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Viimne reliikvia (eng subs) [1969] Grigori Kromanov

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Viimne reliikvia (1969)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065180/

Furst Gabriel or Last Days of the Pirita Monastery (Estonian: Vürst Gabriel ehk Pirita kloostri viimsed päevad) is an Estonian historical novelle by Eduard Bornhöhe.

This historical story, first published in 1893, is the last of Eduard Bornhöhe\'s historical novelles, as in 1893, the Russian Empire\'s censorship prohibited publication of historical novelles, fearing it might cause too strong patriotic feelings in provincial regions.

The story is set during a Livonian War era peasant uprising. A central plot device is a Catholic nunnery dedicated to St. Brigitta (see Pirita monastery). The monastery\'s medieval buildings are currently in ruins and considered a museum; however, the organisational structure was restored after end of Soviet occupation.

While other major historical novelles by Eduard Bornhöhe have been included in lists of mandatory reading by Soviet authorities, this book was usually considered too long for that, and thus, it\'s mostly known through its extremely popular 1969 movie adaptation, Viimne reliikvia (Estonian for The last relic) directed by Grigori Kromanov and adapted by Arvo Valton.

Aleksandr Goloborodko ... Gabriel
Ingrid Andrina ... Agnes
Elza Radzina ... Abtiss
Rolan Bykov ... Brother Johannes
Eve Kivi ... Ursula
Uldis Vadziks ... Siim
Raivo Trass ... Hans von Risbieter
Peeter Jakobi ... Ivo
Karl Kalkun ... Rebel leader
G. Hamrajeva
Kalju Komissarov ... Monk 2
Ants Lauter ... Old man
Valdeko Ratassepp ... Von Risbieter Sen.
Juri Uppin ... Delvig

Viimne reliikvia (Estonian for The last relic) is a 1969 Estonian film adaptation of Vürst Gabriel ehk Pirita kloostri viimsed päevad (Estonian for Furst Gabriel or The last days of Pirita monastery), a historical novel by Eduard Bornhöhe. The film became extremely popular, and some critics consider it the only Estonian cult movie.

A typical live action movie of the era had a standardised budget of 350,000 roubles. As a special case, the team of Viimne reliikvia managed to haggle themselves a budget of 750,000 roubles — more than double the customary. This lavishness paid off very well, as within the very first year, 772,000 tickets were sold in Estonia only. (Remarkably, Estonia\'s population at that time was around 1,200,000.) The movie set the absolute box office record for the entire Soviet Union at the time by selling 44.9 million tickets.[2][3] It was successfully distributed by the Soviet film export internationally in more than 60 countries.

Scenes for the movie were recorded in Tallinn Old Town, passages of the Dominican monastery of Tallinn, Taevaskoja, as well as other places. A mock monastery was built in Kukerand, near Virtsu. Several outdoors scenes were taken in Latvia, near the Gauja river. Indoors scenes were, among other places, taken in the fortress of Kuressaare and the Tallinn church of St. Nicholas.

In 2000, the Estonian Film Foundation and Tallinnfilm determined Viimne reliikvia to be an important part of Estonian cultural heritage, and in order to preserve it, undertook a digital remastering. This became the first digitally remastered Estonian movie; others followed.

The Last Relic is seen by many as the best Estonian film. It is, undoubtedly, the most popular Estonian film as well, a prime example of the attempts of the Soviet Union to produce appealing mass entertainment (other classical illustrations of this endeavor were films like Neulovymie mstiteli, a truly entertaining gem from 1966). The film has all elements of a good romantic adventure: love affair between two extremely good looking protagonists, who manage to be together against all odds and by overcoming all sorts of difficulties that an assortment of disguised enemies (clergy, ambitious suitors, envious rivals) put on their way. There are gorgeous horses, chases through lovely forests, exciting river passages, night scenes at burning castles, treacherous cloister underground corridors, funny jokes, and memorable songs.

The film is based on a classical Estonian book for children, which was substantially changed in the process of adaptation. One of the important new aspects was the introduction of dynamic songs which are still popular today (and which are performed by different singers and in different musical arrangements for the Estonian and the Russian versions of the film). In the documentary that is appended to the DVD, the makers of the film openly acknowledge that they were influenced directly by films like the French Fanfan la Tulipe (1952) and the classical version of Robin Hood (1938, with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland). But they also indicate they had in mind many other adventure films of the time as well. The cameraman spoke of being influenced by Antonioni, but it seems to me there were influences also from the East European school of filmmaking with their long shots (mostly Miklos Jancso) — one scene that is reminiscent of a Pieter Bruegel painting includes a two-minute long uninterrupted take including over 200 extras in a complexly choreographed traveling shot.

The Last Relic was made for about one million roubles, a truly sizable budget for the time. At the time of its release it was seen by nearly 45 million people within the Soviet Union alone, and it was exported to 63 countries. Most of these countries, notably, are located in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe — a glance at the list of these gives a very interesting outline of the geopolitical distribution of the cultural sphere of influence of the Second World at the time. These also happen to be precisely those territories that we know very little about in terms of cinematc exposure.

One of the remarkable features of The Last Relic is that it puts the love affair in the center of the plot, and tackles it quite openly, by including erotic scenes of a type that has not normally been seen in Soviet cinema; in one instance Ingrid Andrina, the lead actress, is shown naked — the scene looks like out of a Scandinavian film of that time. The role of the nun Ursula, a young woman permanently attracted to men, is played by the well-known Eve Kivi (who enjoyed somewhat of a similar reputation in real life). Even though for an outsider like me Ursula’s presence appears to be a minor supporting role without any particular significance, it seems that due to the actrress’ special reputation the character acquires a much bigger importance, is given tremendous attention in the discussions of the film that I have come across and is credited as nearly key personage in the context of the film.

Even though billed as Estonian (as it is made in Estonia and based on Estonian material), the film is a true example of the Soviet dimension in filmmaking. Alongside beautiful Ingrid Andrina (as Agnes) and feisty Eve Kivi (as Ursula), several of the most important roles are played by Russian actors - Aleksandr Goloborodko (Gabriel) and famous Rolan Bykov (as Brother Johannes)*. Elza Radzina (best known from her roles in Grigoriy Kozintsev’s Shakespeare adaptations, here as the Abtiss of the Monastery), also has an important role. The role of Ivo Schenkenberg, a real historical personality, was initially planned for Lithuanian star Juozas Budraitis (but then went to Estonian Peeter Jacobi, who delivers a fully competent performance).

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