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Estonian coming of age drama/political satire set in 1986 in the final years of the Eastern communist block. Poignant and well-acted, it captures the mix of rebellious youth looking for a revolution - and for sexual adventures.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/24/23
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Audience Member
Revolution of Pigs Press Review LESLIE FELPERIN - Variety
By LESLIE FELPERIN A bawdy summer camp movie in which the teens go on a rampage, Estonia's rousing "Revolution of Pigs" is an unlikely but surprisingly successful cross between Ivan Reitman's "Meatballs" and Lindsay Anderson's "If...." One of the few competition titles to generate international buzz at the Moscow film fest (where it won the Silver St. George special jury prize), pic by co-helming feature debutants Jaak Kilmi andRene Reinumagi has minor flaws but could interest fests and some internationalmarkets.Ex-Warsaw Pact territories (apart from Russia) will respond to its pungent trough of sex-crazed teens, satirized Soviet kitsch and muted nostalgia. During a hot 1980s Estonian summer, boys and girls assemble at a Socialist summer camp in the sticks where teams will perform skits to compete for a trip to the Russian Black Sea coast. On the camp-bound bus, teens babble about personal five-year plans and the universalshort-term teen goal of getting laid. The handheld camera weaves through the arrivingcrowds to introduce the pic's ensemble, pausing occasionally to imitate the cantered, low angles of Soviet propaganda films.Like Hollywood teen pics, the roster of roles is made up of nerds, popular kids and drops outs. The "Krootuse" team of is led by bespectacled Urmas (Uku Uusberg) an older boy who is worried his poor exam results will land him in the Soviet Army and the Afghani war. Longhaired Erki (Mikk Tammepold) also frets about his results, but has a father with good Communist Party connections. Shy Tanel (Jass Seljamaa) pinesfor popular Diana (Evelin Kuusik), the head vamp in rival team "Hundissaare," with whom he had a tryst the previous summer but who is ignoring him this year. Stumpy but smart-mouthed Futu (Vadim Albrant), meanwhile, believes all problems canbe solved by break-dancing.The camp leaders insist everyone sign a letter to President Reagan pleading for peace, but the kids are more interested in Duran Duran tunes and tent booty calls. Meanwhile, someone posts flyers against the invasion of Afghanistan around the camp and the KGB-like counsellors search for the ringleaders.Rambling in the countryside one afternoon, the Krootuse team finds a sty full of dead pigs and piglets which resonates darkly with them, inspiring them to put on a stylised, symbolic play in pig masks as their entry for the holiday competition. The furious counsellors decide to make Hundissare the automatic winner.Revolution breaks out, with Urmas leading the"October"-style storming of the counselors' hut, where he and the rebels redraft theletter to Reagan, framing a manifesto calling for Estonian independence. Final actteeters on the verge of real violence as the conflict escalates.Although the revolutionary and romantic storylines roughly interlace by the end, the screenplay never quite smoothes out all the plot elements.Moreover, like many other first-time directors, Kilmi and Reinumagi can't resist throwing in not just the kitchen sink, but the cupboards and cabinets as well, creating melodrama with extra incidents like a last-act rape attempt. A tacky animation sequence at the end of a fairly raunchy sex scene also hits a duff note, although parody may have been the intention.For the record, pig went down badly with older Russian critics in Moscow who bridled at "Revolution's? anti-Soviet jibes and contentious politics. However, younger Russkie viewers -- who today have the escalating conflict in Chechnya to worry about -- and international critics responded warmly to pig's anti-authoritarian energy and verve. Although a period piece, "Revolution" nevertheless could also strike a chordwith Western viewers concerned about the ongoing conflict in Iraq, which bears somestriking similarities to the Soviet's Afghani conflict.Tech credits mostly fine, if a bit glitchy in the sound department, but Arko Okk's gritty lensing adds an appropriate rough and ready quality to the finished product.Camera (color, wide-screen), Arko Okk; editor, Lauri Laasik; music, Rein Rannap; production designer, costumes, Inessa Josing; sound (Dolby Digital/DTS), Ivo Felt. Reviewed at Moscow Film Festival (competing), June22. Watch full movie in high quality - WWW.REVOLUTIONOFPIGS.COM
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/15/23
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