Estonian Film Classics

Elle Kull (Minna) and Lembit Ulfsak (Aksel) were elected as Male and Female Stars of the Century at the 100th Anniversary of Estonian Cinema in 2012.

Feminism SOVIET STYLE

There are significant works in every country’s film history that seem to have the task of defining the essence of the cultural space they stem from. Sometimes it happens due to the talent of the authors, other times the miracle happens by accident, and in yet another case we see only decades later how an old film encapsulated the mentality of its era.

Ukuaru, a 1973 film by the Estonian director Leida Laius, is a blend of all the elements mentioned above, that have come to signify something we consider intrinsically “Estonian”. The female protagonist of the film, Minna, symbolizes an Estonian woman in general.

By Kristiina Davidjants Photos by Estonian Film Institute & Film Archive of the National Archives of Estonia

Leida Laius said in one of her interviews: “I have not set myself the goal to observe only a woman. In my opinion, a woman has only one part to play in the films, although it’s the part closest to me. I have been intrigued by universal human problems and values, exploring the formation of a personality.”1 Nevertheless, Laius’ work is mostly analysed through the perspective of her female characters. It wouldn’t be wrong to claim that Laius has consciously depicted the archetypal Estonian Woman in her films, but it is not as straightforward as we might think today. So, let’s take a glance at the historical context before getting on with the film, because as we know, the past is “a foreign country; they do things differently there.”2

TIME AND CONTEXT

Welcome to the 1970s. Laura Mulvey makes ripples in the West with her era-defining essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema". Using Hollywood

films, she comes to an understanding about men as bearers of the look, and women as image. Things should be different in the Soviet Union, because women have seemingly been liberated by the communist times. A Soviet woman can become a tractor driver or a cosmonaut, even a film director. But in essence, the Hollywood paradigm is not that different from the Soviet one. Despite illusionary freedom, most film directors are still men. Females in their movies are usually catalysts of events. Even in main roles they serve as visions of ideals, coming off as almost cartoonish in the worst cases.

Leida Laius, a film director in Tallinnfilm, the only professional film studio in Estonia, really stands out, given the context. She is practically the only active female feature film director, who makes films about women; films that the audience can relate to.

1 Vastab Leida Laius, Teater Muusika Kino 1984, 6, 5-13

2 L. P. Hartley

CLASSICS

By the beginning of the Ukuaru shooting period, Leida Laius has come through the war and left behind a failed career as an actor. She has also gone to study at the Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow at a relatively late age, been widely praised for her graduation film, and lambasted for Werewolf (1969), a film adaptation of an Estonian literary classic, generally deemed a failure.

A film that was, in Laius’ words, torn apart by the critics, and she had a very hard time getting back from that. But “Work heals”, as Laius said in an old TV appearance. She takes on Veera Saar’s novel Ukuaru that she finds relatable.

HARD WORK AND BEAUTIFUL LOVE

Ukuaru’s main character is a young woman Minna, daughter of a poor forester, who dreams of her own place, her own farmhouse, a place called Ukuaru, that no-one wants but her. Minna wants to organize her own life and declines the marriage proposal of the wealthy master of Keldriaugu farm, picking Aksel instead, who only has his accordion to offer, but no money. After a brief stop at the parents-in-law’s, Minna moves her family to Ukuaru, to a free farmhouse.

Minna’s children are born and raised here, and Minna’s and Aksel’s love blossoms, but Minna also experiences unimaginable heartache that makes her lose the will to live. But Minna cannot die, because someone has to take care of the kids, someone has to carry life forward.

The filmmakers swiftly weave a local mentality with a universally comprehensible psychology, into a seemingly sparse story. The novel that the film is based on simultaneously explored the times before and after World War II. Laius and screenwriter Mats Traat have only adapted the pre-war period, leaving behind the later events at a collective farm. They have concentrated on a young woman’s confidence in remaining true to herself and handling her fate. Let it be said that politically active officials demanded changes in the script so that it would be in better accord with Soviet ideology. Laius and Traat were forced to make several big compromises that didn’t improve the script, but didn’t ruin it either, paying an acceptable price for getting the film out and onto screens.

ARCHETYPE OF AN ESTONIAN WOMAN

Ukuaru becomes a film that connects with the Estonian viewer. Audiences of the day recognize the choices of their own elders in the film’s characters. In the words of film critic Maris Balbat: “I once told Leida Laius that it’s my mother’s film.”3 Those who don’t have a direct connection to the narrative of the film, can relate to Minna’s character, her choices and struggles to ensure her and her family’s survival.

What makes Leida Laius’ Ukuaru such a landmark film for the self-consciousness of the Estonian

Lembit Ulfsak (on the left) masterfully depicts a man who is essentially Minna’s oldest kid.

Ukuaru becomes a film that connects with the Estonian viewer.

3 Kuidas sündis unustamatu "Ukuaru" Lembit Ulfsaki ja Elle Kulliga, Maris Balbat, 9. aprill 2015, Maaleht

Director Leida Laius (in the center) with the main protagonists of the film ­ Aksel (Lembit Ulfsak) and Minna (Elle Kull).

UKUARU is a 1973 drama, directed by Leida Laius. Working-class girl Minna chooses musician Aksel over a rich suitor. Aksel has next to nothing to his name, except for an accordion and his love for Minna. Bad conditions and hard work can’t dampen a young woman’s mood – she only cares about building her own home, with kids running around and accordion music. Love can perform miracles in a distant farmhouse in the woods, but there is something Minna cannot do – keep the madness of the outside world at bay.

Screenwriter: Mats Traat (based on Veera Saar’s eponymous novel)

Cinematographer: Jüri Garšnek

Composer: Arvo Pärt

Cast: Elle Kull. Lembit Ulfsak, Velda Otsus, Jüri Järvet, Antanas Barcas

Duration: 85 minutes

Language: Estonian

Minna (Elle Kull) is a composite of Estonian women throughout the centuries, in bad times and good, showing the heavy burden that most of them had to bear.

Ukuaru is the only film to feature theatre legend Velda Otsus.

viewer? Firstly, the main theme of the film – finding a place that you can really call your own, be it poor or small. “We have to take the Estonian spirit into consideration”, says someone at the Tallinnfilm Artistic Committee upon the film’s completion. “She wants something to herself, even a small piece of land”.4 Leida Laius seconds: “Your own Ukuaru – it means a place in life, a place created with your will and work”.

The destinies of the protagonists are just as relevant. Minna is a composite of Estonian women throughout the centuries, in bad times and good, showing the inhumanely heavy burden that most of our foremothers had to bear. On the other hand, maybe things are not so different if you come from an old farmhouse, or from the 21st century – there’s no room for failure.

“Die, if you’re too weak to live”, Minna’s tough mother barks at her weary daughter, who has reached a dead end, surrounded by kids. But Minna’s life doesn’t solely consist of woes, there’s love for Aksel in her life, that has been described by the writer Mati Unt: “In general, it is a tale of a real Estonian woman, who goes through life victorious, carrying not only her kids along, but also her sympathetic but impractical deadbeat husband”.

Aksel is one of the first big roles for the actor Lembit Ulfsak (on the left with who later became famous everywhere in the Soviet Union and also starred in the Oscarnominated Tangerines (2013).

BREAKTHROUGH ROLES FOR KULL AND ULFSAK

The casting of Ukuaru proved to be a landmark on the Estonian cinema landscape. Elle Kull, who was still studying in acting school during pre-production, got the part at the last minute. Despite the director’s full support of her candidature, Tallinnfilm Studio opposes Kull for a long time, on the grounds of the actress’ inexperience. The people working on Ukuaru remember, however, that it was an extremely heartfelt story for Laius – she knew exactly what she wanted.

After completion, Kull gets an entirely different kind of feedback. “It is most likely Elle Kull, who lends the film an air of ambivalence, a mix of nobility and regret”, commented Mati Unt.5

Laius’ colleague from animation, director Elbert Tuganov, said at the Tallinnfilm Artistic Committee meeting: “There’s never been an actress like this in Estonian cinema like the one playing Minna from a young girl’s age to a mother of four.”6 A couple of decades later, film critic Jaak Lõhmus pointed out a certain visual resemblance between the director and the lead actress.7

Aksel is one of the first big roles for the actor Lembit Ulfsak. He masterfully depicts a man who is essentially Minna’s oldest kid, and his nuanced play forecasts his later position as one of the most loved actors in the whole of the Soviet Union. Soviet-wide fame is no stranger to Jüri Järvet (Minna’s father) by the time Ukuaru gets made, and the words “Tarkovsky’s actor”

4 ERA.R-1707.1.1293, lk 169-177

5 Tallinnfilm I. Mängufilmid 1947–1976 Õie Orav, Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, Tallinn, 2003

6 ERA.R-1707.1.1293, lk 234–245

7 Leida lugu (2002), dokumentaalfilm, režissöör Jüri Sillart, tootjafirma Kairiin

8 Kuidas sündis unustamatu "Ukuaru" Lembit Ulfsaki ja Elle Kulliga, Maris Balbat, 9. aprill 2015, Maaleht

9 Tallinnfilm I. Mängufilmid 1947–1976 Õie Orav, Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, Tallinn, 2003

The story is clear and linear, nothing too excessive in the visual department, everything is exactly in its place.

can be used to describe him. Ukuaru is the only film to feature theatre legend Velda Otsus. Her delicately nuanced role as Minna’s mother gives the protagonist some context that is easy to understand. The film’s anti-hero, the master of Keldriaugu, is expressively played by the Lithuanian actor Antanas Barčas.

POSITIVE RECEPTION

After the film was finished, it became clear that Leida Laius had asserted herself as a director. The film was well liked by colleagues, although Maris Balbat remembers the reaction of the studio’s editor-in-chief: “Lembit Remmelgas criticized the film’s feminist attitude that was strongly supportive of women”.8 Critical reception was generally positive. With Ukuaru, Laius knew exactly what she wanted. The story is clear and linear, nothing too excessive in the visual department, everything is exactly in its place. While Laius’ previous film Werewolf had been criticized for its extensive

visual trickery, then Ukuaru drew complaints for being too ordinary, with a slight addition: “It is only fit to ask in the context of current Estonian cinema: What is more important to us at the moment – badly done new, or well done old?”.9 Cinematographer Jüri Garšnek won acclaim for his camerawork, and there was no way to ignore Arvo Pärt’s musical design. According to varying data, Pärt managed to score 37 films in Soviet Estonia. His “Ukuaru Waltz” made for this film is probably most widely known of them all – a melody that is still being played at weddings, birthdays and national anniversaries. Many people who were connected to the film have been recognised over the years – Elle Kull and Lembit Ulfsak were elected as Male and Female Stars of the Century at the 100th Anniversary of Estonian Cinema.

The biggest praise, however, is the fact that the film still has great power to make generalizations that reach over times. EF

On the set of Ukuaru (1973).