THE ART OF SELLING

A horror film, in a way. It shows people who readily admit that their intention is to manipulate and control others. People for whom the Terminator is a role model, the embodiment of robot-like strength. People who talk about pretending to be more trustworthy than they actually are, about their lack of social concern, about having to be ruthless, about the customers they view as legitimate prey. The film shows salespeople, in other words. Estonia admitted the forces of turbo-capitalism when it opened up to the West, and some illustration of the consequences is provided by this handful of people determined to exploit in various ways the new opportunities of making money. Eveline sells Tupperware, and teaches her art to people like the widow Mare. Vain Peep is a self-titled “trainer” and inundates his disciples with his ideology of success: ‘Believe in yourself and your goals, and you will be able to convince others.’ Margus, a sharp-witted student, recruits a roadie called Raigo, who is introduced to a version of the American Dream in which the striving for profit remains the only human endeavour. As we watch Peep drum his atavistic commandments into clients, the resemblance between his seminars and a congregation of the more extreme variety of American sects begins to seem intentional. Mare, consequently, deserts the Tupperware parties in favour of the Pentecostal Church. When Raigo receives an invitation to a training course in the USA, the filmmakers sense their opportunity and send him over with a camera. But the “Southwestern” brainwashers are uncooperative, being only too aware that efficient salesmanship is not just an art but a corporate secret, as well. International premiere.