
Directing
Kaljo Kiisk
Born 1925-12-03 · Vaivina, Viru County, Estonia [now Ida-Viru County]
Kaljo Kiisk (December 3, 1925 – September 20, 2007) was an Estonian actor, film director and politician. He was best known for his roles as Kristjan Lible from Spring, Summer and Autumn, film adaptations of Oskar Luts' novels, and as Johannes Saarepera from ETV's long-running Õnne 13. His career spanned over half a century from 1953 to 2007.
Acting credits
5.8The attempted coup of Estonia on Dec. 1, 1924, conducted by Comintern, staged by the Soviet Communists, failed and resulted in many lost lives on both sides. The Communists were forced underground.
Ask the Dead About the Price of Death
1977
7.0An up-close look into the life of the often misunderstood movie director Grigori Kromanov through the lens of old friends and colleagues.
Grisha
1996
7.5Jüri Rumm is a hot-tempered young peasant who is not afraid of either German barons or the Russian czar, barfights or disobedience to his master's orders. Mari, a gentle peasant girl, loves Jüri despite the fact that he is very popular among young women. Evelin is a quick-tempered baron's daughter who is used to get everything she wants, including a peasant boyfriend who considers himself a free man. Yet, the free man becomes an outlaw. Where will the runaway's love lead him?
Jüri Rumm
1994
6.6Paunvere parish school students Arno and Teele, Toots and Kiir, Tõnisson and Imelik experience feelings during one school winter, the traces of which they carry throughout their future lives - from true friendship and first love to self-discovery and clarifying life goals.
Spring
1970
10.0After the war, young yachtsmen from the coastal town deal with daily work, training and competitions without knowing about the downside. Suddenly, mysterious events start to happen, testing the vigilance, ideological and moral beliefs of the local people.
Yachts at Sea
1955
6.1Before the end of the Second World War, a special commando marches into a mental hospital located in a beautiful manor house to eliminate the patients. But the Gestapo has received an anonymous letter saying that an enemy agent is hiding among the madmen. Officer Windisch is tasked with finding a simulant among several hundred mental patients in a matter of days.
Madness
1969
8.0A young investigator fresh from the university gets assigned an arson case. 18-year-old Epp-Kai has admitted to the crime but he cannot see the girl's motive. His partner, an experienced investigator, already has enough work and doesn't think it's necessary to have further conversations with the accused. The young investigator senses however that Epp-Kai is hiding something.
An Unusual Story
1974
5.7Andrus Laane comes from a fisherman's village. He dreams of becoming a captain to sail the seas but fails the entrance exams to the marine academy. By accident he starts working at a big gas plant. Sharp-witted young man with innovative ideas will be recognized. He will also find his first true love. It seems that Andrus has found his happiness, even if not at sea.
Andrus' Happiness
1955
9.0Reet loves her long-distance coxswain husband Rein, but the long separations have tortured her. It seems to her that the man cares more about his work than about her. Rein really loves his work, but his wife just as passionately. He does not understand how loneliness can overwhelm Reet, when women have always been waiting for men from far away. Their family friend Mart loves Reet and cannot see her suffer. It is in Marti's power to offer Reet a safe life, and the woman plagued by internal struggles makes a choice, but happiness seems to slip even further away.
Landing
1973
9.0When Estonian violinist Eduard Sõrmus starts his concert tours in Europe, he is convinced that the world revolution is about to begin. His mission as a Red Violinist is to call the proletariat around the world to join with the revolution. It is only two things - music and revolution - that Eduard has dedicated himself to. His audience is enchanted by his performance and ignited by his ideas. With this knowledge, he travels Europe between the two world wars, accompanied by his faithful friends, his audience's admiration and the hostility of the authorities.
The Red Violin
1975
NRA middle-aged literature teacher who devotes his free time to poetry is used to being the center of admiration for his family, especially his wife. One day, however, a grandchild arrives at the house, who immediately grabs the full attention of all those around him. The fresh grandfather turns out to be excluded and decides to leave the house, confident that it will restore him to his former position. This is followed by a day full of surprising encounters.
My Wife Became a Grandmother
1977
5.6It is the night of March 25, 1949. A full moon hangs over Estonia. Endless rows of cattle cars are waiting to transport thousands of Estonian families, asleep in their homes, to Siberia. The Stalinist regime is ready to treat people like animals.
Awakening
1990
6.3In the beginning of the 20th century, Joosep Toots has returned from Russia, where he learned agriculture. He wants to start reforming his father's farm, Ülesoo. At the same time, he's competing with Kiir to win the love of Teele. Teele has stated that she agrees to marry with a farmer only. So Kiir decides to go to Russia to learn agriculture too.
Summer
1976
A television film based on the short stories of the American writer O. Henry.
Two Couples and Loneliness
1984
8.0A romantic comedy about two rival motorcyclists who are in love with two twin sisters. It is a remake of the 1959 film Naughty Curves and was the first film shot in the Soviet-designed Kinopanorama format.
Dangerous Curves
1961
6.2Kari Syysmäki, a Finnish Businessman is on a vacation with his wife in Tallinn. When his wife is away a young man enters their hotel room with a gun. He tells to the businessman that he has just tried to rob a bank, but accidentally shot one of the clerks. Now he's hiding from the cops. But when the bank robber forgets his gun on the table, Syysmäki grabs it and shoots him in the back. After that Syysmäki refuses to travel back to Finland with his wife. He stays in Tallinn and soon he's about to face both the cops and the mob of Estonia.
Marraskuun harmaa valo
1993
5.6A passenger steps off his train during a short stop in a small town called Vernanda in order to buy a loaf of bread. However, the train departs early and the passenger is left to deal with a bread-shaped bomb, strangely behaving townsfolk and an ominous laughter that follows him wherever he goes.
Vernanda
1988
6.8The movie travels through the 20th century by monitoring a steam boiler. We see the history of Estonia through life, agricultural work and people at different times.
Dance Around the Steam Boiler
1988
4.0A faithful city guardian the Old Thomas, who has stood on the top of the tower of Tallinn Town Hall for centuries, is suddenly gone. He has neglected his post in order to go and protect a couple in love. The adventures of the Old Thomas and the historians who are chasing him through the romantic Old Town of Tallinn and the newer district of Tallinn. The whole film has the mood of song celebrations and the characters are always accompanied by music, songs and dance.
The Old Thomas was Stolen
1970
No synopsis available yet.
Igihaljas vaatemäng
1981
10.0A former goldminer who has run afoul of the law is made an unusual offer by the mafia. The power of money and popularity among women won't let him step down from the rollercoaster in order to make the right decisions.
American Mountains
1994
4.0Toomas Stockmann, the head doctor of a water clinic built in a small town by the sea, discovers that the facility is threatened by an infection caused by construction errors in the waterworks. The powerful mayor Peter Stockmann, the doctor's brother, has used his position and connections for commercial and political gain and has ignored the doctor's warnings. The upper class of the town initially supports the doctor's decision to reveal the truth, but the mayor changes due to pressure and personal interests. Dr. Stockmann is labeled an enemy of the people. He must choose whether to stick to his ideas, at the risk of his family, or surrender to demagoguery.
Doctor Stockmann
1989
7.5After a stormy night on the sea, a group of Estonian fishermen end up in a small coastal Finnish town. As they await the Soviet authorities to take them back home, some of the fishermen contemplate leaving their former lives in a Soviet era Estonia behind.
Men from the Fisherman's Village
1962
6.0The Hijacker lands the plane at the Rīga Airport. 7 year-old Tom, travelling on his own, voluntarily becomes a hostage. Along with the traditional demands, the Hijacker adds the demands of the little hostage – beginning with some local chocolate and a self-instruction tape for learning the native language, and ending with organizing a Song Festival and a special biathletes’ performance – all ideas originating from a CD on Latvia.
The Hostage
2006
Behind the camera
7.0It's 1940 - the first summer of the Soviet occupation on the Estonian island Saaremaa. Teenagers stepping in their lives have important decisions to make. Should they support the Soviet regime or join the resistance?
We Were Eighteen
1965
5.8The attempted coup of Estonia on Dec. 1, 1924, conducted by Comintern, staged by the Soviet Communists, failed and resulted in many lost lives on both sides. The Communists were forced underground.
Ask the Dead About the Price of Death
1977
9.0The coastal people of Kaugatoma set out to build their own ship to earn a living independent of the baron's will. The baron does everything to prevent the venture, but still "Kaugatoma" raises its white sails. Unfortunately, the power of money turns out to be decisive both in the organization of joint activities and in the relations of the strong-natured captain Tõnis Tihu with the community and his loved ones. He abandons Liisu, with whom he has a son, and marries a wealthy widow. As a captain, he has the power to look after the welfare of the sailors, but he thinks more about his own safety. However, the winds of 1905 are already blowing over the sea.
Windy Beach
1971
5.1The events take place in Estonia in a summer in the 1960s. The Boy and the Girl want to go from mainland Estonia to the island of Saaremaa, but they do not have any money to buy the ticket to the ferry. They manage to hide themselves into a lorry that carries hay. Because they are smoking while they are on the lorry, a fire breaks out. The problem is, that the ferry is in the middle of the sea.
The Midday Ferry
1967
7.8Peeter Saarmann has grown up in the Raidma family with the knowledge that his father was a casualty of war and mother died during evacuation. He is a university student who prepares to get married. During renovation Peeter finds a pre-war newspaper article about an enterprise that seems to upset his stepfather. The night before his wedding day, Peeter runs into a drunk man who calls Peeter an illegitimate offspring. When Peeter hears the truth about his real parents from his stepfather, he has the feeling that this could become crucial for his future plans.
Days of June
1958
6.6Paunvere parish school students Arno and Teele, Toots and Kiir, Tõnisson and Imelik experience feelings during one school winter, the traces of which they carry throughout their future lives - from true friendship and first love to self-discovery and clarifying life goals.
Spring
1970
5.7When Vaike, a student and athlete from Tartu, arrives to Pirita-Kose-Kloostrimetsa speedway, the bikes are already racing with dizzying speeds. The same dizzying adventures will be ahead, when Vaike meets multiple-times champion Raivo, who has been dizzied with sports progress and young ladies, and with champion candidate Heino, who helps Vaike to prepare for competition. Vaike cannot “hold her horses” alone and counts for her sister Maret, who also in past have had helped her out from similar difficult situations. But this time also comes into play Maret’s fresh husband Ants, who is convinced that he no more mix up the twin sisters.
Naughty Curves
1959
6.1Before the end of the Second World War, a special commando marches into a mental hospital located in a beautiful manor house to eliminate the patients. But the Gestapo has received an anonymous letter saying that an enemy agent is hiding among the madmen. Officer Windisch is tasked with finding a simulant among several hundred mental patients in a matter of days.
Madness
1969
4.8Toomas Nipernaadi is seen roaming the rural landscape, going from village to village looking for the woman of his dreams. He wears a bedraggled white suit but generously pays for any lodging he needs or in one case, even buys a farm. Nipernaadi has a way with words and enchants those he meets with his wild stories about himself. Women find him appealing and the men are entertained as he moves from one locale to the next.
Nipernaadi
1983
8.0Heino Raagen and his war comrades begin a new battle while arriving at their home village - establishing a collective farm. The sufferings and fears of the war have exhausted people; nevertheless, they still stick together and protect their close ones. Heino's girlfriend Valve hides the plans of her brother Robert hiding in the forest from him; as a result, their relationship will fall apart. Life goes on, but disappointment and anger will take their toll even when years have gone by.
Traces
1964
9.0Reet loves her long-distance coxswain husband Rein, but the long separations have tortured her. It seems to her that the man cares more about his work than about her. Rein really loves his work, but his wife just as passionately. He does not understand how loneliness can overwhelm Reet, when women have always been waiting for men from far away. Their family friend Mart loves Reet and cannot see her suffer. It is in Marti's power to offer Reet a safe life, and the woman plagued by internal struggles makes a choice, but happiness seems to slip even further away.
Landing
1973
9.0Reet loves her long-distance coxswain husband Rein, but the long separations have tortured her. It seems to her that the man cares more about his work than about her. Rein really loves his work, but his wife just as passionately. He does not understand how loneliness can overwhelm Reet, when women have always been waiting for men from far away. Their family friend Mart loves Reet and cannot see her suffer. It is in Marti's power to offer Reet a safe life, and the woman plagued by internal struggles makes a choice, but happiness seems to slip even further away.
Landing
1973
6.0Two proud fisherman families live on a very small island in Estonia. The two fishermen have always bore a grudge against each other. Their stubbornness and disobedience to German occupiers leads to dramatic events where staying alive is worse than death. Since it is impossible to escape public contempt, they have to decide how to redeem themselves.
Ice Run
1963
9.0When Estonian violinist Eduard Sõrmus starts his concert tours in Europe, he is convinced that the world revolution is about to begin. His mission as a Red Violinist is to call the proletariat around the world to join with the revolution. It is only two things - music and revolution - that Eduard has dedicated himself to. His audience is enchanted by his performance and ignited by his ideas. With this knowledge, he travels Europe between the two world wars, accompanied by his faithful friends, his audience's admiration and the hostility of the authorities.
The Red Violin
1975
9.0When Estonian violinist Eduard Sõrmus starts his concert tours in Europe, he is convinced that the world revolution is about to begin. His mission as a Red Violinist is to call the proletariat around the world to join with the revolution. It is only two things - music and revolution - that Eduard has dedicated himself to. His audience is enchanted by his performance and ignited by his ideas. With this knowledge, he travels Europe between the two world wars, accompanied by his faithful friends, his audience's admiration and the hostility of the authorities.
The Red Violin
1975
4.8Regina is a beautiful, educated and independent woman whose boyfriend tells her that he is going to marry a young girl expecting a baby. As Regina inherits a house in a little town, an opportunity arises to change her life.
Regina
1990
4.3The last film directed by Kaljo Kiisk has been dedicated to theatre and the people in theatre. You are entering the hectic world of musicians, zanies and jesters - and don't expect to hear a symphony but a single delicate sound of a flute.
Prompter
1993
8.0A romantic comedy about two rival motorcyclists who are in love with two twin sisters. It is a remake of the 1959 film Naughty Curves and was the first film shot in the Soviet-designed Kinopanorama format.
Dangerous Curves
1961
8.0It is the year 1947. The war is over but Estonian forests are still hiding armoured men. When the message comes that Western spies will arrive to support the local bushwhackers, security officer Rein Taim starts to lead the counter operation of the Communist Secret Police in order to catch the Western diversionists and the leader of the Estonian bushwhackers.
Wild Violets
1980
8.0Viktor Kingissepp has been the underground head of the Communist Party of Estonia for three years. He corresponds with Moscow, writes speeches for the members of the Communist Workers' Party and makes leaflets for the events of trade union. His purpose is to overthrow the Republic of Estonia since he does not believe in Estonian independence nor in any national ideals. Yet the clock keeps ticking, tuberculosis spreads rapidly, the world revolution is being postponed. What to do in order to make one's efforts work?
In One Hundred Years in May
1987