Seatapp comedy portrays a fading rural way of life

Ove Musting’s comedy film “Seatapp” portrays the disappearance of a rural way of life alongside its humour, actor Hendrik Toompere Jr told ERR’s “Terevisioon”. The film opens in cinemas on September 25.

Toompere said the title, which refers to pig slaughter, was ironic and that no animals were harmed during the film. Co-star Aleksandr Bražnik said the title would nevertheless attract audiences.

“A long, long farce always precedes the process. The whole story is quite personal for Ove Musting. He comes from the countryside and looks at this life with an ironic eye,” Toompere said.

At the same time, the film has a more serious and melancholy undertone about the disappearance of a world. Keeping animals on farms and in homes is becoming increasingly rare, he said.

“For thousands of years, this was actually dominant in our cultural sphere. We are now witnessing the disappearance of this order of things,” Toompere said. While the process is inevitable, he added, “there is always something sad when something fundamental changes.”

Most of rural life, however, is not about slaughter, Toompere said. It is largely about a warm coexistence with animals, along with a distinct outlook on life and atmosphere.

Bražnik, a conductor and actor who plays a butcher in the film, said the rural life depicted was familiar to him from childhood. He recalled caring for animals and visiting places in Estonia where such a way of life still continues.

Toompere plays an urban man who travels to the countryside in good faith to meet relatives and celebrate Christmas, but realises that the festivities are taking an unexpected turn. The story contains elements of both grotesque humour and comedy, he said.