Goodbye Soviet Union (2020)

A coming of age story of Johannes, who is born prematurely to a premature single mother on the dramatic background of the collapsing Soviet empire.

Director:

Lauri Randla

Writer:

Lauri Randla

Stars:

Elene Baratashvili, Dima Bespalov, Ülle Kaljuste

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Elene Baratashvili	...	Vera
Dima Bespalov	...	Gena
Ülle Kaljuste	...	Grandmother
Sten Karpov	...	Tamerlan
Luule Komissarov	...	Doctor
Niklas Kouzmitchev	...	Johannes
Jekaterina Novosjolova	...	Lidia
Pääru Oja	...	Uncle Kolja
Tõnu Oja	...	Grandfather
Elina Purde	...	Barbie
Anne Reemann	...	Arbusova
Nika Savolainen	...	Johannes' mother
Kiri Tamm	...	Ob-Gyn

Storyline

Johannes is born into an Ingrian-Finnish family in the Estonian Soviet Republic. When his mother leaves for Finland, and he's left to be raised by his grandparents, Johannes is forced to face life on his own. He falls deeply in love with his classmate, Vera, takes risks, gets into fights, and gets punished - all the while, in the background, the Evil Empire collapses. As the Lenins fall and the Barbie dolls take over, the crocodile Genas and the Moskvitches are forced to step aside, leaving the road to the West wide open. Lauri Randla's Goodbye, Soviet Union is a comedy about the adventures of the eccentric Tarkkinen family in the last days of the Soviet Union.

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Plot Keywords:

mother | russophobia | propaganda | finnish diaspora | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Although the language that the Tarkkinen family speaks to each other may sound a bit strange to Finnish viewers, it is actually Finnish. It belongs to the Southern-Eastern dialects of Finnish and it is called Ingrian dialect. The dialect is nearly extinct because Ingrian Finns in Russia are heavily Russianized, Ingrian Finns that have moved back to Finland speak some other dialects of Finnish, Ingrian Finns in Estonia speak mostly Estonian, and Ingrian Finns that have moved to Sweden speak Swedish.

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Connections

Featured in Flinkkilä & Tastula: Inkerinmaalta Auschwitziin ja Siperiaan - Lauri Randla ja Lea Pakkanen ja suvun vaietut tarinat (2020)

User Reviews

Masterpiece

Great movie. Very tender in tone, and absolutely recognizable for anyone who's been there.

Details

Country:

Estonia Finland

Language:

Estonian Finnish Russian

Release Date:

10 July 2020 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Goodbye Soviet Union

Box Office

Budget:

EUR1,400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Exitfilm, Oy Bufo Ab

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Color:

Color