Review: Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Reviews

The Singing Revolution

Clumsy yet triumphant

By PETER KEOUGH | June 4, 2008

2.5 Stars

The Singing Revolution

Those who scoff at the notion of a “Woodstock Nation” or the idea that music or culture can change history should take a look at this documentary from James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty about the struggle for Estonian independence. Estonia had the geographical misfortune to be situated between Europe and Asia, and between Russia and the sea — hence the unending waves of conquerors ending in the past century with the Third Reich and the Soviet Union. But the million or so Estonians maintained their national identity largely through their music, in particular a music festival established in 1869 that, following their post-WW2 absorption into the Soviet Union, slowly grew into a national independence movement. The Tustys’ filmmaking doesn’t quite rise to the subject, but their clumsily collected archival footage and talking heads engulfed in a fulsome voiceover narrative can’t dim Estonia’s triumph. 94 minutes | Kendall Square

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