Most Estonians are familiar with the characters in “Truth and Justice”, even if they have never read the book
began to descend on North-Tammsaare, a farm deep in the Estonian countryside. They asked the farmer, August Hansen, to show them the spot where Juss hanged himself, or where Kroot had given birth. Hansen was surprised, and sometimes annoyed: Juss and Kroot did not exist. They were characters from the fictional farm of Vargamae who appeared in the first volume of a five-part novel, “Truth and Justice”, published the previous year by Hansen’s younger brother, Anton.
Together, the story’s five volumes chart Estonia’s progress from province of the Russian empire to statehood. The first volume is by far the best known; most Estonians are familiar with the characters, even if they have never read the book. Some secondary-school pupils take other classes to avoid studying it—and it is easy to see why. The series is a daunting read, full of metaphysical asides and tangential subplots, centring on the grinding life of peasants.
Early Estonian readers saw themselves and their ancestors in Andres’s struggles. Serfdom was abolished in the Baltic region in 1816-19, more than 40 years before most of Russia’s empire. Much of the land still belonged to Baltic-German aristocracy, but people could now lease or buy their own patch. Conditions were harsh, but literacy spread rapidly, enabling peasants to fight for their rights in court, against both squires and each other.
The new film—the first ever cinema adaptation—is yet another twist in the cultural odyssey of “Truth and Justice”. Within a month of its premiere last year, it was the most watched movie in the country since it emerged from the Soviet Union in 1991. Though paltry by Hollywood’s standards, the budget of €2.5m , mostly state-funded, was among the biggest ever for an Estonian film. It won recognition abroad, just missing a nomination for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards.
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