Käsky

Varghyndan / Tears of April. FI /DE/GR (c) 2008 Helsinki Filmi Oy / Thoke Moebius Film Company / Two Thirty Five. Premiere: 2008. P: Aleksi Bardy. D: Aku Louhimies. SC: Jari Olavi Rantala - based on the novel by Leena Lander (2003). "Der Erlkönig" (J.W. von Goethe). DP: Rauno Ronkainen - digital intermediate: Digital Film Finland, Generator Post - color - 35mm film print 1,2.35. PD: Tiina Pätilä. M: Pessi Levanto. Erik Satie, Beethoven, Chopin. CO: Tiina Kaukanen. ED: Benjamin Mercer. Starring Samuli Vauramo (Aaro Harjula), Pihla Viitala (Miina Malin), Eero Aho (Emil Hallenberg), Eemeli Louhimies (Eino), Miina Maasola (Martta), Riina Maidre (Beata Hallenberg), Sulevi Peltola (Konsta), Mikko Kouki (sergeant major). 116 min. In Finnish, with some lines in Swedish, German, etc. Released by FS Film with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Anitra Paukkula / Joanna Erkkilä. Viewed at Kinopalatsi 2, Helsinki, 30 August 2008. - Bleak digital intermediate look. - The Finnish Civil War of 1918 was a national tragedy. The subject is still sensitive, but films can offer an excellent outlet to discuss the historical trauma. - The film starts in April, as the White Army has already beaten the Red Army. The bloody retribution has started. The film starts with a gang rape and summary executions without trial by the Whites of women caught from the Red side. The White brave Aaro rescues the Red Miina from slaughter and brings her to military court. As Miina tries to escape at sea, they are shipwrecked for a week on an island. At the military court, they meet the mad judge Hallenberg. - The film is brave in its counter-statement to the dominant White version of history. - But of the characters, only Aaro and Miina are three-dimensional. Save Aaro, the Whites are caricatures of evil, grotesque figures of horror, monsters. - T.J. Särkkä was not famous for his subtlety, but his film "1918 - A Man and His Conscience" (1957) was richer in nuance. - The military court episodes are needlessly prolonged. - This is a film about brutalization and moral squalor. I don't think it pays justice either to the Reds or the Whites. - The composition of the shots is powerful. Unfortunately, much of the richness of the cinematography has been lost in the digital transition. The colour is cold and gloomy, as in the antechamber of Hell.

Tummien perhosten koti

De mörka fjärilarnas hem / The Home of the Dark Butterflies. FI (c) 2008 Solar Films. P: Markus Selin. D: Dome Karukoski. SC: Marko Leino - based on the novel (1991) by Leena Lander. DP: Pini Hellstedt - negative: 35mm and S16mm (dream sequences) - via digital intermediate - 35mm screening print - 1:2,35. Starring: Tommi Korpela (Harjula), Niilo Syväoja (Juhani), Eero Milonoff (Salmi), Niko Vakkuri (Hämäläinen), Iiro Panula (Sulkava), Ville Saksela (Rinne), Henri Huttunen (Simola), Roope Karisto (Sjöblom), Marjut Maristo (Vanamo), Kristiina Halttu (Irene), Kati Outinen (Tyyne), Pertti Sveholm (Erik), Matleena Kuusniemi (Maire). Released by Nordisk Film, Swedish subtitles by [Olle von Bonsdorff?]. Premiere 11 Jan. Viewed 12 Jan 2008 at Tennispalatsi 1, Helsinki. The digital intermediate gives the film a flat and lifeless look. Summarizing the producer's synopsis: "The principal character of the movie is 14-year-old Juhani, haunted by a traumatic childhood experience. After being bounced between foster homes and temporary families for six years, Juhani ends up in an isolated Boys’ Home, The Island. The place is run by the ruthless superintendent Harjula. Besides the seven boys and Harjula, the only other inhabitants of the Island are the superintendent’s wife Irene and their two daughters including the teenager Vanamo, along with Tyyne, in charge of livestock and catering." It takes place in Finland in the age Kekkonen, probably the early 1970s. Authoritarian methods of education are already out, a period of indifference to the "lost boys" is dawning. It's in the tradition of Wild Boys of the Road, Passport to Life, Los olvidados, etc. It starts violently and proceeds to find new turns, layers and sensitivity in the characters. It packs a punch, and the story is directed by second-timer Dome Karukoski with a good eye on the the rhythm of the story. The character-driven approach is successful with strong performances all through the picture.
http://www.solarfilms.com/elokuvat/kaikki/tummatperhoset/en_GB/darkbutterfiles/