The WoRlD of ESToNIAN FIlM

Peeter Simm (b 1953) – a graduate of the Moscow
Film Institute in 1976, master of directing and
aphorisms and author of several conspicuous
Estonian films. His full-length debut, a portrayal
of the Sovietisation of rural life titled Ideaalmaastik
(The Ideal Landscape, 1981), is regarded by many as
the best Estonian film.
Another remarkable work of Peeter Simm is the
adaptation of a roman-fleuve about life in an Estonian
village throughout the 20th century, Tants aurukatla
ümber (Dance Around the Steam Boiler, 1987).
The appeal of the pre-WWII rural idyll was
only strengthened by the brutality of the Soviets
in their attempt to wipe out the armed resistance
and make the individualist Estonians join
collective farms. Terror campaigns such as the
March deportation in 1949 coincided with crude
propaganda, including the first Soviet Estonian
The Ideal Landscape: Arvo Kukumägi (b 1958), an acting talent
of more than 40 film roles “found” by Peeter Simm.
46
Ain Protsin
feature films that dealt with subduing and “reeducating”
the “class enemy” (see p 8). However,
these tough times also provided great material
for new Estonian filmmakers that burst onto
the scene in the 1970’s, among them an amiable
master of directing and aphorisms of modern-day
Estonian cinema.
“First Harvest to the State!” – a slogan in a collective farm from
Dance Around the Steam Boiler.
The Ideal Landscape Dance Around...