THE 1980S SEEN BY FINNISH CINEMA: SEMINAR DAY 2

The 1980s Seen by Finnish Cinema: the seminar day 2 at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 14 September 2008. Organized by The Risto Jarva Society together with National Audiovisual Archive
12.00 From the Lookout Spot of the Critic: Helena Ylänen Interviewed (by Eero Tammi)
13.30 Directors' Panel - the Circumstances of Film-Making Then and Now, with Jarmo Lampela, Timo Linnasalo and Claes Olsson, moderator: Kaarle Stewen
Helena Ylänen was the main film critic in Finland in the 1980s, and Kaarle Stewen edited a high profile tv programme on films, and they both had a complete view about that decade's developments in the Finnish cinema. Both had a warm, personal touch, and presented many sharp insights from today's perspective.
Excerpts seen from the 1980s from Kaarle Stewen's Valkokangas (Silver Screen) TV programme:
- Jörn Donner meets Spede Pasanen (1981)
- Timo Linnasalo at Nurmijärvi (1984)
- Matti Ijäs and Koomikko (The Comedian) (1983)
- Tulipää at Cannes, with Pirjo Honkasalo and Pekka Lehto (1981)

Elvis kissan jäljillä (in the presence of Claes Olsson)

Claes Olsson: Elvis kissan jäljillä (FI 1987)

I Elvis-kattens spår. FI 1987. P+D+SC+starring: Claes Olsson. 84 min. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 13 September 2008. - Presented by Claes Olsson, interviewed by Markku Varjola, we heard a funny account of an independent film-maker's life that led to his first feature film. He gave a personal angle to the independent, avantgarde, political culture since the 1960s. - This time I saw the introduction only.

Suuri illusioni / The Grand Illusion

Tuija-Maija Niskanen: Suuri illusioni  / The Grand Illusion (FIU 1985). Pekka Valkeejärvi (Hart), Stina Ekblad (Caritas), Markku Toikka (Hellas).

Den stora illusionen. FI © 1985 Elokuvatuottajat Oy. P: Claes Olsson, Matti Penttilä. D: Tuija-Maija Niskanen. SC: Anja Kauranen – based on the novel by Mika Waltari (1928). DP: Kari Sohlberg – colour – 1:1,66. AD: Erkki Saarainen. Make-up: Helena Lindgren, Nadja Pyykkö. M: Kaija Saariaho. S: Paul Jyrälä, Kari J. Koski. Starring: Pekka Valkeejärvi (Hart), Stina Ekblad (Caritas), Markku Toikka (Hellas), Rea Mauranen (Madame Spindel), with Jack Helen Brut and Homo $. 95 min. Mostly in Finnish but also in Swedish, German, French, English, and Latin, with Finnish subtitles. Vintage print viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 5 March 2008. The name of the film has nothing to do with Jean Renoir as it is taken from the novel published ten years earlier. The opening of our Centenary tribute to the author Mika Waltari was this film based on his first novel. The author himself was later embarrassed by his superficial and pseudo-decadent work and only grudgingly let it be re-published as he recognized that it was a document of its time, a youthful look at the Roaring Twenties. The young author Anja Kauranen (later known as Anja Snellman) at the start of her career was fascinated by Waltari and wrote the screenplay. Tuija-Maija Niskanen directed the film, and Kaija Saariaho composed for it her only music for a theatrical motion picture so far. A lot of talent combined, but there is a curiously indifferent feeling, although the film is professionally made with a decent budget. The main characters and the actors portraying them fail to move. The film was supposed to make a connection between the superficial 1920s and the superficial 1980s, but it missed. The performance groups Jack Helen Brut and Homo $ play decadent 1920s characters with relish. The print is excellent, paying justice to the superb lensing of Kari Sohlberg. The film is not successful, but there may be interesting deep layers as the result of a long incubation period.