I'll never understood why crimes against humanity committed by Nazi Germany have always garnered more attention from filmmakers than crimes against humanity committed by the Soviet Union, but they have. What makes The Singing Revolution an important and unique addition to the filmography of oppression and liberation is that Estonia was the ball in a lethal game of football between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and this documentary shows how the only difference between these two evil empires was that the Nazis could only attempt to annihilate the Estonian nation for a few years while the Soviets were at it for decades. The end credits alone -- where one reads about a survivor of two years in a Nazi concentration camp and eight years in a Soviet gulag -- would be sufficient reason to watch this film. But, of course, it is much more than that.
The Singing Revolution documents the indomitable human spirit. A people deprived of arms, deprived of freedom, and subjected to a series of ruthless occupations with the purpose of enslaving their people, stealing their natural resources, and brainwashing their children into forgetting their rich national history and culture -- nevertheless find a way to hold on to their identity through songs. The Estonians rebel against their Soviet masters without firing a shot, driving a truck filled with explosives into a building, walking into a crowded restaurant and setting off an explosive belt strapped to one's chest, dynamiting a hotel quartering enemy soldiers, assassinating a dignitary, kidnapping officials and demanding release of prisoners, or even pouring gasoline on themselves and lighting a match or engaging in a hunger strike.
And the Soviet enemy occupying Estonia had no tradition of freedom or none of the Christian morality the British Empire had when Gandhi went up against them in the struggle for India's independence.
After seeing Defiance a few months ago I was fascinated by the parallels between Jews hiding in the woods to fight the Nazis and Estonians hiding in the woods to fight the Soviets.
The Framers of the American system of government were wise enough to include the right of the people to keep and bear arms as a means of preserving our freedoms against both domestic tyranny and foreign invasion. One civil war was enough to convince any future tyrant of the Pyrrhic victory that awaited them even if they should prevail on the battlefield.
But The Singing Revolution is nonetheless inspiring to me by showing that even under circumstances when a people suffer defeat by overwhelming forces hope can be preserved, and even music can be a weapon in the arsenal of freedom.
The Singing Revolution documents the indomitable human spirit. A people deprived of arms, deprived of freedom, and subjected to a series of ruthless occupations with the purpose of enslaving their people, stealing their natural resources, and brainwashing their children into forgetting their rich national history and culture -- nevertheless find a way to hold on to their identity through songs. The Estonians rebel against their Soviet masters without firing a shot, driving a truck filled with explosives into a building, walking into a crowded restaurant and setting off an explosive belt strapped to one's chest, dynamiting a hotel quartering enemy soldiers, assassinating a dignitary, kidnapping officials and demanding release of prisoners, or even pouring gasoline on themselves and lighting a match or engaging in a hunger strike.
And the Soviet enemy occupying Estonia had no tradition of freedom or none of the Christian morality the British Empire had when Gandhi went up against them in the struggle for India's independence.
After seeing Defiance a few months ago I was fascinated by the parallels between Jews hiding in the woods to fight the Nazis and Estonians hiding in the woods to fight the Soviets.
The Framers of the American system of government were wise enough to include the right of the people to keep and bear arms as a means of preserving our freedoms against both domestic tyranny and foreign invasion. One civil war was enough to convince any future tyrant of the Pyrrhic victory that awaited them even if they should prevail on the battlefield.
But The Singing Revolution is nonetheless inspiring to me by showing that even under circumstances when a people suffer defeat by overwhelming forces hope can be preserved, and even music can be a weapon in the arsenal of freedom.