REVIEW Dawn of War

A World-Class SPY FILM

Dawn of War can humorously be called the Estonian Tenet – in both films, there are spies as the main protagonists, scenes filmed on the same street in the middle of Tallinn, and a key scene depicting an airplane waiting for take-off on a runway.

First and foremost, both Dawn of War and Tenet are films with enormous budgets, brought to cinemas during the risky era of a practically stagnant boxoffice.

Dawn of War is a monumental spectacle looking into our recent history – a subject that has always attracted the Estonian cinema audience. Mentioning the year 1939 opens up numerous wounds; it was a pivotal year that led nations to Second World War when Molotov and Ribbentrop signed the nonaggression pact between Nazi Ger

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many and the Soviet Union, after which Estonian territory was annexed by the Soviet Union.

The feature film, with impressive editing, begins with the historical events known to the whole world. The opening song performed by Kadri Voorand accompanies scenes depicting inflammatory speeches by Hitler and Stalin, as well as the devastating results of the Second World War – only backwards (again, just like in Tenet), while referring to the much less known prewar era. That is where we find Feliks Kangur (Priit Võigemast), an intelligence officer whose

Dawn of War By Andrei Liimets First published in Postimees

task is to solve the murder of his colleague, and to find a spy among his own department workers.

During the first five minutes of the film, the audience is given a quick insight into Soviet Russia, Finland and Estonia; dialogue in at least five languages can be heard throughout the entire film. There are frequent flashbacks from 1939 as Kangur suffers from a love story that ended tragically. The film must have been a true challenge for the editor, who probably spent numerous sleepless nights while working on it. Although the intermingling of content, characters and time might seem confusing, the editor Marion Koppel definitely deserves acknowledgement for her excellent work.

There is plenty that pleases the eye in Dawn of War, a collaboration between Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania with a budget of more than 2 million euros. Film artist Jaagup Roomet has contributed to the film with a spectacular amount of work. He has previously been responsible for the artistic side in Margus Paju’s recent film The Secret Society of Souptown (2015), and November (2017, directed by Rainer Sarnet). Dawn of War had numerous filming locations, including an authentic, colourful depiction of Tallinn in the 1930s: streets of the Old Town, buildings of government, the reception in Kadriorg Palace, salon parties, home interiors, and lots of interesting details characteristic to the era.

Among the supporters of the film one also finds the logo of the Ministry of Defence – when such a logo is attached to American films it normally means that the film represents a “correct”, safe and patriotic historical treatment. Dawn of War also treads sensitive ground, touching subjects such as the silent surrender, the SovietEstonian Mutual Assistance Treaty, results of the era of censorship following the rapid construction of the first Republic of Estonia, and the contradictory role of President Konstantin Päts in Estonian history. However, the filmmakers have consciously kept a distance with the politics – somewhere a larger game is being played and someone is operating behindthescenes, out of the protagonist’s reach, while only the approaching storm clouds can be seen. A proper visual metaphor is conveyed through Feliks’s glance through the window when he sees children playing hideandseek.

A similar catandmouse game takes place between the Russian and Estonian intelligence officers, agents and double agents. Writer Tiit Aleksejev started to develop the diverse screenplay that was later adjusted by Eriikka EtholénPaju and Tom Abrams from Finland, with the final polish given by Olle Mirme. Despite all these efforts, the characters in Dawn of War still remain quite sketchy. A considerable amount of dialogue is expressed as exposition in order to make the labyrinthian flow of events easier to follow. The actors seem to play certain types, rather than real people. Thus, numerous scenes don’t acquire the emotional depth equal to the visual richness. Dawn of War was initially planned as a series, and perhaps this would have provided the characters with more space and freedom. However, the actors are good. Recently, Priit Võigemast seems to turn

Dawn of War is a collaboration between Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania. The film’s budget was a bit more than 2 million euro.

Priit Võigemast who plays Feliks Kangur in Dawn of War, is one of the best actors of his generation - both in film and theatre. everything that he touches to gold, both on the theatre stage and cinema screen. The rest of the roles in Dawn of War turn out to be unfortunately brief; despite talented actors Indrek Ojari, Pääru Oja, Tambet Tuisk and others, there isn’t enough time for the full development of their characters. Not to mention the almost non existent female roles.

Yet, there is plenty of weight and conflict in reserve: besides the tragic historical background there is the personal paranoia and burnout of intelligence officers, as well as the harsh destinies of innocent people who have happened into the officers’ paths. Somewhere in the maze of events and characters lies an excellent feature film, undermined at the moment with feeble characters and a contrived final act. In general, Dawn of War remains true to the real events and might even serve as a successful educational film at international markets; however, it functions best as romantic fiction. Considering this genre, it is easy to forgive the deficiencies, since the filmmakers’ ambition has been remarkable – and there is plenty of quality, style and pleasure for the eye. EF