Forces of time, memory, change, and the human condition collide in this
compelling work. The title refers to the historical time when the world
watched as Mekas's home country of Lithuania fought for independence from
the stronghold of Soviet rule. Comprised of four chapters with a total
running time of 4 hours and 46 minutes, it is a chronological overview of
Lithuania's birth as an independent nation.
With a handheld video camera, Mekas recorded newscasts that played daily
from 1989 to 1991 on his television set at home. Footage includes reports
of the Soviet Union's use of 'aggressive actions' that called for Lithuania
to back down, freedom demonstrations, interviews and statements made by top
politicians, journalists, analysts, as well as moving portraits of the
Lithuanian people who were directly affected by the conflict. Mekas's
account, reported by news outlets in the United States, also reveals the
shaping and shifting of political, economic, and social relations between
Eastern Europe and the West at the time.
“The video is made up of footage that I took with my Sony from the
television newscasts during the collapse of the USSR, with the home noises
in the background. It's a capsule of record of what happened and how it
happened during that crucial period as recorded by the television
newscasters. It can be viewed as a classic Greek drama in which the
destinies of nations are changed drastically by the unbending, bordering on
irrational will of one single man (Vytautas Landsbergis), one small nation
determined to regain its freedom, backed by its fight against the Might
& Power, against the Impossible.” Jonas Mekas