Mushrooming

In case you didn't know it, mushroom-gathering is a big thing in Estonia. Aadu Kägu, a sad-sack lawmaker subject to the indignities of a political race, is not one to pursue such woodsy pastimes. His miseries are compounded when his handlers book him on a ridiculous TV show, where political opponents bat at each other while bouncing on exercise balls. Aadu's chipper wife Viivi persuades him to take a mushrooming break. En route, reluctant Aadu picks up a hitchhiker who turns out to be Zäk, of the famous metal band Zik-Zäk. No fan of fresh air, Zäk waits in the car while the couple plunges into the endless forest. But Aadu and Viivi are soon lost and begin running desperately in circles with their mushroom baskets, while a crazy local attacks Zäk, convinced he's in cahoots with the Bank of Estonia and everyone else he's ever seen on TV. Back in Tallinn, the press is going crazy over their disappearance. Simultaneously pathetic and laugh-out-loud funny, MUSHROOMING is an acerbic commentary on the absurdities of fame in our media-obsessed society. (In Estonian with subtitles) – B.B.