WFF: My Day 5, the 9th Day of the festival (Saturday, 18th October)
So this was the last day of the festival for me this year…
Pärnography
Impressions In Short
It probably wasn’t the best of ideas to come in late for the film :] I felt a bit lost for about half of it. Would have helped also if I had known a bit more about Estonia’s history - other than knowing it used to be a Soviet State I’m pretty clueless.
It’s a well-made film, but unless the beginning I missed was vital to get it, I think it’s for people who are maybe either older than me and remember some of this for themselves or are not as historically clueless as I am.
Some Details
Priit Pärn is Estonia’s most acclaimed and respected animation director. Just as in Poland it was feature film and documentary directors (like Wajda) who made jabs at the Soviet regime in ways that the censors seemed to miss, it seems that in Estonia that was the role of animation directors with Priit Pärn at the forefront. Most of them made short, surrealist animations - very absurd kind of caricatures.
The film is a lot of fun in that it’s narrated using the absurd humour of the films (”are Priit Pärn’s characters uglier than the average Estonian?”, “Priit Pärn is like Lenin. He’s always with us.”). I kind of feel like watching it again some day after trying to fill in lots of blanks I have about recent history :]
Recommended?
I think yes if it sounds interesting to you, but you’d be better off having a little bit of background on the Soviet regime in Estonia before watching.
Hotel E
Impressions In Short
Probably a very good animated film, but I think I’m animation illiterate *sigh*
Some Details
This was a 30min. animation shown with the documentary. It was made in 1992 and it was kind of a comment on the divide between Eastern and Western Europe and what happens when the borders are opened. It’s still true today, though maybe in a different way.
I’m pretty sure this must be a very good piece of animation, but I am just totally insensitive to animation. Maybe my days of finally “getting it” will come - I think I’m making progress with documentaries lately, so maybe animation will come next ;)
Recommended?
I think I’m not the right person to ask :] Probably very much so if you’re into animation.
