DETSEMBRIKUUMUS

Tallinn in November 1924. It's six years since the First World War ended and the Estonian Republic has to endure social tensions that the newly-established polity seems unable to deal with. Communist fighters take advantage of this resentment in order to prepare a putsch against the Estonian government.

The film shows the atmosphere and political entanglements of the days prior to the putsch and its subsequent suppression. The focus is on Tanel and Anna Rõuk, who together serve as an indicator of the condition of Estonian society. The young couple dream of a life in Paris. Unhappiness with her meagre existence pushes Anna into trying to cajole the dutiful soldier Tanel in joining her on the journey. This implied mismatch is strengthend in the course of the narrative when it emerges that Anna once associated with the communist rebels.

Narrated in a sombre tone, the film typifies the Estonians' determination to fight for their independence. The transformation of Anna and Tanel is exemplary of this spirit and the final images of them deciding to let the train to Paris carry on without them unforgettable.

This state-commissioned and accordingly not at all times completely impartial film, the most expensively-produced in Estonian cinema history, portrays a confident and independent society, an image which addresses national sensibilities and provides a visual monument to a date of great social significance.