Over time I've heard many people saying how bad or horrible this movie is. So, I went into it expecting one of the worst movies ever made. I was disappointed. Yeah, I was expecting exceptionally awful movie, yet the film wasn't half that bad. The film is below average. On the whole, the movie is rather forgettable, although the premise is quite intriguing. The whole film felt like a couple of relatively good scenes poorly put together to form a movie. With that, the film lacked proper conception - it didn't work as over-the-top melodrama or neither a character study with the underscore of the meaning of life and love. Uneven pacing made the mess only worse, so it was unclear what the movie tried to tell.
The film has many problems that are common for Soviet-era Estonian movies - overly dramatic soundtrack that is way too loud compared with the dialogue (occasionally drowning the dialogue so it is hard to comprehend what is being said); dimly lit indoor or night scenes; unnecessary city or nature shots while this time could have been used better with giving more background to certain characters or shed more light to some events. Time to Live, Time to Love has all of them.
The acting was mostly great. Especially Heino Mandri as Professor Talvik.
A forgettable and unfocused drama that has its moments but fails to leave any kind of lasting impression.
