the mobsters kill me.
North Tallinn Ambulance
There are balconies.
Civilisation!
Or, as our wise Party says:
life has to get better.
I'll wave to you from there.
Let's sit for a moment
before going our own ways.
Don't be sad.
Your turn will come, eventually.
Well... Farewell.
Your ironing board...
I forgot.
Leena!
What? - It doesn't fit in.
The suitcase doesn't fit in.
See?
It'll fit!
It doesn't. See for yourself!
Bye!
Yeah, well... I'm going, too.
Thank you anyway for saving this place.
Quite honestly...
It'll all be torn down.
There'll be an important breakthrough.
Prospect of Communism.
From the airport to the port.
When will this be? Torn down?
In the future. Next quinquennium maybe.
Maybe six.
We are going to the pharmacy as well.
Do you want something? - No.
Do you know that you are
devilishly like your father.
Even your son's position in the KGB
won't help you here.
Mihkel has left the KGB.
Noone leaves the KGB
by himself.
He's working
at a horse track now.
In the stables. Like his grandfather.
Erik's father.
Well... Do you know anything about Erik?
Well then, live as long as they let you.
Hello.
Mihkel!
Uncle Jull!
So how's life here? - Thank God, not bad.
How's your mother... Helmi.
Go up and see for yourself.
Mihkel, come! - Right away!
What?
Go inside. I'll put the kettle on.
It's so beautiful here.
The communal life is gone.
You've kept my room tidy.
I didn't even recognise it at first.
The biggest thanks to you
for writing to me all these years.
Where did you get this?
Every other inmate is a
supplier of something.
Well, I'll...
Julius, the most important thing
had to remain unwritten anyway.
Stop it. You saved my life.
But what about you? Are you still alone?
You know, at times I see Erik in my dreams.
He has gotten so old.
I think, if he's aging in my dreams,
then he is not dead.
What do you think?
I saw Mihkel at the door.
With some hairy chaps.
He's preaching God's
word in his spare time.
In some church of...
Methoditians or I don't know.
Getting Gulya and the boy
also to receive God's blessing.
Sings his gospel
every evening.
But you haven't seen little Paul.
He is also the spitting image of Erik.
Oh, I'm just talking about
myself all the time.
Tell me about your life.
Was it hard? - No.
In jail, I became a cinema man, too.
I wanted to give it to you earlier, but...
But I couldn't.
Gravely wounded Erich von Strandmann
sank with the hospital-ship Moero,
after being torpedoed by Russian vessels
near Danzig.
You are not angry with me
for not giving it earlier?
Oh, Julius...
Well, you're just going to
start showing cinema again.
Yeah. There's no escape.
It's my profession.
Let's go to the cinema.
What's on today?
Some Estonian film.
A Time to Live, a Time to Love.
This summer of 1988 in Estonia
is like one big singing revolution.
One day we will win anyway!
The leaders of the Estonian
National Front have said
that there will be big
changes in the Soviet Union.
A hero of the revolution,
Nikolay Sergeyevich Sidoroff.
Hello. We've come from the school
named after him
to visit the historical place. Look.
But this museum has moved long ago.
We know that.
But we wanted to see the house
where he fought and was killed.
And we also wanted
to bring some soil from his hometown.
Here you go. - Look! That same globe!
Yes! - Let's put the
soil in the globe then.
We also have a little act.
Hello, perestroika, hi, democracy
the dictatorship has fallen,
everyone is glad.
Hello, perestroika, hello many flags
we are not afraid
of this dirty old red flag.
Is there any problem? - It's ok.
Have you talked to your granny
about the notary? - Sort of.
You didn't dare? - She's your grandma.
So? I can't force her, can I?
Did they leave for good?
Don't be silly!
Berta from my theater
found a treatment for Mihkel there.
Maybe they can help fix him.
And Gulya went with him
only because Mihkel doesn't
get around alone anymore.
It must be quite expensive. - What?
The treatment in Sweden. - Berta said
that if one was forced to go to Chernobyl,
then it's free.
That a Swedish state institution
will carry out the tests and treatment.
Bleedin' Chernobyl.
Listen, shall we have a little drink?
What are we drinking to today?
The future, of course.
And for Mihkel getting well.
And for Estonia to stay free.
And not to get sold out again.
You, old bachelor,
are helping me to my bed?
I have seen thousands of love movies.
So I know how.
Good night, old lady. - Good night.
What's in there?
A friend of Papa or his son
found this box
among his father's things.
With a note that in this box,
there is ash from the city of Dresden.
Papa wished that his ashes
would be returned to his homeland.
And as he burnt up
with Dresden in 1945,
these ashes are pretty much...
The old Baron's ashes?
Alright then. I know where it belongs.
Help me!
The Estonia ferry crew is trying
to contact Silja Europe.
Is this soil? I'll throw it away.
Papa's globe. Leave it there.
I guess it's supposed to be there.
There was a strong wind last night.
I wonder if they got any
sleep on that ship?
"Shipwreck"
Helmi...
Take him to his hotel.
Grandma, do you have
your passport somewhere?
You want to take it to a notary?
No, the notary will come to you.
I need you to give me
your power of attorney.
I heard you are planning to sell the house.
Yeah... Wait.
But look, we can buy this instead.
Or something from there.
Or... What do you think?
I think you should let us die here.
Then do what you please.
You can't do anything here anymore.
And they've paid an advance.
You think I can't?
But see, I can!
And I can stop my home
from being sold off just like that!
This house is my life, Papa's life,
Julius' life! You understand?
Do you understand anything at all, boy?
How much are they paying you?
Can you at all imagine
what has taken place in this house?
How much suffering, worries, tears,
hope and love there has been here?
You think that if you just show me
this glamorous picture
I should gladly agree?
Let's sell it to these thugs.
No, Paul, this house will be turned into
a children's music house.
But on the other hand...
Can I fight against the future?
Of course I may not like your plans,
dear Paul.
But everyone has
to make their own mistakes in life.
That's the way life is.
Thank you.
Dear Helmi,
as soon as I get your address,
I will come to you.
If they won't let you return to Estonia
I'll come there.
I don't know how to be without you.
Damn! Now what? A mass suicide?
A bloodclot in her lungs.
If we had arrived earlier,
it wouldn't have helped.
At her age...
She had an
Agreement with the city.
And now what?
I don't know. I'll have to check.
What do we do with the black guy?
Mr. Lemmik, it just happened that...
We'll find our own way out.
My condolences.
There is an ambulance outside.
Helen, you see...
Grandmother has left us...
Old Mamma!
Old Mamma is at home after all!
You see, auntie Helmi,
your little act almost had
much graver consequences.
Dear Helmi, where are you?
I know you are alive there, somewhere.
I have been searching for you,
but Siberia is vast.
All the letters are being sent back.
Why don't you write me?
That's not forbidden, is it?