Edvard Oja

From time to time, Mephistopheles manifests himself to the Estonian people through Linnar Priimägi. The released energy gives birth to chaos. Manfred Vainokivi tries his hardest to portray the one who causes it. Unsuccessfully, of course. Because even the largest letters are unreadable in twilight, as Goethe said. And there is a lot of twilight now. At least according to Linnar.

Edvard Oja is the object as well as subject of his own film. This is an honest story about chronical alcoholism, about the author's journey through treatment, religion, death and friendship. Edvard has been always supported by his mother who has provided unconditional love for her son in every situation. Mother is the only one in the documentary who won't ennoble the environment suffering from alcoholism. Yet, her son has no strength to struggle out of his tough situation. Is it possible after all that he will be cured?

When a former fistfighter Madis leaves the prison, he feels he will get another chance in life. Nothing can go wrong this time. Madis will be accompanied by his nephew who has something completely opposite in his mind. A game begins where both the weak and the strong get more and more opportunities.

This small, personal, honest experiment on a minimalist budget is edited from 12 years of nostalgic archival footage and ironical pranks. Mostly it is Manfred behind the camera. He follows Kristjan’s encounters and drunken conversations with the self-proclaimed cinema pioneer Eedi. Chess master Eedi can barely walk and can’t hear, but bitterly scorns Kristjan for filmmaking. Unstoppable dreamer, Kristjan continues to imagine a long-postponed film about the painter Jüri Arrak with never-ending hope to leave a mark in Estonian culture.

A portrait of two ageing cinema professionals who find motivation to live through endless quarrelling and challenging each other. An old film director and a camera man know a secret - when out of work you'll have to get fun and turn your own life into a film. And who would be a better partner than old colleague and mate. Their endless nagging is very much Estonian style, once one is up and the other down, and then it will all turn around.