A bumpy road in the Estonian wonderland.
Review by Helen Schasmin
The film is based on a fairytale by O.Luts called Bumpy (Nukitsamees).
Children’s films in Estonian film history are all remarkably well done. They have an ensemble of unity that ties the mise-en-scenes, camera movements and storyline into one great hole. There is always an enlightening essence in a plot which demolishes the evil obstruction on it’s way. Well compsed children films in the 80’s include pices like Karoliine hõbelõng (1984), Metsluiged (1987) and Nukitsamees (Bumpy) (1981). The latter will be discussed as follows.
In childhood every decision is a journey and Bumpy is an amazing adventure story of children who discover life and all of its wrong sides. One day while playing around, protagonists get lost from their way home so in one point they find themselves from dark lands that nobody even dears to speak about glutted with witches, darkness, evil and spells.
The story of a family of seven children represents the warmth and love that you can only find from home. No matter how big the evil you will cross in your way, home is always the safest place on earth that you can always count on. And that is what this film is all about.
Bumpy (which is also the name of the main character, “Nukitsamees” in Estonian) is composed with beautiful shots of nature with great landscape sceneries. Step by step we are introduced both reverse worlds. The dark world of evil where the forest-creatures live and where the children must fight for their survival. For the contrast we find the colourful world of home which is filled with laughter, dancing, singing and goodness – the bright land of home where you feel most protected. The beauty of the story lies in the idea that even in the upside down world children always find something to live for or something noble to look forward to. These two opposite worlds create a hole in a film which balances the plot very neatly and creates a nice storyline overall.
In favor of the director it must be emphasized that the skill of forming characters believable and lively on a screen has been succeeded felicitously. It is not an easy task to put children into a film environment and creat characters out of them but in the film Bumpy the director Helle Karis-Murdmaa has accomplished the assignment beautyfully. All of the children’s impersonations of protagonists are well and truly played. In every scene the audience can feel the two worlds bumping – the good one and the evil one, and a little Bumpy-character in the middle of it. Egert Soll’s role as Bumpy is definitely praiseworthy.
Yet there is always a room for another surprise. You can feel the harmony in every mise-en-scène from the first frame till the last one which is supported by perfect camera movements. There is also a big role for music and lyrics to carry. First of all, they are very entertaining, they sound amusing and there is a meaning behind the words. You can consider lyrics as good wishes that you say to people who are dare to you and make them feel better in a bad situation by singing them. Lyrics are also like spells that evil people can put on you but with an antispell you can demolish the wicked words. But all of the hardness in life can be overcome by fondness that lies in your roots (family). It is also remarkable how the film makers have used film tricks. It was not so common in Estonian film in the 80’s. For an example, you can see monsters moving backwards or Bumpy’s cut off horns growing back in a second. It gave an amazing touch for children to watch and for grownups to enjoy.
Bumpy is a simple screenplay with deep thoughts, which is very common to Estonian film makers. But in this case, throughout the film different characters are interpretated in various ways that makes the film multidimensional thus suitable for both: children and adults. Further more, it feels like there is a lot of hidden ideas behind the roles, like the witches in the forest represent the evil we find in our life journey, as the mother/family represents the goodness in life generally. Film is also a good medium to preserve the legacy of nation and its customs, in Bumpy’s case, it is the idea of Estonians honoring the nature and family that reflects very clearly in the film. Bumpy is a simple yet a complex film at the same time, and that is what makes it a film classic.
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