Estonian film Take It or Leave It follows a man who’s thrust into unexpected fatherhood and his struggle to be seen as a capable parent. Erik is a peripatetic construction worker and an immature hothead. His ex-girlfriend calls unexpectedly to tell him she had a baby, and it’s his. When she says she doesn’t want the baby, he must decide if he will take the baby or give her up for adoption. Affecting without being overly sentimental, the film looks at the role of fathers and society’s expectations of them, learning to care about someone else instead of just yourself, and finding strength you didn’t know you had.
Take It or Leave It was Estonia’s 2019 Academy Award entry for the Best Foreign Language Film. It screens this evening at the 45th Seattle Film Festival. For a comprehensive breakdown of what’s showing this final week of SIFF, and when, visit The Stranger’s SIFF site.