Ghost Owl – Eia jõulud Tondikakul (2018)

Directed by: Anu Aun | 95 minutes | family, adventure | Actors: Paula Rits, Siim Oskar Ots, Tambet Tuisk, Mirtel Pohla, Priit Võigemast, Maria Annus, Robert Annus, Annabrith Heinmaa, Marvin Inno, Riho Kütsar, Liis Lemsalu, Tõnu Oja, Märt Pius, Priit Pius, Anne Rekkormann, Jaan Rekkormann , Meelis Rammeld, Juhan Ulfsak

In Scandinavia they have a reputation to uphold in the field of youth films. The great strength in the films of the Swedes, Danes, Norwegians and Finns is the fact that they dare to tackle heavy themes such as divorce, mourning, depression and mortality in a light-hearted, relativistic way and with humor, without sacrificing impact. . There is also often strong acting, by both the young and older cast members. In the slipstream of the Scandinavians, filmmakers in the Baltic States are also trying to gain a foothold in film country. Estonia in particular has traditionally been closely linked to the northern countries (for example, the language is related to Finnish and there are also cultural overlaps). The young Estonian filmmaker Anu Aun made her debut three years ago with the feature film ‘Polaarpoiss’ (2016), about young people with bipolar disorder. Her family film ‘Eia jõulud Tondikakul’ (2018), which can be seen in the Netherlands under the title ‘Spookuil’, is much less heavy. Aun had been toying with the idea of ​​writing a children’s book for a while, and she preferred a Christmas story. “But because I knew beforehand that I would probably also make the story into a film one day, and I had no idea yet for an entry in the ‘100 Years of Estonia’ film competition, I decided to turn it around and shoot a film first. before I wanted to publish the story in book form. Since we don’t have a real tradition of Christmas movies for the whole family in Estonia yet, I dived into that hole.”

Eia’s father is an architect and travels all over the world to carry out assignments. Her mother is a ballerina and is also often away from home because she has to perform or go on tour. It is therefore not surprising that Eia is often lonely and misses her family. When suddenly both her parents have to go abroad for work at the same time, and that also around Christmas, the girl is sent to her grandfather Ats. Until then, she didn’t even know she had a grandpa! During the Christmas holidays she exchanges her house in Tallinn for the snowy forests in the countryside. Grandpa seems to have walked right out of a Scandinavian fairy tale with his cozy wooden house, Norwegian sweaters and babbling fireplace. But he is also gruff and bitter. When Eia is a bit over the culture shock, however, it turns out that Grandpa’s cabin is a nice, warm nest. Grandpa slowly thaws and tells Eia why her father didn’t want her to get to know him. The resolute girl immediately sees a great job ahead, because how can she ensure that her father and her grandfather can get through the same door again? She also makes new friends in the village and, in passing, sets herself up as a conservationist when she discovers a bird threatened with extinction and thus tries to save the impressive primeval forest from destruction.

Aun based the character Eia (played with verve by the young Paula Rits) on her own daughter, who was eight years old when she wrote the story. A go-getter who firmly believes that with several small changes she can ultimately achieve something bigger. Especially if you can encourage others to act as well. This is reflected on several fronts in the film. Not only does Eia want to change her family history, she also hopes to stop the massive logging. In Estonia, cutting down old-growth forests too early is a major problem. With her film, Anu Aun hopes to make this theme open to discussion. Another hot issue she raises is the absence of parents in today’s society. In doing so, she raises her own heart: “I love my children and want nothing more than to be with them. At the same time, I also want to do my job as well as possible, which means I’m away from home a lot. Unfortunately there are only 24 hours in a day! But I can certainly empathize with Eia’s mother: she too used to think she would be a different kind of mother than she has become now.”

The atmosphere is good in ‘Spookuil’. Such a thick layer of snow, heartwarming lights, cute animals and a crackling fire soon do wonders. The family reunion is the icing on the cake. You can smell the gingerbread, hot chocolate and burnt wood, so to speak. Anu Aun lets the dazzling Estonian winter landscape steal the show; we have already booked the tickets. The acting is well done and the music may be a bit stale, but it fits in a movie like this. That the story is predictable – not to mention super sweet! – we can forgive ‘Ghost Owl’ too. It’s a Christmas movie after all. As in, say, another Christmas classic ‘Home Alone’ (1990), it’s a pleasure to see a child who dares to take on the evil outside world (in this case a local businessman who has his sights on the beautiful primeval forest) and at the same time teaches that warm family ties are the most important thing in life. Is that the ultimate Christmas thought? Then Anu Aun hits the nail on the head with the predictable but heartwarming ‘Ghost Owl’.