Viimeiset rotannahat / [The Last Rat Skins] / Rare, Medium, Well Done

Viimeiset rotannahat. Impressio / De sista skinnena. FI (c) 1985 Filmiauer. P+D+SC: Anssi Mänttäri. DP: Heikki Katajisto - 1,66:1 - colour and b&w - lab: Johan Ankerstjerne. M: "Bad Morning Blues" (comp. Anssi Mänttäri, arr. Asko Mänttäri), "Uni tulee, uni tulee" (trad.) pres. A. Köster (voc) and Kollage. "Best With Beer" (Asko Mänttäri). CAST: Anssi Mänttäri (the man in the white suit), Sarina Röhr (the woman with a sound sleep), Taina Saikkonen (young intellectual woman), Riitta Havukainen (lecturer in semiotics), Eero Tuomikoski (Nuutinen, drunk CEO), Sanna-Kaisa Palo (Irma Manner, the woman who never stops talking), Aki Kaurismäki (Ville, son of the man in the white suit), Sallamaari Muhonen (Redhead), Marja Packalén (the ex-wife of the man in the white suit), Matti Pellonpää (father of the man in the white suit), Elina Hurme (Kaisa, the young moralistic woman), Eeva Eloranta (female theologist), Heikki Peltonen (male theologist), Ilkka Kylävaara (Väisänen, successful businessman), Titta Antti-Poika (Tiina, the woman with the car), Erkki Saarela (Pera, the good-natured man), Paavo Piskonen (Harri, the conceited man), Kristiina Repo (Seija Pikkaranen, the woman who hates poverty), Pirkko Hämäläinen (Riitta, the bitchy woman), Jyrki Kovaleff (the honest working man), Sanna Fransman (the woman next door), Kari Väänänen (psychiatrist), Ann-Cathrine Fröjdö (not just a skin). Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 3 June 2009.

The image in the print varied from good to grainy. - A fascinating Bukowskian odyssey starring the director himself as the man in the white suit, who conquers almost any woman in a series of superficial relationships. With witty dialogue, the film is constantly interesting, and with a hidden despair beneath. - The framing story reveals the burned-out old man giving his account to a video camera. The white suit is now folded on the chair. - It is a satire on a life based on easy gratification, short attention span, self-centeredness, about always taking the easy way out. - This film was not a success at its time, but it has stood the test of time well. There is not a dull moment in it.

Pyhä perhe / [Family] / [The Holy Family]

Perhe [title on screen] / Familjen. FI (c) 1976 Jörn Donner Productions. EX: Jörn Donner. D+SC: Anssi Mänttäri - based on the play Familjen (1974) by Claes Andersson. DP: Heikki Katajisto - Eastmancolour - 1,66:1 - 16 mm blown up to 35 mm. M: Asko Mänttäri. S: Jouko Lumme. ED: Juho Gartz. CAST: Lasse Pöysti (Paavo Mäkinen), Birgitta Ulfsson (Terttu Mäkinen), Rita Polster (Marja Mäkinen), Martti-Mikael Järvinen (Tapsa = Tapio Mäkinen), Sanna Fransman (Sanna = Susanna Mäkinen), Mikko Majanlahti (doctor), Marja-Sisko Aimonen (Miss Vuorio). 101 min. A KAVA print with Swedish subtitles by Anna-Lisa Holmqvist. Viewed at Cinema Orion, 20 May 2009.

The quality of the definition varies: soft in the beginning, it gets better at times. This seems to have been the trouble also originally. Colour ok. - Lauri Tykkyläinen writes to me on 25 May that the film was shot on 16 mm, and that the blow-up methods at the Suomi-Filmi laboratory were not at their best when this film was printed. - The story of a bourgeois nuclear family whose entire energy circles around the father's (Lasse Pöysti) alcoholism. The mother (Birgitta Ulfsson) refrains from divorce for economic reasons and to protect the children. The elder daughter (Rita Polster) sleeps around, the son (Martti-Mikael Järvinen) annoys his parents with Marxism, and the younger daughter (Sanna Fransman) plays hookey from school. - The first turning-point is when the father goes to a alcoholists' sanatorium and returns sober, an absolutist. His personality changes, he starts to study English and annoys his secretary with his erroneous advice. - Now the mother goes mad, is hospitalized, and when she returns home, the tables are turned. The mother and the children share a cognac, the father is shut out, needs fresh air, and the circle is closed when he is heard from the yard yelling, stone drunk again. - I have not seen the play. This is one of the few adaptations in Mänttäri's oeuvre. Also the casting of the masterful Pöysti and Ulfsson (a real-life couple) is from the stage production. - Although an adaptation, this is an essential block in Mänttäri's building, often related to King Alcohol. - The terrible psychodynamics of the family has an affinity with Cassavetes (A Woman Under the Influence). - This is a story of hell on earth. There is a ring of truth in every scene. - The debut film of Sanna Fransman and Rita Polster. Marja-Sisko Aimonen is excellent in her role.

Palkkasoturi / Soldier of Fortune

Legosoldaten. FI (c) 1997 Reppufilmi. P: Olli Vesala. D+SC: Anssi Mänttäri. DP: Heikki Katajisto - b&w - 1,66:1. M: Asko Mänttäri. "Valkean vallan aaveet" sung by Pentti Auer. ED: Mira Ranta. LOC: Restaurant KuuKuu (Museokatu 17, Helsinki). CAST: Ilkka Heiskanen (The Modest One), Martti Suosalo (The Ingenious One), Kari Heiskanen (Ylikoski, The Blonde), Turo Pajala (The Unemployed One), Jukka Voutilainen (The One With The Cravat), Monna Kamu (The Harsh-Voiced One), Tommi Rinne (The Dignified One), Jouni Takamäki (The One With The Crewcut), Ulla-Riikka Koskela (The Little Sister of The Modest One), Anssi Mänttäri (The Artist), Olli Vesala (Paatelainen, The Cosy One), Hanna Manu (The Student), Sara Paavolainen (The 1. Peacekeeper), Raija Vuorio (The 2. Peacekeeper), Tarja Markus (The Doctor), Vesa Vierikko (The Gun Merchant), Tero Laitinen (The Janitor), Pentti Auer (The Singer). 78 min. A KAVA print viewed at Cinema Orion, 16 May 2009. In the presence of Martti Suosalo, Anssi Mänttäri, and Olli Vesala, interviewed by Eero Tammi.

The print had partially a good definition of light, partially it had high contrast.

AM: "This film was based on two newspaper stories. Also one had to document one's favourite bars." - Martti Suosalo: "The fee was beer and nuts. No, as soon as the film was sold to YLE (Finnish Broadcasting Company), there was money, too. The text I received two weeks in advance. It had been written for Matti Pellonpää, who died." AM: "I wrote roles to actors who owed me. As Matti Pellonpää entered a bar, he used to say: 'Anssi, give me a line of dialogue' (= buy me a drink). Little by little he had collected a big role. Two days after he died I was puzzled what to do." - MS: "It would be desirable even now to do films like this. Actors are ready to take chances. I could even work for free." - Olli Vesala: "This was a student work for several students, a very successful project, in a harmonious atmosphere. We shot it in eight days. There was good karma."

Revisited a "small" film that mainly takes place in the bar Kuu-Kuu. The young father (Kari Heiskanen) paints the birth hour of his baby daughter on the asphalt yard of the tenement building; he will be ordered to cover it. The Modest One (Ilkka Heiskanen) resigns from his job and plans to go to former Yugoslavia as a soldier of fortune. The film is a cross-section of the bar customers, regulars and occasional visitors. - Tragedy: the unemployed one (Turo Pajala) is beaten and robbed at night in a strong vignette. - Comedy: the parents advise their son, the modest one. - "But high is the cloud raised by the bomb." - The women peacekeepers are the sharpest characters of the film. - The Ingenious One (Martti Suosalo) is irresistible to women. But he is retired on grounds of health, and he is under dialysis. "How do you get women buzzing?" "A bee does not know that theoretically he cannot fly." - "Advertising is the rich one's way to beg". The tie-wearing advertising man has been fired weeks ago. - "Crying is the soap for the soul, said the Jew". - The mosaic, the cross-section grows into a picture of life in the 1990s: the presence of the Balkan War, the threat of unemployment after the big depression. - The film that seemed slight then now appears as having more substance. And no, there is nothing trivial in it.

Muuttolinnun aika

Flyttfågelns tid / [A Bird of Passage] / Katja's Autumn. FI 1991. PC: Reppufilmi. P: Petra Tarjanne. D+SC: Anssi Mänttäri. DP: Heikki Katajisto. M: Asko Mänttäri. ED: Timo Linnasalo. CAST: Antti Litja (Ossi Eerola), Hanna Manu (Katja), Kari Heiskanen (Pekka), Liisa Halonen (Merja), Tarja Markus (Mirjami). 94 min. A KAVA print viewed at Cinema Orion, 16 May 2009. In the presence of Timo Linnasalo, interviewed by Markku Varjola. - A print with good definition of light and colour. - The editor Timo Linnasalo gave us an account of the Reppufilmi company. "I participated in ca 15 productions of Anssi Mänttäri, including for tv the Jorma Laine series and the Hanhivaara series. Anssi never shot too much footage." - Revisited the story of a daughter who is growing up and a father who lost her in a divorce long ago. Perfect strangers, they hardly get to know another. - This is a comedy of embarrassment. The daddy's miserable collection of records. The photo album which becomes empty after the divorce. - The neighbours with their hidden secret, which is revealed in the beginning: their baby has incurable cancer. - It is surprising that this film seems clearly better now than then, there is nothing trivial in it. - A fine, strong scene where the restaurant boss tries to pressure the young Katja into sex, and she holds her own. - After many blunders Ossi is on the verge of getting to know Katja, but when he comes home there is a letter to him: "You will never learn anyway".

Rakkauselokuva

En kärleksfilm / [A Love Film] / Nothing But Love. FI 1984. PC: Reppufilmi. P+D+SC: Anssi Mänttäri. DP: Heikki Katajisto - colour - 1,66:1. M: Fernando Sur, Anssi Tikanmäki, Asko Mänttäri. CAST: Liisa Halonen (Raija Torniainen, air hostess), Antti Litja (Kalle = Kalevi Karlsson, architect), Markku Toikka (Hanski = Hannu Torniainen, construction engineer). 73 min. A KAVA print with Swedish subtitles viewed at Cinema Orion, 15 May 2009. In the presence of Markku Toikka, interviewed by Markku Varjola. - I watched just the beginning of the film. The print had scratches at least in the start. I saw the couple's attempt at making a baby, the husband Hanski's trouble in performance and sperm count ("can't do this by force"). In a party, Raija meets Kalle, an unknown, whose first words are: "Forget that man and follow me to disaster". - From Markku Toikka's long and interesting introduction: "In Anssi Mänttäri's films the actor is king. There is but a skeleton crew: the director, the cinematographer, the soundman, the lighting man." "Eero Tuomikoski taught me that in the circus you don't put two elephant numbers after another." "The actor needs to undress. He must become a perfect interpreter for the character he is playing. He needs to eliminate himself." MV: Actors are usually narcissists. You are an anti-narcissist. "We did not have many takes. Often just one take. The first take is always the best." "In a film there may be that one moment, light as a butterfly, when you forget the actor and just follow the character." "Liisa Halonen we loved. She had been a tv announcer, the most cordial person, a wonderful human being." "Antti Litja is a fine Finnish film actor. His authenticity, his credibility is astounding." "This was the time of the basement gang, Filmtotal." "We were penniless. We lived together with Matti Pellonpää in another basement on Kristianinkatu. Upstairs there was a printing press which ground porn mags at night. We threw parties downstairs." MV: you are a top comedian. Why do they always choose you for the most desperate roles, which include angst and suicide? "The minor key is hidden in a comedian's deepest being. The greatest comedians are tragic. Mikko Kivinen. Comedy is born out of failure." - I was too tired to see but the beginning of the film. - About the rest I read from Suomen kansallisfilmografia. The press release states: "This is a comedy about grown-ups falling in love, a pensive smile, the despair of an infertile man, the tragedy of a childless woman, a marriage tale, the solitude of a divorced man, a promise of tomorrow, the brusqueness of the civil servant, a triangle drama." - I read from the synopsis that Kalle, a divorced father of a 16-year-old son, makes Raija pregnant, but Raija and Hanski stay together. Kalle informs Raija of his plan to slowly kill himself by drinking, although the process is slow and uncertain. Kalle refuses to grant Raija her wish that he would recite her a poem and walks away.

Morena

Morena - blues [Title card on film]. FI 1986. PC: Reppufilmi. P+D+SC: Anssi Mänttäri. [Finnish and English translation by Mikko Lyytikäinen, n.c.] Ass. D: Mika Kaurismäki. Prod. M: Pauli Pentti. DP: Heikki Katajisto - Agfacolor - 1,66:1. M: Jukka Hakoköngas, Costas Papanastasiou, Asko Mänttäri, Claes Andersson, Robert Schumann, Nanook, Black Sheep, Anssi Mänttäri, Pentti Lahti, Mikko Mattila, W.A. Mozart. S: Aki Kaurismäki, Juuso Hirvikangas. ED: Raija Talvio. LOC: West Berlin
- around the bar Ruine in Kreuzberg
- Café Belmont, Budapester Strasse
- restaurant La Bocca, Marburger Strasse
- restaurant Land's End, Kreuzberg
CAST: Anssi Mänttäri (Red Beard), Caroline Krüger (Morena), Claes Andersson (Red Beard's big brother). Original in English, with Finnish subtitles. 65 min. A KAVA print viewed at Cinema Orion, 15 May 2009. - In the presence of Anssi Mänttäri and Heikki Katajisto interviewed by Markku Varjola. - OK print, OK colour. - "During Berlin Film Festival we frequented the restaurant La Bocca because of its beautiful waitress Morena. When we returned to make the film dedicated to her we learned that she had been sent back to Italy to protect her from us. The film was a purely Finnish production. A German company worked as our contractor. Together with Mika Kaurismäki we financed the film by drawing weekly cash on our Visa cards, taking turns. In Germany I became known as Rotbärtich. Commenting Pauli Pentti's telegram from Cannes: Susanne was white wine and Crème de Menthe. Besides, there was Susanne on the jukebox." MV commented that in this film the collaboration of the director and the cinematographer was at its best. Claes Andersson was happy to act in the film. AM: "He said that 'That has always been my greatest fear and dream'. If you do something cheaply you must not do it too well. K.J. Koski wanted to see how I do it. If you don't plan too well you are free to change everything." Filmtotal was the basement which Villealfa, Reppufilmi, and Giron-Filmi shared. "We had common equipment. We worked in each others' teams without pay."

Ystävykset

Guy de Maupassantin Ystävykset [title on film] / [Deux amis]. FI 1969. PC: FJ Filmi. P+D+SC: Anssi Mänttäri - based on the short story "Deux amis" by Guy de Maupassant (1883). DP: Heikki Katajisto - colour. M: Asko Mänttäri. S: Erkki Seiro. ED: Taina Kanth. CAST: Jukka Sipilä and Olavi Ahonen (the two friends), Jaakko Pakkasvirta, Matti Oravisto. 16 min. A KAVA print viewed at Cinema Orion, 15 May 2009. - The colour was somewhat red-brownish, but AM told me that it was already a bit like that when the print arrived from the Gevaert lab in the Netherlands in 1969. - In the presence of Anssi Mänttäri and Heikki Katajisto, interviewed by Markku Varjola. - AM: "As a young man I thought I was a gifted actor. Then I participated in Sissit [Guerrilla Patrol, 1963] as an actor, and started to think that I would want to become a director, instead. Aito Mäkinen and Juho Gartz urged me to apply for a grant for young artists. As I was leafing through books at the Academic Bookstore, I stumbled upon Guy de Maupassant short story 'Deux amis', read it then and there and decided to film it. There was never a script. On location we had the short story itself in hand. The DP was Heikki Katajisto, we shot in Kirkkonummi and Sipoo. As our crew asked for permission, the land-owner complained that there was still a hole in his boat since the last film crew was there. He never learned that I was to blame since I had been the propman in Hopeaa rajan takaa [Silver Beyond the Border, 1963]. " - Heikki Katajisto has photographed all Anssi Mänttäri's films during 40 years. "Like a ram by the rope", no. They have basically agreed on things, and sometimes quarrelled. - It is war. Two friends want to go fishing. "How stupid men are".

Toto

Toto / Toto. FI 1982. PC: Filmiauer Oy / Anssi Mänttäri. Ohjaus: Suvi-Marja Korvenheimo (= Anssi Mänttäri). SC: Suvi-Marja Korvenheimo, Tuovi Mäkipää-Hakola. DP: Heikki Katajisto - filmed on 16mm - prints blown up to 35mm. S-ED: Tuomo Kattilakoski. M: Asko Mänttäri. Lyrics to the theme song: Jukka Virtanen. ED: Marjatta Niiranen. S: Jouko Lumme, Paul Jyrälä. CAST: Juha Hyppönen (Eki), Paavo Piskonen (Pena), Mikko Hänninen (Reiska), Eeva Eloranta (Hanna, Eki's wife), Helena Haavisto (Pena's mother-in-law), Veronika Mattson (Krisse, Pena's wife), Virve Kauste (Mirkku), Sanna Fransman (Päivi), Liisa Halonen (Marja, Reiska's ex-wife), Pentti Auer (Kurt), Tuija Ahvonen (saleswoman), Pauli Virtanen (Lievonen), Paavo Liski, Kai Honkanen, Olli Tuominen (policemen), Susanna Haavisto (waitress), Tadaaki Kawata (Mr. Tokoshi), Masaaki Hashimoto (Mr. Iwasaki), Ilkka Kylävaara (writer), Reima Kekäläinen (artist), Henri Kapulainen (2. writer), Katriina Rinne, Kaisa Karikoski (women in the pub), Kai Salminen (director Vornanen), Heidi Kari (secretary), Annette Arlander, Ulla-Maija Tamminen (girls in the pub), Ilkka Vanne (foreign businessman), Hannele Laaksonen (callgirl), Kalevi Immonen (violinist), Heidi Blom (Pena's daughter), Taina Saikkonen (Taina), Tiina Bergström (Tiina). 82 min. A vintage print with Swedish subtitles screened at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 21 Nov 2008. Introduced by Anssi Mänttäri hosted by Martti-Tapio Kuuskoski. Also Paavo Piskonen was present in the screening. - Good print with a pleasant, successful 16mm blowup look. - The trio of grown-up men on the loose has been compared with Cassavetes' Husbands. Pena has become a father (again), he hangs out with his car salesman colleague Eki, and they join with their drifter friend Reiska. Reiska wins big time in the horse races, and they go on a binge, planning a trip. They try to pick up women, but only Eki has any success. - The images of the race track in the beginning and in the end bring the story into ironic relief. - The theme song of Asko Mänttäri and Jukka Virtanen would deserve publication in its own right. - It's a film about alcohol and alcoholism. - There is a good solid drive in this tale of the absurd alcoholic binge.