Revolution

The title means, roughly, "Whose side are you on?" Finland in the 1970s was home to one of the stranger political phenomena of that era. A significant proportion of the country's youth became infatuated with the Soviet Union, in an uncritical, often absurd and sometimes sinister way. This infatuation took a number of forms; this watchable documentary concentrates on its musical manifestations, though without going deeply into the motivations of the people involved. One has to admit that the musical vanguard of this revolution which never happened could sing: but how smug they looked, and what songs they sang! Was there anywhere else in the world where people freely sang songs denouncing a free trade agreement with the Common Market (as the predecessor to the EU was known)? Finland has hit the headlines earlier this year with its stunning Eurovision victory; back in 1972 or thereabouts it might well have ended up represented by Agitprop. In their way they were perhaps as scary as Lordi, and not half as funny. Six out of ten.