Who'd have thunk it? That we'd have something as Capitalistic as the American TV show
Dallas to thank for helping bring down the Soviet block (the Estonian section of that block, at least). This is just one of the many surprising things Americans can learn if they watch the new documentary
DISCO AND ATOMIC WAR, a movie that's amusing, sophisticated and
so very "foreign." Made by a Estonian filmmaker named
Jaak Kilmi (who tells us at the film's beginning "My name is Jaak, and my life is wonderful because I can watch Finnish TV!"), this sneakily charming and thought-provoking film tells the story of how naughty airwaves from the "free" country of Finland sneaked across the border into Communist Estonia, bringing with them television shows (often from America) that were actually fun to watch. How subversive.
Mr. Kilmi, shown at left, tells his story well, in relatively concise fashion (the film lasts 80 minutes), and from various angles: family, friends, inventors, and in particular, the many ways that the Estonia puppet government, together with its Russian bosses, tried to stop this dreadful infiltration. Kilmi possesses, in addition to his film-making skills, a light touch and a wonderful sense of humor about his subject. Together these should immediately pull American viewers into the story, which is a lot more fascinating than it might sound, as 1970s/80s Finland becomes a propaganda battleground between the USSR and the USA.
We can make fun of the television show
Dallas all we want (I cer-tainly have), yet seeing it used as it is here gives the series new meaning, even a certain weight.
Knight Rider, too, gets its day in the sun, as do atomic war, gas masks and, yes, disco -- the arrival of which, via TV, pulls the rug out from under poor Mother Russia yet again.
Illicit TV antennae, popping up all over Estonia (which borders Finland: You knew that) were unfortunately all too visible, so one clever fellow invents one that will work using the mercury from thermometers. When the country soon runs out of thermometers, and Russia wonders why, the citizenry claims a flu epidemic is going on. Meanwhile, everything from culture and mores to clothes and haircuts --all arriving via TV -- are changing Estonian youth. The Communist government tries to create its own competing versions of disco and fashion to entice the kids, but -- come on -- they want it
made in America. By the time the international soft-core movie hit
Emmanuelle comes to Finnish TV, the game is practically over.
Utterly light-hearted, and sometimes light-headed, full of reconstructed scenes that still manage to look pretty real while entertaining us royally, Kilmi's movie is a treat -- as politically savvy as it is insightful about everything from fashion to fascism.
Disco and Atomic War, distributed by
Icarus Films, opens this Friday, November 12, in New York City at the
Cinema Village, with other cities/theaters to follow. Click
here for playdates in the U.S.A. and Canada over the next couple of months.
All pix are from the film itself, except that of Mr. Kilmi (courtesy of blondpoiss.blogspot.com). The filmmaker by the way, will be doing a special Q&A following the 7pm screening of his movie at the Cinema Village this Saturday, November 13.
