Right, "Ühtne Eesti" Suurkogu (Unified Estonia) is a documentary / film / theatre production by NO99 Teater of Tallinn. And YES it comes with sub-titles.
The rundown: 'Ühtne Eesti' was a campaign to launch "a fictitious political movement" with the concept and direction coming from Tiit Ojasoo and Ene-Liis Semper. The sum of the campaign resulted in a political extravaganza lampooning Estonian politics at the Saku Suurhall in Tallinn. The real intention of "Ühtne Eesti" it seems was to shake up the status-quo of Estonian politics.
Although two and a half years in the making, it was not until the 24th of March 2010 that a press conference was held by NO99 to announce they would hold a convention to demonstrate how and why everything was/is wrong with Estonian politics.
The campaign would run for 44 days including advertising (i.e. good ol' fashioned propaganda) such as posters in bus shelters and on street-scapes, radio and TV appearances as well as incorporating Internet and digital multi-media accessibility.
Given the concept was being orchestrated by a theatre; the campaign was obviously bogus from the get-go to any reasonably intelligent person on the street. I mean really; why would a bunch of well-recognised actors decide to launch a political Party?
Well, over time, it seemed the general public became less sure about what they were being told they were going to see at this convention and what might actually happen. At any rate, the campaign for "Ühtne Eesti" was ambiguous enough that a large chunk of the Estonian population supposedly bought into the idea the play would actually result in the birth of a new political "force".
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| Tiit Ojasoo. Real beard? Real Party? You be the judge. |
Two things can be deduced from this: i) the general populace really do not listen to the message political parties put out and only care about their own short term gain and what is said about a parties leaders in 'Kroonika', or ii) the general populace is genuinely starved for real choice when it comes to political Parties and were hoping something would eventuate at this convention. I'll bet on the former...
Anyway, so worked up about 'the new kid on the block' did the population become that the likes of Eesti Reformierakond (Estonian Reform Party), Eesti Keskerakond (Estonian Centre Party) and a few other Parties felt worried enough to have a few Party heavies along at the conference, just in case an actual Party did from.
After campaigning in a style akin to an up-coming election, the new "power" on the block attracted 7000 people to the Saku Suurhall who either thought they were going to witness the birth of a new political Party, or be part of a rather unusual, awkward, though original, joke. 7000! That's a lotta people for a small theatre group in one show. Probably their biggest audience...
Well they pulled it off with aplomb. What turns out to be an almost 3 1/2 hour spectacle of politics, social commentary, satire, dancing girls (yes) and one or two famous Estonian singers should be approached with a bit of time under your belt and the sense you should not hurry through it. If you’re after a bit of light entertainment, don't even throw the DVD in the player - this is not for you. Like all intelligent Estonian film, it helps to be switched on when watching this. I watched it in chunks and was glad I did as I am not as up-to-speed with Estonian politics as I fantasize. I needed the time to digest the information, farce and message that was at times oh-so subtly being put across, and at other times, right in your face.
When I say farce (not face), I refer to the well acknowledged state of Estonian politics in general. It helps to have a basic understanding of the state of play in the country so you know what a lot of references they use in this show are about. I am not going to give you a crash course in Estonian politics right here, right now, (because the night does not compensate the blind) but I might steer you towards a blog that has good political and social comment. OR, you can read the booklet that comes with the DVD.
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| Campaigning |
Some highlights of the show are actor Tambet Tuisk interviewing many notable people in and around Estonian politics, followed by fellow actor Jaak Prints (from 'Riigimehed' fame) taking a verbal sawn-off shotgun to political members of the audience, dumb enough to accept invitations to show up. Jaak unleashes a no-holds-barred barrage of what appears to be justified abuse at these people which may leave some viewers cringing with embarrassment, and others wide-eyed, mouths agape thinking is he ever going to get work in Estonia again let alone walk out of this alive?
Just when you catch your breath from Jaaks performance, he is inevitably topped. There is a live cross-over to Andres Mähar who appears to be the roof of the Saku Suurhall?...or is it NO Teatres roof top? Anyway, while holding the Estonian flag, he gives an impassioned plea (is saying the 'f' word in Estonian every second word can be considered impassioned) for people to rise up; to WAKE up and basically smell the coffee. Or just go back to drinking it and watching the mindless morning show.
The general lottery of the audience members to decide who will make up the Party is a particularly funny part of the event as well. If you have not caught onto the farce by this stage, there is no hope for you.
Although it has a slap-in-the-face start, the brilliance of this work lies in the subtly of the cast who carry out the event to perfection. If you were not familiar with these actors, you might be forgiven for going along with the speeches that are given, punctuated by random thoughts, singing, and multi-media input that would leave any stranger to Estonia asking WTF? If you are from outside of Estonia and do not know a thing about its politics, a lot of what goes on and what they talk about will go over your head, but don't worry. It is the broader message about politics in general that comes through anyway. You will not miss that.
The production, editing and stage work that has gone into this film is top-notch and is on par with that of any western worlds political Party conventions. From the press conference announcing their arrival to the posters on the street through to the Saku Suurhall set-up, if you did not know this was a stitch-up, you might (could) vote for a Party like this purely based on the slick production which gave it the feel of a brand new car.
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| Jaak Prints schools us. |
Special features with this DVD include the 'Election School no.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6'; a series which breaks down the tricks inside politics. The booklet that comes with the DVD also explains the concept of the project as well as the interviews and who the people are that they are conducted on. It also aids in explaining the machine of Estonian politics (and politics in general) a little bit better.
If you let yourself go with the DVD, you are sent on a type of mental enema that has been long overdue in most people’s minds. Watching this movie left me feeling better knowing that all the b.s. we have to put up with in politics on a daily basis is b.s. after all (even though I already know it). The sense of "thank Christ someone else sees this and not just me!”, washes over well.
Why I have not seen something like this before evades me. Maybe there has been something like it or something very similar before. Who cares? To me this is an original. It should be compulsory viewing in schools. Part of me wants to send this to Andrew Denton (producer of 'Hungry Beast' in Australia) and see what he can make-and-do with it. Australia needs a political evaluation of itself much like this program provides. Hell...the world needs this self-evaluation.
As for hoping that this event made a difference in peoples minds and changes the way they see and understand politics, and ultimately how they vote on it... unfortunately I think we'll never k(no)w. Had they made a genuine Party of "Ühtne Eesti" at this convention, then maybe we would have had something to measure how effective their campaign was when the votes came in at election time. But then again, as (dare I use him as example) Stalin once said "It's not the people who vote that count; it's the people who count the votes", or something to that effect. Even if voters suddenly gained mental independence and vote based on critical thinking leading to a decision....nah let's not kid ourselves. Lemmings are never good judges of height.
My final thought is slightly off-tangent. Whilst Skype may be the greatest modern idea to come out of Estonia in recent years, another fantastic Estonian idea may have unwittingly been created from the "Ühtne Eesti" project: the death of 'Reality' TV and the birth of 'Reality-Check' TV.
Oh! And don't just look at the highlights here - buy the DVD!
