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The acting in this movie is really good.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

'Risttuules' is a film from Estonia, a Baltic country uncomfortably located in Eastern Europe. Close to Russia.In 1918 Estonia got independent; in 1940 the country was occupied by Stalin, in 1941 by Hitler, and in 1944 again by Stalin. In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Estonia regained its independence.This film symbolizes the deportation of more than 500.000 Estonians in June 1941 by Stalin. This happened eight days before Hitler attacked the Soviet Union. It tells the story of a broken-up family, based on genuine letters from the wife to her far-away husband. They would never be re-united.'Risttuules' is a typical East European film: a fairly slow pace, allowing everyone to take its tragic story in to the full. But what really shines out here, is this film's picturing: very beautiful, and done in a great East European style.To appreciate this film to the full, I think it necessary to have a knowledge of the complicated 20th-century history of Eastern Europe. And about the mentality & style of its peoples as well. Without these ingredients, in my opinion you will miss too much.

After 10 minutes I was so bored I wanted to finish the movie. But having read the review points I had to assume it would become better. I didn't. It is an endless row of black and white still pictures completely destroying an otherwise interesting story. But it is supposed to be "art" and since I do not need to pretend that I am a cultural person I can give my sincere opinion.

If ever a movie deserved to be called an art film, this 2014 Estonian film is it (trailer). Director Martti Heide's full-length debut chronicles Stalin's 1941 sudden overnight deportation of 40,000 citizens of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to forced labor camps in Siberia. Families were separated, people worked in slave-labor conditions, food was minimal, and many starved. No food was provided for children. The story, based on a real-life diary, follows the experiences of Erna, a young wife and mother (played by Laura Peterson) desperate to reunite with her husband Heldur (Tarmo Song) and return home. While the story is perhaps typical for people in such brutal circumstances, the way of filming it is not. Heide took months sometimes to set up his shots, which are filmed in long, unedited, silent takes (with a soundtrack of gunshots, trains, creaking cartwheels, and so on added later). But the people do not move. Nor is there dialog. Peterson narrates in voice-over the entries from Erna's diary, as a series of letters to Heldur. Instead of action, the camera weaves among the actors, as they stand frozen in position. In an early scene, it circles Erna and Heldur embracing among the passengers waiting to be herded aboard a train, then moves on through the crowd. Then it finds Erna again, leaning out of the cattle car door, looking for Heldur, who stands in the distance. Watching this movie is like examining a series of richly detailed still photographs. Remarkable. The technique symbolically mimics the way life stood still for the refugees. While it results in a slowly unfolding story, for me, the film was very powerful. Only when Erna is at home, in the beginning scenes and in reverie, do people move in a conventional way. To paraphrase what one refugee said, the Soviet Union might have my body, but my heart (what animates me) is still in Estonia.

For non-Balts who intend to see this film or have seen it by chance, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_deportation could be a useful background, otherwise many events or action could remain incomprehensible, or one might think they are exaggerated. Alas, everything depicted is realistic, but Russia as the successor of the Soviet Union has never essentially apologized or amended injustice - on the contrary, respective attempts by the restored Republics have been labelled nationalistic or rewriting history...The film in question has found a distinct angle for depicting the mood: using black-and-white and tableau vivant, also appropriate music. Of course, due to limited amount of feature film characteristics, it is not "easy" to watch and follow, not to the taste of those fond of fast shots and twists, thus not expected to attract wider audiences. But, in my opinion, it is definitely more distinct than the Academy Award winner Ida from Poland... And the director has not reached 30 yet! So, if you are prepared how and what to see, then you will have a good watching experience. Otherwise, watch e.g. Purge (2012).