Disco and Atomic War

Now it can be told. The erotic film "Emmanuelle" helped end the Cold War. That's one tasty tidbit from Disco and Atomic War, a subversively funny documentary.

Although like the Cold War itself, the film does drag on at times, "Disco" really is a delight.

If another contemporary nonfiction film makes a better case for the still-controversial tactic of blending scripted scenes into factual footage, I haven't seen it.

Disco and Atomic War describes propaganda battles between the Soviet Union and the West, with Estonian Communist officials charged to gain the upper hand, but they were helpless amid the onslaught.

The fancifulness wears out its welcome, though, and you often wish the film would treat its subject with a bit more seriousness.

It's difficult to get a firm grip on most of what Disco and Atomic War, constructed in a mish-mash collage style, has to offer.

Director Jaak Kilmi's remembrance of growing up under Soviet rule never tries to be anything more than a curiosity.