Don Juan Tallinnas

Don Juan TallinnasDon Juan in Tallinn

Retrospective, Estonia 1971, 66 Min., eston. OV, engl. st

A pop musical set against the backdrop of an historical old town, combined with a gender-bending comedy with modern props. A young woman disguises herself as Don Juan and appears at the Tallinn court, where the ladies vie to be seduced by him, while the brash courtiers seek to challenge him in a duel … The film “stands out for its production design, visual excess, and hybridisation of styles, which invite it to be read as a product of camp sensibility” (Eva Näripea, 2015). A mix of pop, jazz, and classical music marks the score by then student Olav Ehala, who is now considered the “eminence grise” of Estonian pop music. Full of references to western consumer and pop culture, and fashioned on the Hollywood model, “Don Juan in Tallinn” was voted one of the three worst film in the USSR the year it was released. But this musical swashbuckler, with western elements, shot in Cinemascope, has long since become a classic piece of entertainment.

Director Arvo Kruusement

Screenplay Samuil Aljošin

Producer Kullo Must

Festival Contact Estonian Film Institute - Eesti Filmi Instituut, Uus 3, 10111 Tallinn, Mail: film@filmi.ee, Web: www.filmi.ee

Cast Gunta Virkava (Don Juan), Lembit Ulfsak (Florestino), Jaak Tamleht (Kommandeur), Julia Sooster (Donna Anna), Ants Eskola (Don Ottavio), Sophie Sooäär (Donna Laura), Merle Aru (Lucia), Irina Kuberskaja (Rosita), Tõnu Saar (Don Pablo)

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Screenings

No screenings are available for this film.