Those Old Love Letters

Colour, 35 mm
Estonia, 1992, 127 min
Section: Baltic Films

About the film

The story, centring on the life of Estonian composer Raimond Valgre, begins prior to the Second World War. A young and promising pianist, a composer of beautiful romantic songs, falls in love with the blonde-haired daughter of the Swedish consul. The beautiful Alice returns his affection, though to her family this Estonian bohemian is nothing more than an unacceptable upstart. When the Russian army invades Estonia, Alice returns home and Raimond enlists in the army. Like other Estonian soldiers, he ends up in a Soviet gulag but he never stops composing. He manages to awaken love for women, but his life eventually falls apart because he can’t resist alcohol. He returns to Tallinn after the war, but even his mother’s overpowering loving care can’t save him. The 36-year-old creator, who could no longer bear the burden of the times, died on New Year’s Eve 1949. A prohibited artist, only a few people show up to his funeral, but Valgre’s music lives on and he has become a permanent part of Estonia.

About the director

Mati Poldre (b. 1936, Tallinn), as cameraman, shared in making over 70 films, most of them documentaries. He began his own directing with the feature film The Spring in Your Heart (1985). His second feature Those Old Love Letters was nominated for an Oscar in 1992. He is currently working as a teacher. Selected filmography: The Spring in Your Heart (1985), Those Old Love Letters (1992), Autumn in Anstla (1992, documentary), Sound from the Past (1994, documentary), Teacher (documentary, 1997).