CLASSICS
Photo by Viktor Mentunen
Director Grigori Kromonov (on the left) and Latvian actor Uldis Pucitis as inspector Glebsky, the main protagonist of the film.
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trangely enough, most of the common threads that tie a nationally important film to local culture seem to be missing here. The film is not based on a local literary classic, but the book (and also the original screenplay) has been written by the sci-fi authors Arkadi and Boris Strugatsky. The story is not about relevant moments in local history, many key roles are performed by Latvian and Lithuanian actors (although Estonian actors are prominently present too, like Jüri Järvet, Sulev Luik, Lembit Peterson and Mikk Mikiver). LESS FREEDOM FOR THE SUCCESSFUL DIRECTOR
The sci-fi film in question was released in 1979, a decade after the director Grigori Kromanov had made an im mensely popular swashbuckler movie set in 16th Centu ry Estonia, during the whirlwind of the complicated power struggles of the time. The Last Relic, screened in 1969, was the nearest a small film country could get to the dream of global recognition. The film, inspired by the French historical adventure movies, was screened in 60 countries, with 40 million spectators.1 Controversially, success brought along less free dom for the director, not more. Several stories devel oped by Kromanov himself got slowed down or stopped entirely. The Soviet studio system expected the fulfil ment of centrally set plans and that’s what Kromanov did, entwining into the film themes close to his own
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ESTONIAN FILM
Dresses and costumes designed by top Soviet fashion designer Zaitsev underlined the Western luxury.
heart. Diamonds for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, screened in 1975, was one of Tallinnfilm’s most expen sive projects. A thrilling adventure about the inner con flicts of 1920s Russia, a diamond heist and the spying games of the big states in Estonia, reached dozens of millions of viewers as well. In several cases, it was Kro manov’s sense of duty and his integrity as an artist go ing against the tide, which prompted the studio to en gage his help even when his own ideas were rejected. WEIRD GUESTS OF THE HOTEL
Integrity, restricted by simple rules, became a central idea of his final film. Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel begins with a flashback to an old case that had remained to
