International Contenders: Estonia's "Truth and Justice"

by Abe Fried-Tanzer

When someone is young, the future can be full of hope. There is endless time to truly build something, and, if it’s difficult to get a dream off the ground right away, there may be other opportunities and options down the road. Working toward a goal, however, requires some sort of anchoring to the present so that a person doesn’t become too bogged down in the lack of progress and isn’t ever able to appreciate what it is they have on the way there. If eyes are only on the future, those who have spent every moment working may feel as if they’ve missed their entire lives once they actually stop to take it all in.

In Truth or Justice, Estonia’s finalist for Best International Feature this year, Andres (Priit Loog) buys a large farm and moves there with his wife Krõõt (Maiken Schmidt). He soon meets his neighbor Pearu (Priit Võigemast), an alcoholic who has already driven away two previous owners with his dishonest tactics...

Andres is determined to remain and prosper, working tirelessly to grow the farm, checking in on his wife, who works just as hard as he does, to see if the latest baby she is delivering is a boy, an heir to all he has created. As he becomes more competitive in his quest to outwit Pearu, Andres’ laser focus has unintended consequences for his family and for his loyal employees.

This film is based on a five-volume work by Anton Hansen Tammsaare that is one of Estonia's most influential and widely-known books. This cinematic adaptation made history in the country, shattering the box office record previously held by Avatar. In other words it's a blockbuster saga centered on a representative figure of the Estonian people in Andres, with those in his orbit also evocative of those whose lives are shaped by the whims of others. To describe this film as an ordeal is both fitting and complimentary, since it effectively conveys the misery that comes from Andres’ drive to succeed at all costs, blinded by what he loses in the process.

The performances here are all immersive, led by Loog as an optimist whose energy is gradually pulled from him as his feud with his neighbor becomes fiercer. Võigemast delivers a piercing turn as the vindictive Pearu, who from the start seems eager to create competition just for the sake of being able to get away with it. The whole ensemble weaves melancholy into their roles in a powerful way, and you're hopeless to watch as these two farmers tear each other and their families apart. This film requires a commitment to be drawn in, but once it begins, being overwhelmed by this world is an inevitable and affecting fate.

Estonia earned its one and only Oscar nomination in the Best Foreign Film category back in 2014 for the excellent drama Tangerines, about two soldiers trapped in the home of a local man, offering a sharp and unforgettable look at conflict in the region. Truth and Justice comes from director Tanel Toom, whose 2010 short The Confession was Oscar-nominated, is another distinctly Estonian production, one that takes its definitive piece of literature and immortalizes it on screen. If representing the essence of its country is important to voters, this arduous epic might just score a surprise nomination on Monday.

Coverage of the Finalists 
ATLANTICS (Senegal) - Review, Podcast, Mati Diop Interview, Cinematography
BEANPOLE (Russia) - Review, at Cannes
HONEYLAND (North Macedonia) -Review, #15 Doc Hit of Year
LES MISERABLES (France) - Review, at Cannes
PAIN AND GLORY (Spain) -Review, Podcast, #10 Foreign Hit of Year, Cinematography
PARASITE (South Korea) -Podcast, Class Disparity, Bong Joon Ho's filmography, Cho Yeo-Jeong, #1 Foreign Hit of Year, Memorable Houses
TRUTH OR JUSTICE (Estonia) - Review

finalists not yet covered
CORPUS CHRISTI (Poland)
PAINTED BIRD (Czech Republic)
THOSE WHO REMAINED (Hungary)