Mats Traat

Mats Traat (23 November 1936 – 27 June 2022) was an Estonian poet, poetry translator, and author.

His poetry frequently dealt with social commentary and society's adoration for science.

His central topics were the changes to and the developments of Estonian rural life over the course of the centuries, with an emphasis on people's ethical choices.

[1] Pasqueflower, Antidote for Sadness (1982, uncensored version 1990) covered the fate of the ancient Livonians, who were conquered and formally aligned with the Christian invaders while maintaining pagan convictions, and the problems of rural life during the stagnation era of the Estonian SSR.

In the movie, which was filmed during the perestroika era, a sixth "dance" was added, showing the old age of the main characters against a background of the typical rural scenes of 1980s: industrial and technological developments combined with reckless destruction of the environment.