Koeputkessa Anssi Mänttäri (seminar)

Anssi Mänttäri in a Test Tube. Seminar / discussion with Anssi Mänttäri, Matti Ijäs, Timo Linnasalo, and Jari Halonen, interviewed by Kari Pirhonen. At Cinema Andorra, Helsinki, 16 May 2009. - A witty discussion with four film directors. - The evening went on with several concerts at Dubrovnik, but I was too tired to stay. - My personal conclusions of the Anssi Mänttäri weekend:
1) Anssi Mänttäri's films, which often did not have a great success at the box office at the time of release, nor always found favour with critics, have stood the test of time, are constantly interesting to watch now, and more substance is easy to detect in them now than then.
2) They would deserve to be published as dvd's, in editions like those of Aki Kaurismäki and Mika Kaurismäki. Anssi Mänttäri's films were finely photographed on 35mm film by Heikki Katajisto, and they would deserve to be mastered well.
3) Anssi Mänttäri is a great storyteller. He should publish his memoirs, or somebody should publish an interview book on him. It would be a great read.
4) Seen back to back Mänttäri's films connect in a new way. He does not repeat himself, although the same milieux and characters reappear.

Kastematojen aika

The Age of the Worms / Daggmaskarnas tid. FI (c) 1985 YLE TV1 Lasten ja nuorten ohjelmien toimitus. D+SC: Matti Ijäs. DP: Jouko Paavonen. M: Antti Hytti. With pieces by Tom Waits, Keith Jarrett, and Jan Garbarek. LOC: Helsinki. Starring Kimmo Lempinen (Jontti), Vieno Saaristo (Jontti's mother), Oiva Lohtander (Jontti's father), Erkki Pajala (the angler), Samuli Edelmann (Höödi the bike boy). 35 min. 16mm sepmag production presented in digibeta, alas. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 14 September 2008. -An original coming-of-age story of a teenage boy. Spying on undressing girls. Violently clashing with parents. Making friends with an old tramp called the Angler in the fishing harbor. They steal money from fishing boats? and also collect worms for fishing; after a blind man's bluff on the jetty the old man splashes into the sea, and Jontti goes to buy dry clothes for him. But he gets a lift from an older teenager boy (Samuli Edelmann in one of his first parts) who takes him to the special part of the beach where boys and girls make out. Threatened by bikes, the old angler falls on a bridge looking lifeless. - Full of interesting observations, with a strong sense of the confusion in teenager's mind. - Interesting score by Antti Hytti. - Boldly nocturnal cinematography by Jouko Paavonen. Jontti is not a hero, he has mean and vicious traits. Nor is the angler a nice old fellow.

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)