An ode to the loss of memory
Sulev Keedus fourth film rediscovers his country through the eyes of an Afghanistan war veteran who tries to escape his souvenirs and hope to find peace with his granddaughter, Angel.
Review by Ra Ragnar Novod
Loss and acceptance
Keedus knows exactly what he wants in the frame. His priority doesn’t seem to be the audience pleasure but how the mind is exercised while seeing the film. Letters to Angel express his style in the clearest and best way. Even more than his previous films, Somnanbuul (2003) and Georgica (1998). Loss and acceptance are the foundations of this story which at first seems to happen in the every day life but is slowly penetrated by elements of grotesque, absurd, insanity… The human side of the story is not entirely forgotten – Kirotaja has never seen his daughter’s baby Angel (Ingela). He only heard her voice on the phone and she is the only reason he came back from Afghanistan, a place where he changed his lifestyle and accepted a more peaceful and human way of life. Kirotaja sees modern day world as a German would look at the Inuit lifestyle : it looks like something out of a absurd science fiction novel.
Maybe the film is the dream of a feverish dying man whose spirit’s journey is fed by the desire of finding his loved ones. It may also be an absurd and grotesque way to show how the world is so intermingled that our identities become less important than Kirotaja’s pen which he always chews while writing letters with no address to his Angel.
Despite Sulev Keedus made most of his films after Estonia regained its independence in 1991 after the collapse of the USSR, the frontier between past and present, between the pre-independence period and what happened after is always blurred. That is what makes his films in particular and Estonian cinema in general interesting. Of course, Estonian films don`t get wide international releases and most of the time they are only screened in European films festivals, which contributes to the illusion of a small scale industry not worthy to be recognized abroad. Actually Estonian film industry may be small but it’s also modern and it’s becoming more and more distinctive.
Letters to Angel (Kirjad Inglile) is an ode to the old world before rapid globalization and to the value of human soul in a world where global interests have reached the level where a single individual doesn’t have the same value as united interest of the world. We see it unfolding through the eyes of Afghanistan war veteran. Like so many others he returns home after nearly 20 years being abroad. He has been gone for so long that he doesn’t recognize his home anymore and not one person is waiting for him. His wife and daughter are gone, seemingly forever. All that remains is his former home. This kind of plot is hard to summarize and anyway, it wouldn’t give a hint of the director’s style and how it creates the world around the theme that mourns the loss of memory and innocence. It is a personal story told from a one man`s point of view. The character seems at least partly close to the director himself which makes the story even more personal than it is for the main character Kirotaja.
Sulev Keedus is one of the most famous Estonian film-makers, whose most celebrated film is Georgica (1998). Letters to Angel is the fourth film he made in 21 years – rare appearances that usually put him in the prestigious category of “auteurs”. Keedus has a very distinctive style. He uses elements that don`t belong to the real everyday life. For instance the fact that Kirotaja`s hometown is now populated by only women and men have been numbed down to a degree of madness. It’s said that women live longer than men, which becomes a terrifying form of truth. The theme about the loss of memory really comes across when you realize that all the nightmares of war are becoming one with Kirotaja`s consciousness. He sees contemporary Estonia as a war ridden wasteland filled with lonely souls. Everywhere he goes he finds signs of chaos – violence and death. He feels surrounded by the sights and sounds of war that used to be his everyday life during his years in Afghanistan. Kirotaja meets old friends and new faces, all running from or towards something, all trying to survive. It`s all part of the grand search of one`s identity.
Sulev Keedus is one of the most famous Estonian film-makers, whose most celebrated film is Georgica (1998). Letters to Angel is the fourth film he made in 21 years – rare appearances that usually put him in the prestigious category of “auteurs”. Keedus has a very distinctive style. He uses elements that don`t belong to the real everyday life. For instance the fact that Kirotaja`s hometown is now populated by only women and men have been numbed down to a degree of madness. It’s said that women live longer than men, which becomes a terrifying form of truth. The theme about the loss of memory really comes across when you realize that all the nightmares of war are becoming one with Kirotaja`s consciousness. He sees contemporary Estonia as a war ridden wasteland filled with lonely souls. Everywhere he goes he finds signs of chaos – violence and death. He feels surrounded by the sights and sounds of war that used to be his everyday life during his years in Afghanistan. Kirotaja meets old friends and new faces, all running from or towards something, all trying to survive. It`s all part of the grand search of one`s identity.
Loss and acceptance
Keedus knows exactly what he wants in the frame. His priority doesn’t seem to be the audience pleasure but how the mind is exercised while seeing the film. Letters to Angel express his style in the clearest and best way. Even more than his previous films, Somnanbuul (2003) and Georgica (1998). Loss and acceptance are the foundations of this story which at first seems to happen in the every day life but is slowly penetrated by elements of grotesque, absurd, insanity… The human side of the story is not entirely forgotten – Kirotaja has never seen his daughter’s baby Angel (Ingela). He only heard her voice on the phone and she is the only reason he came back from Afghanistan, a place where he changed his lifestyle and accepted a more peaceful and human way of life. Kirotaja sees modern day world as a German would look at the Inuit lifestyle : it looks like something out of a absurd science fiction novel.
Maybe the film is the dream of a feverish dying man whose spirit’s journey is fed by the desire of finding his loved ones. It may also be an absurd and grotesque way to show how the world is so intermingled that our identities become less important than Kirotaja’s pen which he always chews while writing letters with no address to his Angel.
- About modern Estonian cinema
Despite Sulev Keedus made most of his films after Estonia regained its independence in 1991 after the collapse of the USSR, the frontier between past and present, between the pre-independence period and what happened after is always blurred. That is what makes his films in particular and Estonian cinema in general interesting. Of course, Estonian films don`t get wide international releases and most of the time they are only screened in European films festivals, which contributes to the illusion of a small scale industry not worthy to be recognized abroad. Actually Estonian film industry may be small but it’s also modern and it’s becoming more and more distinctive.
It seems like an educational blog which always some new information to visitors Automotive tinting in Poland Ohio and Enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you blog post.
ReplyDelete