Aarne Üksküla

Acting

Aarne Üksküla

Born — Died

1937-09-21 — 2017-10-29

Place of birth

Tallinn, Harju County, Estonia

Known for

Acting

Credits

53 titles

Aarne Üksküla (September 21, 1937 Tallinn – October 29, 2017) was an Estonian actor and theatre instructor. In 1961 he graduated from Tallinn State Conservatory's Performing Arts Department. Career: Rakvere Theatre Endla Theatre Estonian Drama Theatre Tallinn's Old Town Studio. From 1978 to 2000 he worked at Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre's Drama School

Known for

Dead Mountaineer's Hotel poster
6.3

The police get a call-out to a lonely hotel in the Alps. When an officer gets to the hotel everything seems to be alright. Suddenly, an avalanche cuts them off from the rest of the world and strange things start happening.

Dead Mountaineer's Hotel

1979

The Boys of Wikman poster
8.0

The boys of Wikman is a 1994-year drama serial about the Wikman Private Gymnasium students from 1937 till their mobilization in 1944. The series is based on a 1988 novel Wikmani poisid by Jaan Kross.

The Boys of Wikman

1995

My Wife Became a Grandmother poster
NR

A 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

In One Hundred Years in May poster
8.0

Viktor 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

Karoliine's Silver Yarn poster
5.0

Karoliine is a spoiled and selfish princess who will meet swamp ogres and sleep fairies, a mermaid and a werewolf on her journey. A bunch of robbers will take her to their cave. Despite having a smart and helpful guide Kaspar with her, Karoliine has to get rid of her selfishness and inconsideration towards others. She is gradually becoming braver and good-hearted that will eventually lead her to the presence of real love.

Karoliine's Silver Yarn

1985

Legends of Tallinn poster
8.0

Tallinn is known for its medieval old town. However, not only the old houses and streets have been preserved, we have also come down to ancient legends related to these places. The film is about the Oleviste Church and the mysterious craftsman who built one of the world's tallest towers for this church at one time.

Legends of Tallinn

1995

Film credits

2010s · 3 titles

A Friend of Mine poster
5.2

Mati, a 70-year-old bibliophile, cannot cope with his wife's death. As loneliness and indifference overrun his thoughts, he contemplates suicide until he meets a younger man who sparks his interest in life.

A Friend of Mine

2011

Living Images poster
7.4

The main character, Helmi, is born into the house of Baron von Strandmann in Old-Town Tallinn, in 1908. The only thing that she knows for sure about her past is that her mother was an Estonian servant girl. Everything else is a discovery during a life that runs the course of a century - a life that has quite a lot of surprises in store for Helmi. In this house she finds happiness and suffering, passion and disappointment. She grows up alongside young Erik and waits for her big love to blossom. But one floor down lives projectionist Julius - a man who is far from indifferent when it comes to Helmi. All of the biggest historical events of the century leave their mark on the house. Its hardwood floors have born soldiers' gruff boots and gentleman's shiny oxfords. Its walls have held the fates of people from far and near, foreigners and locals. Helmi's home becomes a German salon, a revolution museum, and a working class commune. And as freedom comes, real estate crooks start sniffing ...

Living Images

2013

Burnt Mistakes poster
NR

Aggivald, 23, is living in a suburban boiler-house that is fuelled by books - books without endings. The biggest passion for the young man is to write a new ending for each book. Aggivald doesn't know that his family has a story of its own, a story that reaches back to the Soviet time and has no ending either.

Burnt Mistakes

2010

2000s · 4 titles

1990s · 11 titles

Legends of Tallinn poster
8.0

Tallinn is known for its medieval old town. However, not only the old houses and streets have been preserved, we have also come down to ancient legends related to these places. The film is about the Oleviste Church and the mysterious craftsman who built one of the world's tallest towers for this church at one time.

Legends of Tallinn

1995

Handmaiden poster
7.0

The family where Epp serves is preparing to receive important guests on whom the career of the head of the family depends. Everyone is busy preparing the gala dinner, and only the owner's son Eugen does not take any part in this. At night he suddenly becomes ill, and Epp is sent for help. On a rainy night, she spends a long time looking for a doctor, as a result of which she becomes seriously ill. And Eugen’s illness, as it turned out, was only the result of his suspiciousness...

Handmaiden

1990

Three Jolly Fellows poster
7.0

Three Jolly Fellows tells of the adventures of three small men in a world that borders on the fantastic: the composed and close-to-nature Mossbeard, the irritable city dweller Halfshoe, and the sensitive poet Muff.

Three Jolly Fellows

1990

Jüri Rumm poster
7.5

Jüri 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

True Moments poster
4.5

By chance Erik meets Viivi, an Estonian violinist playing in the Stockholm subway. They start an intense romance. Erik's mother dislikes the relationship, not having forgotten her escape from Estonia during the war. She reveals facts from the past and Erik finds out that his Swedish father adopted him. His real father was an Estonian nazi. Viivi has grown up in communist Estonia where her father was a party member and worked for the KGB.

True Moments

1998

Lamb in the Down Right Corner poster
6.8

A warm movie about two boys, who discover a secret of a painting that was considered to be lost. The adventures begin, when a boss of a bunch of criminals finds out about the painting.

Lamb in the Down Right Corner

1992

No artwork available
6.5

A parody of a classical action film. The sequence of events is launched by a huge cabbage growing on a plot of land that belongs to a poor Estonian peasant woman. This super-cabbage attracts adventures from America, China and Soviet Russia

Cabbage Head

1993

Tear of the Prince of Darkness poster
4.2

Tallinn, Estonia, days before outbreak of World War II. Hotel detective and Polish writer team up to find Tear of the Prince of Darkness, a legendary ring which can bring Satan’s rule over the world.

Tear of the Prince of Darkness

1993

All My Lenins poster
5.4

Young and active nationalist Aleksander Kesküla makes up his mind to use Lenin, the Bolsheviks' leader, in order to start a revolution in Russia with German money and create a new national state of Estonia in the north-east of Russia. For security reasons, five doubles will be found and trained for Lenin. All of them are finally sent to Russia to instigate the revolution. How will the real Lenin put up with all this?

All My Lenins

1997

Autumn poster
6.0

The main character of the film is Paunvere tailor Jorh Adniel Kiir. Two young seamstresses, Juuli and Maali, arrive in Paunvere. At first, Kiir regards them as competitors, but then he establishes friendly relations with them. Kiir marries Juuli, but he is not indifferent to Maali either. The film also follows Kiir's efforts to get his own farm.

Autumn

1990

Surmatants poster
7.0

A historical costume drama where the fragments of the adventurous lives of Bernt Notke, one of the most influential Late Gothic painters, and carpenter Michel Sittow are brought together by the story of the panel painting "Danse Macabre" by Notke and the way the painting reached Tallinn, Estonia from Lübeck.

Surmatants

1991

1980s · 20 titles

In One Hundred Years in May poster
8.0

Viktor 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

Karoliine's Silver Yarn poster
5.0

Karoliine is a spoiled and selfish princess who will meet swamp ogres and sleep fairies, a mermaid and a werewolf on her journey. A bunch of robbers will take her to their cave. Despite having a smart and helpful guide Kaspar with her, Karoliine has to get rid of her selfishness and inconsideration towards others. She is gradually becoming braver and good-hearted that will eventually lead her to the presence of real love.

Karoliine's Silver Yarn

1985

The Smacking Sea poster
7.5

The Smacking Sea is a film about the work of traditional seal hunters on the smacking Baltic Sea and their life in the coastal village.

The Smacking Sea

1981

Three Jolly Fellows 2 poster
5.0

The second part of the film based on Eno Raua's children's book of the same name, which tells about the activities of three jolly fellows - Sammalhabe, Kingpool and Muhvi. The movie viewer can join their exciting adventures in saving the city from the rats.

Three Jolly Fellows 2

1987

Pisuhänd poster
5.2

Classics of the Estonian plays about how a penniless man can become a millionaire and marry his loving girl.

Pisuhänd

1982

Requiem poster
8.0

When the frontline extends over Estonia in the summer of 1944, the pilots of a shot down Soviet airplane come to ask for help at a farm where organ builder Jaan lives with his kids.

Requiem

1984

No artwork available
NR

In the same vein as Meri's other documentations, this one takes advantage of the glasnost policy to discuss the social and ecologic impact of the Russian oil industry on the natives and the lands they inhabit.

Son of Torum

1989

No artwork available
NR

Rich nephews and beautiful girls can not get married, especially when neither of them have actually seen each other.

Faulty Brides

1989

Bumpy poster
6.8

Brother and sister Kusti and Iti get lost in a forest while picking strawberries and are captured by an evil forest hag. They are made to work for her. The hag has a son called Bumpy whom Iti befriends. When they get a chance to escape, they decide to take Bumpy with them.

Bumpy

1981

The Gang poster
7.0

Paul Madvig is a businessman in an American town in the 1920s, doing everything to maintain his power. He plans to marry Janet, the daughter of senator Ralph Henry who must be re-elected in order to ensure Paul's position. Paul is sure of himself and treats his competitor Shad O'Rory, who is involved in the gambling business, with arrogance. Then the senator's son is murdered. It is rumoured that Paul is behind the murder. Private detective Ned Beaumont, an old friend of Paul's, starts to investigate the case. Based on the novel "The Glass Key" by Dashiell Hammett.

The Gang

1986

Three Jolly Fellows poster
5.9

“Three Jolly Fellows” tells of the adventures of three small men in a world that borders on the fantastic: the composed and close-to-nature Mossbeard, the irritable city dweller Halfshoe, and the sensitive poet Muff. An old woman’s inexplicable love of cats has lured many felines to the city. Risking their lives, the diligent and ready-to-help fellows lure the gang of cats out of the city, with the result being trouble in both the city and nature.

Three Jolly Fellows

1984

Breakfast on the Grass poster
6.0

Several episodes, each focusing on a different figure. Towards the end they all come together to replicate the famous painting by Édouard Manet that provides the title.

Breakfast on the Grass

1987

Secret of the Blackbirds poster
6.7

Mr. Fortescue, owner of a big company, unexpectedly dies. The autopsy shows that he has been poisoned. Nobody actually loved him, and even his family members had their reasons to kill him. But who really did it? And who is responsable for killing his young servant and his wife within the next couple of days? Of course the only person who can answer this question is Ms. Marple. And of course, the murderer is the person you least expected it to be.

Secret of the Blackbirds

1983

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

The Tin Men

1984

Wild Violets poster
8.0

It 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

Arabella, the Pirate's Daughter poster
7.0

Arabella is a daughter of the world's most terrifying pirate captain. She loves her father but also dreams about a life of a usual girl. One day a weird stranger is saved from the sea who will be the only friend of Arabella. At the same time a rival pirate called Raudpats plans to kidnap the girl. Will she be safe and can she ever live a normal life?

Arabella, the Pirate's Daughter

1983

Murder on the 31st Floor poster
8.5

Police officer Jensen orders the evacuation of a leading media group's office building after a bomb threat is made. There won't be any explosion, however, the media group sustains big losses because of the work stoppage and the management requires investigation of the case. Officer Jensen identifies six suspects, then finds out that he is being followed himself, especially when he gets involved in the obscure activities of the mysterious 31st department.

Murder on the 31st Floor

1981

Ball im Savoy poster
7.5

The aristocratic couple de Faublas returns from the honeymoon, but instead of domestic peace, they are intrigued by old relations. Love and jealousy, fidelity and infidelity, small- and big lies are emitting fine ladies and gentlemen, flooded by song, dance, jokes and sparkling wines, into the vortex of the Savoy Ballroom.

Ball im Savoy

1986

The Ideal Landscape poster
4.9

In post-World War II Estonia, Mait Kukemeri, an activist of the Young Communist League arrives to the Metsa collective farm in the back of a traveling cinema truck. As a commissary of the spring sowing, he has orders to usher all the people to the field, even if the water is high enough to soak your boots and the machines sink in the mud. Harald Tuvikene, the head of the farm, keeps dragging his feet, trying to pitch his peasant wisdom against the senseless demands of the central power. For the first time in his life, Kukemeri faces a real problem - does he do what's right or does he follow the party's inept commands in order to further his own career?

The Ideal Landscape

1981

Doctor Stockmann poster
4.0

Toomas 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

1970s · 8 titles

Dead Mountaineer's Hotel poster
6.3

The police get a call-out to a lonely hotel in the Alps. When an officer gets to the hotel everything seems to be alright. Suddenly, an avalanche cuts them off from the rest of the world and strange things start happening.

Dead Mountaineer's Hotel

1979

My Wife Became a Grandmother poster
NR

A 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

Dangerous Games poster
7.5

The capital of Estonia is occupied by Germans. Three local boys plan to blow up the cinema where the German soldiers often spend time at. However, their plans will change when they accidentally meet a mysterious stranger. A complicated and dangerous game begins where the rules are not set by the schoolkids.

Dangerous Games

1974

Time to Live, Time to Love poster
9.0

Debora and Silver get into a serious car accident after a romantic night together. Silver escapes with a slight injury, but Debora's life is in danger and the doctors say there is no hope for her. Doctor Melts sees an opportunity in transplantation of dying Debora's kidneys to save the life of a professor who has a few weeks to live. However, the professor proposes a treatment for Debora that will exclude transplantation. The truth about the price of her life will change Debora's world.

Time to Live, Time to Love

1977

The Headless Rider poster
6.0

The film takes place in 1850, Texas, United States. Louise, daughter of the wealthy plantation owner Poindexter, master of the hacienda Casa del Corvo, falls in love with a poor mustanger Maurice Gerald. The night their secret rendezvous happens, her brother Henry disappears. Suspicion in murder falls on Gerald, who was found covered in blood, with signs of struggle on the body and on Henry's cloak. One more minute, and an angry crowd would have Gerald lynched, but then the mysterious Headless Horseman appears...

The Headless Rider

1973

A Woman Heats the Sauna poster
5.6

The story is about a woman, who has to heat up the company's sauna, because the bosses want to entertain foreign visitors. The sauna is situated in a small village where her ex-husband is from, and an old aunt of his is still living. In addition to having to face her bosses she also has to face her past.

A Woman Heats the Sauna

1979

The Lost Ones poster
8.0

Two young nationalists from Soviet Estonia falls under the influence of popular radio DJ Rudolf Talgre, who during the war collaborated with the Nazis and was proud of it and now settled in Sweden. However, one of the friends begins to doubt the correctness of the “voice”, which leads to a quarrel between friends ... After going through betrayal and murder, students - Juhan and Linda - still manage to get into the coveted Sweden, where they actually learn the price of the words of their ideological mentor.

The Lost Ones

1971

Indrek poster
NR

Based on the second part of the pentalogy "Truth and Justice" by Anton H. Tammsaare.

Indrek

1976

1960s · 5 titles

Koduküla poster
NR

Pictures of Estonian village life in the second half of the 20th century. Against the backdrop of the seasons, people in the countryside are working their farms. Mostly these are old people. Villages are becoming empty and old farmhouses are falling apart.

Koduküla

1969

The Sun and the Rain poster
6.2

Jaak is a young labourer always facing some kind of issues and it seems he always rides for a fall. At the construction work of a new thermal power station, Jaak meets young people from the Young Communist League who won't find faults with him and are ready to help him out.

The Sun and the Rain

1960

Letters from the Island of the Insane poster
6.0

Martin Puri is an elderly fisherman who is told to retire because of his old age. When a group of people has to be saved from a boat in an autumn storm, Martin understands that one cannot act against the sea but together with it.

Letters from the Island of the Insane

1967

Eduard Viiralt poster
NR

Eduard Wiiralt (1898-1954) is considered to be the most prominent master of Estonian graphic art in the first half of 20th century. Wiiralt's restless and intricate life is expressed through his work that is also the object and the main expressive means of the documentary.

Eduard Viiralt

1968

Watercolors of One Summer poster
NR

The story of a young art student who goes to the countryside for a summer internship in watercolor and rents a room in a house by the sea. Conversations with an old housekeeper and meetings with an initially somewhat fussy and naive girl draw one summer in the life of a young man. Whether it's a girl's going to university, meetings with people from a beach village, or an old woman's reminiscences of past times, something about these topics has an enlightening effect on the young man. At the end of summer, a young man's eye and weather view is brighter and wider. It is a lyrical and tender story of the beginning of young love and the life experience of a fading Estonian generation.

Watercolors of One Summer

1967

Series credits