Estonia's coveted position between Europe and Russia has lured wave after wave of occupiers. The nation's darkest chapter, though, dawned in 1939 with the arrival of the Soviets. It seemed this time that the Estonian natio... more »n might vanish completely; yet the Estonians waited, and fought, and sang and ultimately, survived.
The Singing Revolution narrates the remarkable story of this tiny nation's struggle for independence, illuminating how the Estonians kept their identity alive even under the oppressive weight of the Iron Curtain through a rich tradition of song. Here, people have joined voices for centuries, and their Laulupidu an immense song festival offered glimmers of Estonian culture and connectedness in even the bleakest periods, proving to The Singing People that their national spirit still smoldered. When the Soviet nation finally began to crumble in the 1980s, the Estonians saw their opportunity: free speech became song, and song became a soaring anthem of independence.
Dramatically capturing the spectacular beauty of Estonia and the overwhelming sea of people and sound that brought this nation together, The Singing Revolution celebrates a people who revolted with no weapons but their songs, no force but their unstoppable dream.« less
"We miss things, we here in the most powerful nation on earth. I was alive when Estonia was fighting for its independence only I wasn't paying attention. Much of the world turned its back on this repressed nation. The music is glorious and the people are inspiring. "The Singing Revolution" proves that desire trumps death. They were not powerful, but they sang their way to freedom, a revolution bought with breath not blood. You will feel hopeful for the entire world after experiencing this film. It made me proud, it made me cry, it made me think. It reminded me that I should pay attention to the rest of the world."
What A Story!
A. Visser | Concord, NH | 12/05/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a film that is carried by its 'too wonderously powerful to be fiction' story. While we in the US were focused on confronting the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the peoples of the subjugated Baltic and Slavic nations were struggling to maintain their national identities and cultures. Each nation has a tale to tell (Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution, Ukraine's Orange Revolution, Georgia's Rose Revolution) This film shows us how the people of Estonia sang their culture and nation through this ordeal. Although I agree with much of what the other reviewers have written regarding the technical filmaking aspects of this film (somewhat lacking in deep individual character development), I had to give "The Singing Revolution" five stars for the power of the story itself. See this film and revel in a triumph of true strength over opression!"
A former resident
colmlt | Abingdon, MD USA | 02/12/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Having lived in Tallinn from 1999 to 2001, I was particularily interested in the Singing Revolution when it came out to theaters around the country. When the DVD was produced, I am sure I was one of the first to purchase it. This is a compelling story of a country and its people who struggled to maintain their cultural identity from the 40s to the early 90s in the face of severe opposition at the hands of the Soviets. Having lived there, I was able to learn first hand about the struggles so poignantly depicted in the DVD. Since I have received the DVD, I have shared it on many occasions with friends and family. It is a story that needs to be told to everyone. You won't be disappointed when you purchase and view this documentary."
Inspiring
Kairus | Los Angeles, CA | 04/20/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I saw the movie in a theatre last year, and just watched it again on a DVD. What a story and a lesson in history!!! I wonder how many people know that the Soviet Union was anything but a big happy family? That the Baltic nations (and many more...) were held captive behind the Iron Curtain against their free will? That there was genocide going on and the outside world had no idea?! Makes me wonder about Cuba, China and other places like that today...
I enjoyed the movie from the very beginning until the very end, but there were 3 scenes that were exceptionally powerful:
1) The 2 Estonian policemen (these guys had some balls!!) protecting the TV tower inside while unarmed locals with linked arms were standing guard outside against the approaching tanks and massive numbers of Soviet soldiers.
2) Over a million people creating a human chain through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by joining hands.
3) The scene where the average (unarmed, of course) Estonians went to protect their Parliament building from hordes of hostile Russians - and after surrounding them, peacefully parting ways to let the enemies go through. That sight was just so... CIVILIZED that it was almost surreal!
4)...
5)...
I could keep on going but I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet. (Oh, I cannot help myself, just one last thing - the scenes where 30,000 people were singing together! UNREAL!!! And the music is beautiful.)
I highly recommend this movie to anyone interested in any of the following subjects: culture, history, USSR and fall of the Evil Empire, choral music, ideas on how to start a peaceful revolution of your own, proof of why communism doesn't work and why democracy is the way to go.
"
Never forget the courage of small countries
Michael W. Perry | Author of Untangling Tolkien, Seattle, WA | 03/17/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Far too little has been said about why the Soviet Union collapsed, freeing the captive nations of Eastern Europe. Perhaps that is because during the 1970s and 1980s all too many in our chattering classes invested their intellectual capital in criticizing President Reagan's claim that communism was doomed to a soon demise. Few are as unwilling to admit their errors as intellectuals.
This documentary tells the story of how Estonia, a small country that, judging by this film, must have some of the prettiest women in the world, won its freedom from communist domination. Like Poland, Latvia and the other Baltic countries, for centuries the Estonian people have fought to retain their national identity despite invasions and conquests from the east and west, the most recently being the Soviet-German-Soviet occupations between 1939 and 1991. As you will see in this film, one key to the retention of Estonia's national identity was a tradition that included enormous folk music festivals with thousands of singers.
I will not spoil this excellent documentary by describing the actual events through which a nation of a little over a million people took on the Soviet superpower, but I will stress that history offers us no guarantee of happiness and security. Though shrunken in size, Russia is still behaving like a bully and, as G. K. Chesterton warned almost a century ago, the peace of Europe hinges on keeping the little countries of Eastern Europe free and independent.
In 1932, Chesterton warned that, if Britain and France did not stand firm, the next war would break out over a border dispute between Germany and Poland, precisely what happened in 1939. Like Churchill, Chesterton was ridiculed for his alarmist point of view, but what was true then remains true today. The peace of Europe still depends on what happens to the little countries of Eastern Europe. The next major war could break out as Russia, collapsing as its oil and natural gas reserves become exhausted, invades little Estonia in 2019, much as it did when war began seventy years earlier.
-Michael W. Perry, Chesterton on War and Peace: Battling the Ideas and Movements That Led to Nazism and World War II"