Estonia

It's not easy to make a tv-series about a catastrophy with good taste today. The audience has short attention span and is used to overstimulation. Anything not predigested and sensationalized is quickly labelled boring. It's a series with eight episodes yet people complain when everything isn't clear and explained within the first 15 minutes. If you stop scrolling as you watch and concentrate a little bit the show offers a chilling and gripping account of the events. The scenes are atmospheric, understated yet effective. The characters and their reactions are believable and at times very touching. The series does a great job showing the disaster and it's aftermath from different perspectives. But if you are looking for quick answers and straightforward action scenes Estonia is definitely not for you.

This series was a respectful take on the events of the investigation. I think it is supposed to be confusing and jumping all over the place - because that is what happened in the aftermath of the disaster. Different countries, sources and media outlets were all publishing contradictions of one another, at random times and yet the families and survivors were no closer to the answers they needed.

This series perfectly summed up the sentiment of the time. If you were confused, that is the point ! Because the families were just as confused at the time.

The cinematography of the sinking scenes were great.

Some of the first reviews here are rather negative but they are missing the point. Even if you're watching this as someone outside of the countries involved (Estonia, Finland, Sweden), it plays out as a mystery, which was how real life folded - no one had any idea what was going on and information was coming in from different mediums at random times. The show captured this perfectly and I hope the rest of the show is able to keep the pace up.

Based on the first episode alone, I think it's going to be just as good as Chernobyl (2019) was which was a solid 9/10.

Acting, visual effects and cinematography are on par with Hollywood productions, while keeping the Nordic aesthetic.

If you know what goes into a production of this scale, the sheer logistics, then you can appreciate the brilliant work this film making is on several levels. Acting was superb - not "pushed" or forced with some standout scenes. While in parts the story slows to an unbearable pace you could argue this lends itself to the notion of time it took in reality for the final report to be completed. It really did make this viewer 'feel' the frustrations of the investigation, the length of time & politics being played out etc. Editing & sound of the rescue scenes & actual disaster unfolding onboard, particularly in raft scenes was gobsmackingly good.

I'm interested in the Estonia for as long as I can remember and when I first heard of a show about the Estonia being in development by the people who brought us 'Chernobyl' (2019), I was beyond excited. I was pretty bummed out by the mixed reactions after the show aired in some territories. Now that I've seen it myself, I get the criticism. Kind of.

Positives first: the show is beautifully shot. I'm usually not a fan of shaky cam but here it just works. We're always very close to the characters, which makes the scenes feel even more powerful and intimate. The soundtrack is amazing! Haunting even. The performances are also good. Also, the show has a high production value and especially the sinking scenes are intense and look impressive (honestly they gave me nightmares).

The problem is that the show is simply too long. The aftermath of the sinking and the inverstigation is stretched out way too much and when it comes to a close, it feels unsatisfying. The scattered way of storytelling and ths constant time jumps also stand in the way of real tension.

Ultimately, the show would have been better if it was maybe 2 episodes shorter. It's well made and at times very tense and emotional but it lacks a dramatic thread and a consistent pace. This is still a recommendation though. Now please release this show outside of Scandinavia for the world to see it! ;)