Those who dare - On solidarity of small nations (2015)

	Also Known As: Die Wagemutigen
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Ólafur Rögnvaldsson
	Actors: -
	Country: IS
	Genre: Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 06.11.2015, CineStar6, NFDL2015, Icelandic, Estonian, Latvian, Lituanian, Danish, Russian original version with English subtitles
Synopsis: Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson is retired. He is on his way to be the guest of honour in Lithuania at the anniversary celebrations for January 13, 1991. That was the day the Soviet Union used force to try to put down the independence movement in Lithuania,. Days after the scenario repeated in Latvia and Estonia, and to topple their legitimately elected leaders. At the time, Hannibalsson was Iceland’s foreign minister – and the first western politician who publicly supported recognising the three new nations.
Review: This documentary on tight diplomatic relationship between Iceland and the Baltic countries presents the best way and maybe the only way how small countries can work and move the big countries: solidarity. Using both archived data and recent interviews, director Rögnvaldsson tells the story of this freedom process in Baltic countries which contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The former presidents and foreign affair ministers of Iceland, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia acknowledge the importance of solidarity of small countries. Small do not need to preserve diplomatic relationship with all and can be true even if this is provocative. It is no garantee of success as we have seen with the Climate Change and the Small Island Developping States representing 63 million people. This historical point of view was new to me and therefore very interesting.  On the same way, during the Q&A with Hannibalsson himself, this turned into blaming at the Western countries (the USA, France and Germany) who neglected the Baltic countries because they were expecting Gorbatchev staying master of the Soviet Union for a long time.  I was wondering whether Iceland ex-premier wants to remind via this movie that the situation of small countries is still the same. No weight in front of big players. In the European Union as well as in the international scene.
Rating: 7 /10