The Little Comrade

It is 1950 in the Soviet Estonia and the Stalinist terror machine works at full steam – 6-year-old Leelo’s school principal mother is arrested before her very eyes. “If you’re a good kid, I’ll be back soon,” are her mother’s last words as she is taken away at gunpoint. So Leelo is on her very best behaviour, but yet her mother does not return. A fear creeps into the child’s soul that it is her fault her mother was taken. The confusion only grows as “good” and “bad” no longer seem to hold any meaning in these troubled times. Why is the Estonian flag suddenly forbidden? Who is the people’s enemy and why is the scary NKVD lurking around their home? Is it an honour or a shame to be a pioneer? In this odd two-faced world, Leelo tries her best to be good, but is instead embroiled in one scrape after another and becomes ever more confused as to what it even means to be a good kid. The first full-length feature of director Moonika Siimets is based on beloved writer Leelo Tungal’s autobiographical novels “Comrade Kid and the Grow-Ups” and “Velvet and Sawdust”. In parallel with the production of the film, the author is writing the last part of the trilogy. The film is made for the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia.