Fire and Ice

Fire and Ice. The Winter War of Finland and Russia. / Talvisota: tuli ja jää! USA 2006. (c) 2005 MasterWork Media LLC. P+D+SC: Ben Strout. DP: Michael Bowie. M: Jamie Lawrence. ED: Kurt Poole. Dvd, 1,85:1, DD 5.1, 79 min. Russian and Finnish comments with English subtitles. Masterworks Media dvd, American release, received as a gift from my American relatives in St. Paul, Faye and Ken LeDoux. [There is also a Finnish dvd release: Karelia Klubi.] Viewed at home in Helsinki, 22 Feb 2009.

A many-sided documentary with modern Finnish-Russian war enactments, newsreel footage, interviews, quotes from vintage testimonies, some animation. American, Finnish, and Russian views make up a balanced picture of the amazing war. The author and poet Eeva Kilpi, a refugee from Karelian Hiitola, has a strong presence. So has John F. "Jack" Hasey, Volunteer, Iroquois Ambulance Corps. We see F.D. Roosevelt denouncing USSR on news footage. League of Nations banishes USSR. The Terijoki puppet government. Mannerheim's considerations. The interviewees include William Trotter (author, Frozen Hell), Gunnar Laatio (veteran, Mannerheim line), Major Mauno Uoti, Erkki Palosuo (veteran pilot), Aulikki Olsen (veteran, Lotta Svärd), Dr. Tomas Reis, Dr. Ohto Manninen, Inkeri Kilpinen, Minister Max Jakobson, Pasi Kesseli, Ermei Kanninen, Niilo Halkola (Suomussalmi veteran), Mauno Laaksonen, Lemmetty veteran; Anna Tukia, Lotta Svärd veteran; Tami Leinonen, Karelian refugee; Marko Seppänen, Suomussalmi, Raatteen Portti Museum; Raino Kurtti, Suomissalmi veteran; Mauno Uoti, Parola Tank Museum. The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact is examined. The German Blitzkrieg on Poland. The Finnish specials: the Molotov cocktail, the satchel charges, jamming a log into a tank's treads, the "motti" blocking tactic, snipers: "the white death". The feats of Taipale, Summa, Lahde, Tolvajärvi (the first victory). The sausage war. Suomussalmi, the Raate road. The meaning of Winter War not only for Finland which was not occupied but also for the Red Army which Stalin had to rebuild.

Humain, trop humain

FR 1974. PC: NEF. D: Louis Malle. DP: Etienne Becker - looks like 16mm blown up to 35mm - colour. ED: Suzanne Baron. S: Jean-Claude Laureux. 73 min. AFF / CNC beautiful restored 35mm print with e-subtitles in Finnish by Lena Talvio [but there is no commentary nor significant dialogue]. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 19 Feb 2009.

An industrial documentary film shot in July 1972 at the Citroën factory in Rennes, Bretagne and at a Car Fair in Paris. All phases of the car assembly. The steel plates arrive on rolls. They are cut. The assembly line principle. The assembly of the body. Grinding and sanding. Washing. The assembly of the motor. The cable systems. Long tracking shots to give a full view of the whole process. A film without commentary, without dialogue; the hardly audible words belong mainly to the soundscape. The endless rows of cars waiting by the railway station. The women soldering. The seats. The finishing. The polishing. Welding. The sounds of the factory: musique concrète. Qf. Tati: the machine world, the mechanical world, cybernetic. Qf. Chaplin: Modern Times. The final episode: a young woman turning steel plates. A freeze frame on her face, her look. The noise goes on.

A remarkable and original vision of the factory world.

Moana

Moana - auringon poika. US © 1926 Famous Players-Lasky. D+SC+DP: Robert Flaherty - Akeley. With Frances Flaherty and David Flaherty. LOC: Safune village at Savai'i, Polynesia. WITH: Ta'avale, Fa'amgase, Tu'ugaita, Moana, Pe'a. Copyright renewed by Paramount (1953). The Monica Flaherty music version © 1980, 16 mm print of Sami van Ingen, 70 min. Viewed at KAVA Pursimiehenkatu screening room, 9 Feb 2009.

Revisited, I had seen this version before in ca 1985 in Berlin, presented by Monica Flaherty. She utilized early May rebellion songs recorded by David Flaherty. She remembered also Samoan songs from her childhood there. Three principal actors (Moana, Faangese, Pea) were still alive in 1975. Robert Flaherty always wanted Moana in sound, and Monica realized his wish.

A print stretched in all sequences with human motion and equipped with soundtrack. The film was apparently shot at 18 fps, every third frame doubled in the human motion scenes. The sound was recorded in 1975 in Samoa by Monica Flaherty and Richard Leacock. - The original negative was burned by Paramount maybe already in the 1940s. This print is based on the Stockholm dupe. - This masterpiece is the film that was the first to be called a work "of documentary value" in the English language (by Grierson).

The harvest. Fa'angase, the highest maiden. Beautiful harvest songs. The only dangerous animal: the wild hog. The hunting song. Setting the trap. Water out of the tree trunk. The song of returning from the woods. The songs are gentle and tender. Pua a tele! - it's big! The lethal fangs of the hog. A beautiful song as the hog is carried on bars. The sea. The long boat for three. Swimming in the clear water. Fishing with a sharp stick. Peeling the tree bark. Tanning the bark. The manufacture of the Tava cloth from bast (the inner bark) of the mulberry tree.

How the cloth is made. - The interest in little gestures, how hands are moving. - Sandalwood seeds to produce colour. A beautiful sandalwood song. - Lavalava: the national dress. - The boat at sea: sharpening the sticks. - Climbing high to the top of the cocoanut tree in a memorable long shot. - The storm, the big waves. The blow-holes. The rainbow. - The song of the boatmen. Rowing against the waves, falling into the water. The giant splashes. - Expressive close-ups. - The strange animal hiding in the rockpile. - Making fire by rubbing two pieces of wood against each other. - The boy smokes the the coconut crab out of the rockpile. (Expressive close-ups).

The boys hunting the giant turtle. Magnificent reflections. The song of the turtle hunters. The song of the turtle shell. - Faangese cannot eat the oyster but loves raw small fish. - Cocoanut milk out of the cocoanut. The palusami dessert. Baked inside leaves. Breadfruit. A long montage on food. Taro, qf. dioscorea (in Finnish: jamssi). - Green bananas. - A volcanic island. - Faamgase & Moana, at the end of the day, Faamgase decorates Moana with flowers. Massage with cocoanut oil. Age-old rite. Tinkling shells in the ankle. Soft drumming, chorus singing, harmony. - A dance sequence: the pride of beauty and strength. The art, the worship, the courtship of the race. The mating dance. Music imitating birdsong. - Rhythmic music. - The ritual of the tattoo, three weeks, painful. The bone nail. The old-style clothes. Little by little. At great pain. The tattoo music. Light up your oven. Add colour. Dance music: the encourage Moana. Manhood through pain. Beautiful tattoo chorus music. In three weeks, the whole body is tattooed. - Let the kava be prepared. - The kava is prepared in a big bowl. The virgin of the village, the princess, makes the kava. Youth comes into its own. Dances. Harmonious song. Beautiful music as the little boy falls asleep. UA UMA LA VA = THE END.

Cleaning Up!

Cleaning Up! / Cleaning Up! FI 2001. PC: Cube Oy, Zen Media. P: Heikki Niinimäki. D+SC+DP: Rostislav Aalto - shot on DV-CAM - distributed on 35mm film prints. ASS-D: Mikko Keinonen. M: Cleaning Women. S-ED on tour: Jari Laakkonen, Teemu Kotila, Svetlana Terentjev. ED: Kimmo Kohtamäki. S: Rostislav Aalto. S-DES: Timo Kinnunen (also S-postprod). Photographs: Inka Kovanen. FEAT: Cleaning Women: Risto Puurunen, Timo Kinnunen, Tero Vänttinen = CW 01, CW02, CW03. Manager: Mikko Keinonen. 79 min. A SES print with English subtitles (print number one) at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 21 Nov 2008. Introduced by Rostislav Aalto, presented by Martti-Tapio Kuuskoski. - The print looks good, considering that it was shot on DV-CAM. - A tour documentary of the Finnish band Cleaning Women, who play with special instruments built from cleaning equipment, the guys dressed as ladies. - The music is good, and the film sounds good. - The strange encounters of the band touring in Petersburg, Moscow, Tartu, the Baltic countries, and Poland. - I saw the first 45 min, having to move to the Filmihullu magazine 40th / Risto Jarva society 30th annivarsary party at Dubrovnik.

IN THE CORE OF THE DOCUMENTARY 45: HYY (THE HELSINKI UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION) 140TH ANNIVERSARY

Dokumentin ytimessä 45: HYY 140 vuotta / I dokumentärens kärna 25: HUS 140 år
Finnish documentary films and excerpts compiled by Ilkka Kippola and Jari Sedergren. Video edit: Jarmo Nyman. Presented by Jari Sedergren. In the presence of Ville Suhonen.
Vappu Helsingissä vuonna 1917. FI 1917. DigiBeta, 1'.
Leo Mechelinin hautajaiset. FI 1914. DigiBeta, 2'15''
Iso Paraati Helsingissä 16/5 1918. FI 1918.DigiBeta, 4'
Snellmanin päivän juhlallisuudet. FI 1926. DigiBeta, 3'
Suomi-Filmin uutiskuvia 3 / 1935. FI 1935. DigiBeta, 3'
Akateeminen romukasa. FI 1939. DigiBeta, 2'45''.
Finlandia-katsaus 100. FI 1949. DigiBeta, 1 '.
Suomen Marsalkan viimeinen matka. FI 1951. DigiBeta, 3'.
Finlandia-katsaus 88. FI 1948. DigiBeta, 3'.
Finlandia-katsaus 187. FI 1952. D-giBeta, 1' .
Lippusemme kohouupi… FI 1953. DigiBeta, 2'33''.
Itsenäisyytemme 40-v. juhlallisuudet. FI 1957. DigiBeta, 2'41''.
Finlandia-katsaus 439. FI 1959. DigiBeta, 2,41''.
Finlandia-katsaus 514. FI 1961. DigiBeta, 23''
Drink Piss Freak. FI 1969. D: Erik Uddström. DigiBeta, 2'.
Työtä Ylioppilasteatterissa. FI 1961. PC: Montaasi. D: Risto Jarva. 35mm. 8 min
Showreel Lapualaismorsian. FI 1967. D: Mikko Niskanen. With Vesa-Matti Loiri, Lars Svedberg, Kari Franck, Kaisa Korhonen, Pekka Laiho, Jukka Sipilä, Soila Komi, Tuula Nyman, Kristiina Halkola, Heikki Kinnunen, Kirsti Wallasvaara, Maria Wolska, Markku Lahtela. DigiBeta, 3'.
Vanhan valtaus. FI 1968. Digibeta, 8'.
28. marraskuuta. FI 1973. PC: Palokärki. Digibeta, 17'.
On elo ylioppilaan… FI 1947. D: Holger Harrivirta. SC: Vilho Helanen. Digibeta, 12'. Excerpts from a particularly fascinating short film, good non-fiction with actors and fine cinematography.
Ylioppilaselämää. FI 1990. P+D+ED: Ville Suhonen. SC+commentary: Pekka Suhonen. Digibeta, 24 min.
A groundbreaking, very ambitious compilation about the history of the Helsinki University Students' Association, covering over 90 years. Many moving moments. My favourite: On elo ylioppilaan...

Standard Operating Procedure

Standard Operating Procedure / Standard Operating Procedure. US (c) 2008 Sony Pictures Classics. EX: Robert Fernandez, Diane Weyermann. P: Julie Ahlberg, Errol Morris. D: Errol Morris. DP: Robert Chappell, Robert Richardson - shot on HDTV - color - 2,35:1 - print on 35mm film. M: Danny Elfman. 118 min. Released in Finland by Cinema Mondo with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Anitra Paukkula / Markus Karjalainen. Viewed at Kino Engel 1, 31 Oct 2008. - A fine and consistent digital intermediate look. - Powerful imagery helps approach the grim subject matter. Expressive Interrotron close-ups, music by Danny Elfman, sound design. The space of images, photographs, hundreds of them, being structured during the picture. "All the pictures seemed to line up". - Iraq War of 2003-. This is a journey into Abu Ghraib, beyond the sensational images of humiliation (including the sexual pyramid). We get to see them in context, and see them with different eyes. Some images look worse than what happened. But the worst things were never photographed in the first place. Mainly young and inexperienced soldiers were punished. - Saddam did a thousand times more horrible things, but the world had expected more from the US. - An important survey into the Abu Ghraib mess that has come to symbolise the US trouble in the Iraq War of 2003-. - Great, maybe too long?
Wikipedia: "The name "Interrotron" was coined by Morris's wife, who, according to Morris, "liked the name because it combined two important concepts — terror and interview." The device is similar to a teleprompter: Errol and his subject each sit facing a camera. The image of each person's face is then projected onto the lens of the other's camera. Instead of looking at a blank lens, then, both Morris and his subject are looking directly at a human face. Morris believes that the machine encourages monologue in the interview process, while also encouraging the interviewees to "express themselves to camera"."
Wikipedia: "Morris' practice of compensating his interview subjects has caused controversy, although it is not an unusual practice in documentary filmmaking, according to the producer Diane Weyermann, who also worked on An Inconvenient Truth. In a private interview during the Tribeca Film Festival, Morris said: "If I had not paid them, they would not be interviewed.""

Recipes for Disaster

Katastrofin aineksia / Ingredienser för en katastrof. FI/DK (c) 2008 Millennium Film / Magic Hour Films Aps / [a third company]. P: Kristiina Pervilä. D+SC: John Webster. Shot on video, digital intermediate, distributed on 35mm film, colour. 85 min. In English (part Finnish) with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Janne Staffans. Viewed in Kinopalatsi 2, Helsinki, 20 September 2008. - A home video look. Largely handheld video with stock footage inserts transferred to video and back to film. - The Webster family's experiment to a year without oil and plastic. - Also this film (like Kummeli Alivuokralainen) starts in Africa. - An interesting experiment that threatens the happiness of the family. - They manage to cut their ecological footprint into half. - It belongs to the extremist-experimental trend of the current documentary film. - There has been a lot of attention to the film, there was a good attendance in the show, and the viewers seemed positively surprised, there was lively discussion of the details and the large issues. - We need to act decisively, but everyone feels confused and disoriented as the opinion leaders do not seem to live as they teach. - This film shows that a lot can be done by personal initiative.

Viimeinen koulupäivä

A-027850 / G / FI / 1998 / Naukkarinen, Lasse / documentary
Viimeinen koulupäivä. PC+ DIST: Ilokuva, Naukkarinen & Co. D: Lasse Naukkarinen. 16mm. 30’. Viewed in Helsinki, VET, Tuesday 31 March 1998.

Valkoinen taivas

A-027848 / G / FI / 1998 / Helke, Susanna etc. / documentary
Valkoinen taivas / ((((( ((((. © Kinotar. P: Lasse Saarinen. D+SC+ED: Susanna Helke, Virpi Suutari. DP: Tuomo Virtanen. Featuring: Igor Maljukov, Natalia Maljukova, Katja Maljukova. Filmed in Monchegorsk on the Kola Peninsula. 56’. Colour, 1,85. In Russian with Finnish subtitles by Jussi Väntänen. DIST: Kinotar. Viewed in Helsinki, VET, Steenbeck, Thursday 26 March 1998. ** An intimate portrait about life in the middle of ecocatastrophe.

Muistiratoja

A-027719 / G / FI / 1998 / Salmenhaara, Eero / documentary essay
Muistiratoja. © Kari Kekkonen Ky. D: Werneri Salmenhaara = Eero Salmenhaara. SC: Alpo Ruuth. FEATURING: Alpo Ruuth, Werneri Salmenhaara. 42’. 16mm. DIST: Kari Kekkonen Ky. VHS /PAL 25 fps: 40’/ projection in Helsinki, VET, Wednesday 28 January 1998. The filmmaker and the screenwriter, the well-known author Alpo Ruuth, share the common fate of paralysis. Together they travel the railway tracks running through the city of Helsinki. It’s a personal documentary essay.

Oi kallis Suomenmaa 7

/ / FI / 1997 / Bagh, Peter von / / TV documentary

Oi kallis Suomenmaa 7 - Jänöjussin mäenlasku. [Ca 1970 - 1988]. PC: Nosferatu; Yleisradio TV1. Concept and direction by Peter von Bagh. 60’. PAL TV transmission, viewed in Helsinki, Sunday 21 December 1997. Interestingly, the visual material gets shabbier as we approach the present.

Oi kallis Suomenmaa 6

/ / FI / 1997 / Bagh, Peter von, etc. / TV documentary

Oi kallis Suomenmaa 6 - Lumi teki enkelin eteiseen. 1964 - 197-. PC: Nosferatu; Yleisradio TV1. Concept and direction by Peter von Bagh, Elina Katainen, Iikka Vehkalahti. 60’. PAL TV transmission, viewed in Helsinki, Sunday 14 December 1997.

Microcosmos

100466 / G / FR / 1996 / Nuridsany, Claude, etc. / documentary

Microcosmos - le peuple de l’herbe / Mikrokosmos - ruohikon kansa. PC: Galatée Films; France 2 Cinéma; Bac Films. D: Claude Nuridsany, Marie Perennou. MPAA: G. 77’. 1,35/1,66. DIST: Kamras Film Group. Viewed in Helsinki, VET, Thursday 27 November 1997. **** Featuring grasshoppers, snails, spiders, ants, ladybirds, timbermen, dragonflies, and centipedes. The miracles of nature - the caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, the sundew consuming a fly, the snails getting it on - belong to the very oldest subjects of cinema. They belong to the staples of TV documentaries and popular video series. The French team here recapture the fascination with state of the art cinematographic means, including extreme close-ups and digital surround sound space. It is the unity of the vision and the quirky assemblage that make this stand out. A few computer generated shots enhance the film: the dragonfly’s point of view, for instance. It all takes place on a French meadow during 24 hours.