I rented this documentary from Netflix not expecting a whole lot, but I was so wrong and it was so well done and deserved more recognition and praise. This movie is a very moving documentary that shows how little Estonia defied the Soviet Union by singing. The Singing Revolution tells the true story how Estonia through song got their independence from the Soviet Union.Now the questions must be asked how is this possible, how can singing change the world, well Estonia can show you how. Using music and interviews this documentary is a good view from anyone who loves a good and inspiring story.

I'll never understood why crimes against humanity committed by Nazi Germany have always garnered more attention from filmmakers than crimes against humanity committed by the Soviet Union, but they have. What makes The Singing Revolution an important and unique addition to the filmography of oppression and liberation is that Estonia was the ball in a lethal game of football between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and this documentary shows how the only difference between these two evil empires was that the Nazis could only attempt to annihilate the Estonian nation for a few years while the Soviets were at it for decades. The end credits alone -- where one reads about a survivor of two years in a Nazi concentration camp and eight years in a Soviet gulag -- would be sufficient reason to watch this film. But, of course, it is much more than that.The Singing Revolution documents the indomitable human spirit. A people deprived of arms, deprived of freedom, and subjected to a series of ruthless occupations with the purpose of enslaving their people, stealing their natural resources, and brainwashing their children into forgetting their rich national history and culture -- nevertheless find a way to hold on to their identity through songs. The Estonians rebel against their Soviet masters without firing a shot, driving a truck filled with explosives into a building, walking into a crowded restaurant and setting off an explosive belt strapped to one's chest, dynamiting a hotel quartering enemy soldiers, assassinating a dignitary, kidnapping officials and demanding release of prisoners, or even pouring gasoline on themselves and lighting a match or engaging in a hunger strike.And the Soviet enemy occupying Estonia had no tradition of freedom or none of the Christian morality the British Empire had when Gandhi went up against them in the struggle for India's independence.After seeing Defiance a few months ago I was fascinated by the parallels between Jews hiding in the woods to fight the Nazis and Estonians hiding in the woods to fight the Soviets.The Framers of the American system of government were wise enough to include the right of the people to keep and bear arms as a means of preserving our freedoms against both domestic tyranny and foreign invasion. One civil war was enough to convince any future tyrant of the Pyrrhic victory that awaited them even if they should prevail on the battlefield.But The Singing Revolution is nonetheless inspiring to me by showing that even under circumstances when a people suffer defeat by overwhelming forces hope can be preserved, and even music can be a weapon in the arsenal of freedom.

It's been a few hundred years since the US had to figuratively sing for its independence, but less than 2 decades since Estonians finally shed the Soviet yoke and found freedom. That the country just south of Finland and between Germany and Russia achieved their freedom not by force but as it were by culture is more remarkable than its million people facing off a country of hundreds of million. Thus forms the outline of a dynamic documentary about Estonian revolution.The thousands of Estonians who met every five years in Tartu, as many as 30,000, sang patriotic songs despite cruel occupations by Germany and Soviet Russia. The symbolic resistance was accompanied by some deft diplomacy during Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost or freedom of speech and the break up of the USSR in the early 1990's.James Trusty and Maureen Castle Trusty's documentary assembles archival footage of the struggle in the 20th century, uses the usual talking heads, some of whom were freedom fighters, and has the good sense to have an understated Linda Hunt narration. When these innocent throngs sing their nationalist songs, cinemaphiles can't but think of the French singing La Marseillaise at Rick's Cafe in Casablanca.It all works to the extent that you will never forget the little country that could.

James and Maureen Tusty, directors, along with James and Mike Majoros, writers are to be congratulated on a fine piece of work. "The Singing Revolution" documents how a small country without guns or troops, and with only a strong singing tradition and the will to be free, prospered.It may have taken over fifty years to regain their independence, but the strong will of the Estonians triumphed over brutal aggression and media propaganda.To see the sight of some hundred thousand people raising their voices in choral singing about their homeland and their quest for independence is one to behold. The Tustys have included some remarkable archival footage to fill in the foundation for their presentation. Skillfully narrated and edited, this documentary moves along nicely, showing the progress of a people who refused to be dominated by a foreign power.At the end of the showing (on 4/18/08 at Cleveland's Cinematheque) the filmmaker assured the audience that this will be available on DVD following its festival runs. That's something worth looking forward to!