Epäonnistunut tyhjyys / Failed Emptiness

Mika Taanila: Epäonnistunut tyhjyys / Failed Emptiness (FI 2024). 

DIRECTOR: Mika Taanila

COUNTRY: Finland

YEAR: 2024

DURATION: 66 min

LANGUAGES: Finnish, subtitled in English

CATEGORY: Finnish Films, New Finnish Films, Puhuttu tai tekstitetty suomeksi, Subtitles in English

Festival premiere: 25 Jan-4 Feb 2024 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).

In the presence of Mika Taanila and Nika Son, hosted by Juhana von Bagh.

Viewed at The School, Sodankylä, Midnight Sun Film Festival (MSFF), 14 June 2024

Olaf Möller (MSFF 2024): " In the beginning, Failed Emptiness was supposed to be a cycle of short films – cinematic epigrams, melancholic anecdotes about the inherent strangeness of life simply passing by, made eerie through the exclusive use of black-and-white thermal cinematography. But at some point, after two of these having gotten realized, filmmaker-artist Mika Taanila and poet supreme Harry Salmenniemi felt that the project should get reconsidered, with sound artist Nika Son invited as a third voice. And thus, they embarked on one final work, feature-length this time, that would offer more breathing space. "

" The artistic concept (similar to that of their earlier collaboration Tectonic Plate, 2016) remained the same as for the shorts: All is told in images and sounds plus written poetry on monochrome ground – no spoken words, no dialogue etc. – Antonioni squared, modernity pushed to its limits, even partly dangling over the abyss of an unknown morrow of mores and aesthetics not yet quite imaginable. The way Taanila looks at the world, the woman, and her doings paints them as important and enigmatic as the old turtle doing its thing or the cleaning robot going through its motions; the soundscape suggests parallel worlds near as well as far. One would assume that the story is that of the woman we see going through the rituals and routines of her life, but it could be somebody else as well. Yours, for example. " Olaf Möller

AA: After the remarkable Mannerlaatta / Tectonic Plate, another major collaboration between Mika Taanila and the poet Harry Salmenniemi. In Sodankylä, Mika Taanila took the floor together with the composer-sound designer Nika Son.

The visual world and the soundscape clash seamlessly to create a dizzying experience in a space that no one has entered before.

It is beyond reality and unreality, beyond consciousness and the unconscious, beyond dream and awakening. 

It is not psychedelia. Our senses are alert, but we move in an uncharted mental landscape.

An extra-cinematic event took place in the beginning: the third fainting spell of the day. The heat of the midnight sun and the insufficient air conditioning of the school classroom may have contributed.

Some experimental films can cause nausea, migraine and fainting, but this accident was not the movie's fault, although somehow it became meaningful in the performance.

Ostranenie. The film is about the ordinary turning extraordinary.

Through the fascinating black-and-white thermal cinematography by Jussi Eerola.

Through the inventive and creative musique concrète of Nika Son.

Through the unique poetry of Harry Salmenniemi. I have loved Salmenniemi's poetry since Texas, sakset, Runojä and Kivirivit, also his contributions in Vastakaanon.

Salmenniemi is at his best in Epäonnistunut tyhjyys. I laughed quietly all through the picture. His lines are terse, matter-of-fact, to the point. They express the most ordinary issues. Yet always with a slight twist, almost unnoticeable, until there is a cumulative impact.

Lola Rogers is a wonderful translator, one of the best. The English translation is immaculate, but the finest aroma of the poetry and the sense of humour are lost in translation. Nobody could succeed with words with multiple meanings like "läpikuultava naapuri".

The sense of humour has affinities with Jacques Tati (Mon oncle, Playtime, Trafic).

Reportedly Harry Salmenniemi calls this work an "existential thriller".

There was a discussion after the movie about the meaning of its title. I proposed that it means "plenitude". Like in Jim Jarmusch's Paterson, where Paterson (Adam Driver) has lost his poetry notebook. A Japanese traveller gives him a new notebook and states that "an empty page is full of possibilities". He also remarks that "poetry in translation is like taking a shower with a raincoat on".

BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK: MY PROGRAM NOTE FOR LOVE & ANARCHY: HELSINKI FILM FESTIVAL 2024:

BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK: MY PROGRAM NOTE FOR LOVE & ANARCHY: HELSINKI FILM FESTIVAL 2024:

CAPSULE

Mika Taanila’s new experimental masterpiece Failed Emptiness has come into being like Tectonic Plate in collaboration with the poet Harry Salmenniemi. The thermal cinematography of Jussi Eerola and the musique concrète of Nika Son and Klara Lewis usher us into a mental landscape that has not been entered in any maps.

PROGRAM NOTE

After the remarkable Tectonic Plate, another major collaboration between Mika Taanila and the poet Harry Salmenniemi. After Mika Vainio (1963-2017) the composer is now Nika Son with Klara Lewis. The visual world and the soundscape clash seamlessly to create a dizzying experience in a space that no one has entered before. It is beyond reality and unreality, beyond consciousness and the unconscious, beyond dream and awakening. It is not psychedelia. Our senses are alert, but we move in an uncharted mental landscape. Ostranenie, as Russian formalists used to say: the ordinary turns extraordinary. Through the black-and-white thermal cinematography by Jussi Eerola. the musique concrète of Nika Son and the poetry of Harry Salmenniemi. The poet is at his best here. I laughed quietly all through the picture. His lines are terse, matter-of-fact, to the point. They express the most ordinary issues. Yet always with a slight twist, almost unnoticeable, until there is a cumulative impact. Reportedly Harry Salmenniemi calls this work an "existential thriller". What does the title mean? I propose "plenitude". In Jim Jarmusch's Paterson, Adam Driver loses his poetry notebook. A Japanese traveller gives him a new one and states that "an empty page is full of possibilities". 

PROGRAM NOTE IN FINNISH

Mannerlaatan jälkeen Epäonnistunut tyhjyys on Mika Taanilan ja Harry Salmenniemen uusi merkkiteos. Mika Vainion (1963–2017) jälkeen säveltäjinä ovat nyt Nika Son ja Klara Lewis. Kuvamaailma ja äänisfääri törmäävät saumattomasti, tuloksena uusi avaruus, jossa kukaan ei ole ennen käynyt. Se on todellisuuden ja epätodellisuuden tuolla puolen, tietoisuuden ja tiedostamattoman tuolla puolen, unen ja valveen tuolla puolen. Se ei ole psykedeliaa. Aistimme ovat valppaina, mutta liikumme kartoittamattomassa mielen maisemassa, jossa tutut aistit eivät riitä. Ostranenie, kuten venäläiset formalistit sanoivat, on sitä, kun tavallinen muuttuu epätavalliseksi. Ihmeellisyyden tavoittaa Jussi Eerolan lämpökamerakuvaus, Nika Sonin ja Klara Lewisin musique concrète ja Harry Salmenniemen ainutlaatuinen proosarunous. Salmenniemi on parhaimmillaan. Koko ajan olen naurun partaalla. Säkeet ovat tiiviitä, asiallisia, ytimekkäitä. Ne ilmaisevat suurinta tavallisuutta. Kuitenkin aina pienellä, tuskin havaittavalla särmällä, jonka vaikutus kasautuu. Tiettävästi Salmenniemen genreluokitus on ”eksistentiaalinen thrilleri”. Mitä nimi merkitsee? Ehdotan ”täyteyttä”. Jim Jarmuschin Patersonissa Adam Driver kadottaa runovihkonsa. Japanilainen turisti antaa hänelle uuden ja toteaa, että ”tyhjä sivu on täynnä mahdollisuuksia”.

CAPSULE IN FINNISH

Mika Taanilan uusi kokeellinen mestariteos Epäonnistunut tyhjyys on Mannerlaatan tavoin toteutunut yhteistyössä runoilija Harry Salmenniemen kanssa. Jussi Eerolan lämpökamerakuvaus ja Nika Sonin ja Klara Lewisin musiikkimaailma johdattavat mielen maisemaan, jota ei ole karttoihin merkitty.