Chapter 6
Negotiating a New Europe: Laila Pakalnina’s The Bus (2004) and Transnational Landscapes
Maruta Z. Vitols
2004 marked a monumental year for the Baltic states, with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania joining the European Union (EU) and The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In many respects, this moment in history was as significant to these countries as the collapse of communism thirteen years before. These events immediately affected the economies, politics, and cultures of these three post-socialist countries, and the ensuing changes in conceptualizing place, space, and identity appeared in Latvian documentary cinema that same year. One film in particular, Latvian filmmaker Laila Pakalniņa’s 2004 work The Bus (Buss), explores borders and border-crossings in the zone of the ‘New Europe.’
Chronicling the journey of a bus from Tallinn, Estonia to Kaliningrad, Russia, Pakalniņa’s documentary investigates post-socialist nations in the era of globalization. As the bus makes stops in various villages and cities in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia, the director demonstrates how some real and imaginary borders, such as those between western (capitalist) and eastern (formerly communist) Europe, are rapidly eroding, while others, such as the demarkation between Russia and the former Soviet Union, intensify. These transformations also reveal the consequential dialogues between the past and the present, as well as the shifting relationships of the center and the periphery.
Films discussed in Chapter 6:
33 Animals for Santa Claus (33 zvēri Ziemassvētku vecītim). Directed by Laila Pakalniņa. Latvia, 2011.
The Bus (Buss). Directed by Laila Pakalniņa. Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, 2004.
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Business offices, 1080 Brussels (Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles). Directed by Chantal Akerman. Belgium, France, 1975.
The Shoe (Kurpe). Directed by Laila Pakalniņa. Germany, Latvia, France, 1998.
Wavelength. Directed by Michael Snow. Canada, USA, 1967.
Stalker (Ста́лкер). Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. USSR, 1979.
Chronicling the journey of a bus from Tallinn, Estonia to Kaliningrad, Russia, Pakalniņa’s documentary investigates post-socialist nations in the era of globalization. As the bus makes stops in various villages and cities in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia, the director demonstrates how some real and imaginary borders, such as those between western (capitalist) and eastern (formerly communist) Europe, are rapidly eroding, while others, such as the demarkation between Russia and the former Soviet Union, intensify. These transformations also reveal the consequential dialogues between the past and the present, as well as the shifting relationships of the center and the periphery.
Films discussed in Chapter 6:
33 Animals for Santa Claus (33 zvēri Ziemassvētku vecītim). Directed by Laila Pakalniņa. Latvia, 2011.
The Bus (Buss). Directed by Laila Pakalniņa. Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, 2004.
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Business offices, 1080 Brussels (Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles). Directed by Chantal Akerman. Belgium, France, 1975.
The Shoe (Kurpe). Directed by Laila Pakalniņa. Germany, Latvia, France, 1998.
Wavelength. Directed by Michael Snow. Canada, USA, 1967.
Stalker (Ста́лкер). Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. USSR, 1979.
Trailer of the film The Bus (Source: YouTube)
About the author:
Maruta Z. Vitols is a media historian, specializing in political documentary. Her present research interests center cyberactivism and how new media is used for political purposes. She received her Ph.D. in the History of Art from The Ohio State University, and holds an MA in Cinema Studies from New York University. Vitols has published articles on Latvian cinema, and her latest study on the relationships between Latvian documentaries and politics appears in A Companion to Eastern European Cinemas (edited by Anikó Imre, 2012). She is also a Fulbright scholar, teaches at Emerson College in Boston, MA, and is a Visiting Lecturer at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering during the 2012-2013 academic year.
Maruta Vitols's webpage
Maruta Z. Vitols is a media historian, specializing in political documentary. Her present research interests center cyberactivism and how new media is used for political purposes. She received her Ph.D. in the History of Art from The Ohio State University, and holds an MA in Cinema Studies from New York University. Vitols has published articles on Latvian cinema, and her latest study on the relationships between Latvian documentaries and politics appears in A Companion to Eastern European Cinemas (edited by Anikó Imre, 2012). She is also a Fulbright scholar, teaches at Emerson College in Boston, MA, and is a Visiting Lecturer at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering during the 2012-2013 academic year.
Maruta Vitols's webpage