Best Estonian history movies

Fleeing from the Russian secret police, a young Estonian fencer is forced to return to his homeland, where he becomes a physical education teacher at a local school. The past however catches up and puts him in front of a difficult choice.

Estonia, 1872. The uncompromising new owner of Robber's Rise must battle with hard work, his spiteful neighbor and with his own family and beliefs to transform the poor land into a flourishing farm of his dreams.

June 14, 1941, 3 a.m. Over 40000 people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are deported by Soviets to Siberia. Among them is a philosophy student Erna, a happily married mother of a little girl. Separated from her husband, Erna and her daughter are dispatched together with other women and children to remote Siberian territories. Despite hunger, fear and brutal humiliation Erna never in next fifteen years loses her sense of freedom and hope of returning to homeland.

Despite peaceful speeches, the army of the Soviet Russian is attacking Estonia, and the country's government is declaring a mobilization for all. Henn Ahas, the son of a poor family, hesitates to go to war.

In medieval Tallinn, a famous knight who is freed from the pirates of the Baltic Sea is murdered. The hero's head is cut off and his mouth is stuffed with coins. The gold chain he bought the same day is missing. The bailiff orders Melchior, an apothecary, to investigate the crime. The clever young man discovers that the slain was looking for a mysterious "Tallinn prisoner" and the traces lead to the Dominican monastery. A fabulous sequence of bloodwork is unleashed - anyone who comes into contact with this secret is in danger of dying.

The Soviet Union teeters on the verge of collapse in 1990 and tiny Baltic nations struggle to take back their independence. A rising tide of public opinion opposes the Estonian national team's participation in the USSR's basketball championship. The team makes the unpopular choice to participate.

Melchior’s bride Keterlyn happens to witness an attack on a young man. The victim, who has lost his memory, does not know who he is and how he ended up in a Tallinn. A ring found at the scene leads Melchior to the trail of the nocturnal brotherhood, questions are also raised by the troupe of freaks who performed on fair day. Ominous signs suggest that not only is the stranger recovering from a murder attempt at risk, but Melchior and Keterlyn as well. At the same time, an inquisitor known as a ruthless witch hunter arrives in town. Melchior's ability to "speak to the dead" and to notice invisible traces of murder have raised the suspicion that he may be a dangerous heretic. And the place of the enemy of the church is at the stake…

In the middle of the night, a drunk town guard happens to meet the daughter of a rich merchant… who drowned herself into a well 10 years ago. Soon after the town guard falls dead from the tower. This is followed by two other suspicious deaths. Doubting the existence of the ghost, Melchior has a hunch that these ‘accidents’ are part of a heinous crime. Tracking down the killer, his path will cross with heretics, old feuds and dark family secrets.

The young country of Estonia is dancing to the jazzy tune of the 1920's when on December 1, 1924, the capital Tallinn is overrun by members of the Comintern in an attempt to stage a Communist coup. The film follows the fates of a young soldier called Tanel and his wife, a telephone operator named Anna, amidst the ensuing chaos which determines whether the country remains independent or becomes a minor province in the Communist Empire.

The life of a heroine. The life and work of Hella Wuolijoki. A poet, spy and millionaire, she turned into an internationally acclaimed businesswoman, politician and playwright, who collaborated with Europe's leading writers such as Bertolt Brecht and Maxim Gorky, but faced the harshness of a changing world as the Finnish, Soviet and British secret services focus on her life, family and work.

It's the early 90's. A new currency is in circulation in Estonia - the kroon. The former federal republic has become a world leader in non-ferrous metal exports. There is a relentless struggle around this criminal business. It brings new victims every day. Estonia ranks first in Europe in terms of the number of killings. This is just the beginning...

The Gold Spinners is a story about the birth, glory, and disappearance of a peculiar, invisible, and mighty business empire, the film studio Eesti Reklaamfilm, the only company producing commercials in the Soviet Union.

1895 is a picture about the life of brothers Auguste and Louis Lumiere, who have immortalized their names as inventors of cinematography. What inspired them?

Veteran actors from the 3 Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - gather at a castle in Latvia to receive awards for their roles as Nazi villains in propagandist Soviet war films. They reminisce about the films that made them famous throughout the USSR, but also stigmatized the Baltic countries as Nazi sympathizers in the eyes of many Russians - a misconception that is nowadays exploited by the Russian media, desperate to label the Baltic countries as a fascist haven.