Cinema
Valgus Koordis
Gerbert Rappaport · 1951
Synopsis
At the end of the war, the Red Army returns to Estonia, and with it Paul Runge returns to his village of Koordi, determined to build a new life; barely off the train, he takes an old man's plough to plough. Soon, with other men of the village, he becomes convinced that one can no longer work in the old way and that the land must be held in common. Villagers leave for Russia to learn farming and stock-raising, and Koordi must fight to found its collective farm.
Context
The film was released on 27 August 1951, co-produced by Lenfilm and the Tallinn studio. Yuri German and Hans Leberecht wrote the screenplay from the latter's story; he was a Leningrad writer whose fortune, it is said, was made by a remark of Stalin's: the story was translated into twenty-three languages. Georg Ots plays the lead, Evi Rauer makes her debut in it, and the music is by Eugen Kapp and Boris Kõrver. It was digitally restored in 2012.
Who it is for
Ninety-three minutes in Estonian, in colour. It helps to know that it is a propaganda film for the collectivisation of the countryside, and that it is watched today as a document.
Prizes and reception
Stalin Prize in 1952 for the director, the cinematographer and six actors; the first colour feature film shot in Estonia.