The Hartford Courant_An Inspiring Lesson In The Power Of People (June 11)

11.06.2008

By SUSAN DUNNE, Courant Staff Writer, June 11, 2008

FILM REVIEW **** 'The Singing Revolution'   

Bloody revolutions happened all over the world in the last half of the 20th century. At the same time, Estonians, with almost nobody else in the world paying attention, raised the hackles of the Kremlin by gathering in enormous groups, waving flags and singing.

"The Singing Revolution," Maureen and James Tusty's documentary, tells a story that is most extraordinary in this media-saturated age in that we haven't heard it before. Who knew that a music festival held every five years in tiny Estonia was a crucial seedbed for the dissolution of the Soviet Union?

This is an inspiring history lesson all the more remarkable because the Estonian revolutionists killed no one. Communists killed, deported and arrested Estonians by the thousands. But the most confrontational thing Estonians did, outside of some scattered resisters in the forests, was forming a human chain.

The Tustys' story starts in 1939, with the signing, by Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia, of the Molotov-Ribbentrop nonaggression pact. That document gave Estonia to the Soviet Union, willingly or not. Then Hitler broke the pact and moved in. Germany was later ousted by the Soviets, but by the end of World War II, Estonia's woes had just begun.

Five decades of Soviet oppression followed. But a weapon emerged at the 1947 Laulupidu, an immensely popular national song festival. Singers for the first time performed "Land of My Fathers, Land That I Love" in the Estonian language, which was forbidden. The atmosphere was so electrifying that the song immediately became the unofficial national anthem of Estonia.

Soviets forcibly kept the song underground and used Laulupidu as a propaganda tool. But things came to a head in 1969. The Soviet officials refused to allow "Land of My Fathers, Land That I Love" to be sung at the fest. But tens of thousands sang it anyway, drowning out the Soviet brass band. The festival, and the song, became a flash point for nationalists.

The spirit of the festival fanned out nationwide, leading to several competing groups seeking Estonian independence. They were assisted, ironically, by Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost. "Whenever you give free speech to people, things get out of hand," one observer states.

New freedoms led to 1988, when public sing-alongs became so large, the Soviets were powerless to drown them out. The singers' successes emboldened them, and the Estonian flag started popping up at gatherings. The 1988 Laulupidu attracted 300,000 people, one out of every three Estonians.

By 1991, after years of nonviolent resistance, always accompanied by that song and the black, white and blue Estonian flag, Estonia declared independence. By the end of the year, the Soviet Union agreed to let its republics go.

"The Singing Revolution" is a wonderful story full of admirable people. It's also a sobering reminder of what trivial things Americans choose to focus on. In this country, the peccadilloes of starlets and pop tarts are considered worthy of magazine covers. Meanwhile, in Estonia, people were changing the world, and nobody in America knows who they are.

THE SINGING REVOLUTION is a Mountain View Productions release of a documentary by Maureen and James Tusty. In Estonian and Russian with subtitles, and in English; 94 minutes. Unrated, but with nothing to offend. Opens today at Cinestudio, 300 Summit St., on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford.

Contact Susan Dunne at sdunne@courant.com

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