Most people don't think about singing when they think about revolutions. But song was the weapon of choice when, between 1986 and 1991, Estonians sought to free themselves from decades of Soviet occupation. During those years, hundreds of thousands gathered in public to sing forbidden patriotic songs and to rally for independence. "The young people, without any political party, and without any politicians, just came together ... not only tens of thousands but hundreds of thousands ... to gather and to sing and to give this nation a new spirit," remarks Mart Laar, a Singing Revolution leader featured in the film and the first post-Soviet Prime Minister of Estonia. "This was the idea of the Singing Revolution." James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty's "The Singing Revolution" tells the moving story of how the Estonian people peacefully regained their freedom--and helped topple an empire along the way.

The Singing Revolution

Their story begins in a similar way - 20 years ago they were all persecuted by the Soviet system and were known dissidents among the people. Now they are in this film, and that is all that they still have in common - the eternal rebel Tiit, who has already attempted to overthrow the government in free Estonia, Tunne, a member of the European Parliament, and Lagle, who has found herself as one of the Order of Nuns of St. Bridget. Over 15 years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Estonia is richer than ever before. Nevertheless, sociologists describe an unexpected phenomenon: over half of the formerly Soviet era people find that life was better back then. People did not work until they dropped, their neighbors did not live significantly better than they themselves, and people like Tunne, Tiit and Lagle were looked upon more as eccentrics...We observe these three, along with amusing archive films about how beautiful life was in the Soviet Union. We try to comprehend why they did not adapt, and whether the cause of their suffering has now been realized.