Completed - ESTONIAN, ENGLISH - Documentary - 55 minutes
Year of production : 2017 Director(s) : Sulev KEEDUS Writer(s) : Sulev KEEDUS Producer(s) : Kaie-ene RÄÄK (F-Seitse)
In a Christian culture, suicide is a taboo, and a soldier’s suicide is a double taboo. Rivo, who has been on a military mission to Afghanistan twice, suffers from a post-traumatic disorder, which ends in suicide. For four years, Rivo’s girlfriend Hanna tries to battle his psychological disorder, but then gives up and moves from Estonia to Australia. One year later Rivo steps in front of a train. His last message to those who know him is to forgive him. Who is a (professional) soldier in today’s world? How does he cross the Bridge of Death? Does he have to sacrifice himself for the chain of command in order to participate in situations where none of what he was taught in childhood applies anymore? Where do you draw the line between justified and unjustified suffering? Euphemisms may not work on a personal level. The glorification of war has aggravating, not alleviating effects. War is a story about a peacekeeper, who after having returned from a mission could not come to terms with his life anymore, with the life between the present and the eternity. The documentary was filmed in Afghanistan and Australia.
Country(ies) : ESTONIA