Pakoja & haaveita / Getaways & Dreams, in the presence of Kaisa El Ramly

Kaisa El Ramly: Pakoja & haaveita / Getaways & Dreams (FI 2023).

2023

Fantasy / Feel-Good Humour / Journey / Weird

Theme: Finnish New Wave

Country: Finland

Director: Kaisa El Ramly

Screenplay: Kaisa El Ramly

Starring: Sari Mällinen, Erja Manto, Aliisa Pulkkinen, Dick Idman, Lasse Karkjärvi, Robert Enckell

Production: Erik Andersson, Klaus Heydemann / Inland Film Company

Duration: 82 min

Rating: K7
In the presence of Kaisa El Ramly, cast and crew, hosted by Eija Niskanen.

Kino-Palatsi 5, Love & Anarchy: Helsinki International Film Festival (HIFF), 16 Sep 2023

Lois Armas (HIFF 2023): " Kaisa El Ramlyn debyyttielokuva Pakoja & haaveita vangitsee katsojan huomion joka sekunniksi syvällisellä ja ajattomalla ihmissuhdekuvauksellaan. Elokuva herää henkiin nopeasti ja varoittamatta liikuttavan dialogin, näyttelijänsuoritusten sekä moitteettoman kuvauksen kautta. "

" Pilvisenä kevätpäivänä kiireinen maantie suomalaisella maaseudulla pääsee todistamaan useita kirjaimellisia ja emotionaalisia matkoja, jotka johtavat elämässään jumissa olevat hahmot kohti omia määränpäitään: kaksi siskosta menossa lentokentälle, karkurikoira, leski viimeisellä matkallaan, aviopari syvällä käsittelemättömässä surussaan. Tarinat käsittelevät elämiseen kuuluvaa haavoittuvuutta. "

" El Ramlyn esikoiselokuvassa on ajoittaista absurdiutta ja huumoria, mutta ennen kaikkea se luo oman maailmansa, jossa jokaisen matkaajan pinnan alla kuplii jotain keskeneräistä. " Lois Armas (kääntänyt Inari Ylinen)

" Kaisa El Ramly’s debut Getaways & Dreams captures every second of the viewer’s attention with a deep and timeless portrayal of human relationships. The film comes to life quickly and urgently, through poignant dialogues and performances, enveloped by impeccable cinematography. "

" A busy road in the Finnish countryside, during what appears to be a cloudy spring day, witnesses the literal and emotional journeys of several characters, each entrapped in their own life, heading to their own destination: two sisters driving to the airport, a runaway dog, a widower on a final journey, a married couple deep down in their unhandled grief. These are some of the stories that explore the vulnerability that comes with being alive. "

" El Ramly’s debut touches on absurdity at times, on humour as well – but especially, it creates a world on its own, where everyone on the road has unfinished business burning to surface. " Lois Armas

Language: Finnish

Subtitles: English by Mikko Lyytikäinen and Kaisa El Ramly. Poems by Tomas Tranströmer translated into Finnish by Caj Westerberg.

Distribution: Aurora Studios

Print source: Aurora Studios

Cinematography: Päivi Kettunen

Editing: Erika Gonzales

Music: Hans Appelqvist

Sound: Lotta Mäki

Production design: Nanna Hirvonen

Costume design: Roosa Marttiini

Make-up: Mari Vaalasranta

in collaboration with Yle

Animation by Animaatiokopla / Kaisa Penttilä.     

AA: Getaways & Dreams, Kaisa El Ramly's haunting debut feature, obeys the unities of time and place. It is set on a highway (shooting location: near the deserted Vaalimaa after Putin's attack into Ukraine) during one day. But there is no unity of action. This is a portmanteau film, and in each vehicle, a different story is unfolding. There is also a mysterious hitch-hiker.

My associations run to Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey but also to Talking Heads's Road to Nowhere. Gabriel García Marquez is evoked, and with him, magical realism.

The dialogue is in Finnish and Swedish - and in Mandarin Chinese, which is the language of the inner monologue of the old dog lost in the forest. It eats mushrooms, and we see its drug dream as a charming animation.

Time keeps getting warped. Nobody recognizes the identity of the clownish hitch-hiker: Death in the most unrecognizable camouflage in the history of the cinema. If we knew that he is the fool sitting next to us, maybe we would not make such fools of ourselves. Also the final vision of paradise is completely unique to the cinema.