Crin blanc

Crin blanc, le cheval sauvage / White Mane, Wild Horse / Valkoinen ori / Vildhästen / [Valkoharja, villihevonen]. FR (c) 1953 Films Montsouris. P+D+SC: Albert Lamorisse. DP: Edmond Séchan. M: Maurice Leroux. LOC: Camargue. Starring Alain Emery (Folco). 40 min. A Films Distribution print with English subtitles by Siomann O'Neill. E-subtitles in Finnish by Lena Talvio. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 18 September 2008. - A good print, with a slightly duped look, with some noise on soundtrack. - A children's classic. Folco of the fisherman's family meets Crin blanc, the untamable lead stallion of a pack of wild horses. A film of natural poetry. High points: Crin blanc drags Folco through the water and the reeds; the fight of the horses for leadership; the captors attempt to catch Folco with fire and smoke; rabbit hunt; the final hunt to the sea. - It's a dream about liberty. - One of the case studies in André Bazin's essay "Montage interdit".

Erottamattomat / Sisters Apart

Hanna Maylett: Erottamattomat / Sisters Apart (FI 2008) with Tiina Lymi (Taru) and Minna Haapkylä (Eve).

De oskiljaktiga / [literal translation of the title: The Inseparable].
    FI © 2008 Kinotar. P: Lasse Saarinen, Risto Salomaa.
    D: Hanna Maylett. SC: Tarja Kylmä. DP: Jyri Hakala – HDTV – shot on Sony CineAlta F23 – digital intermediate Generator Post, Digital Film Finland – distributed in 35mm 1:2,35. M: Sanna Salmenkallio.
    Starring Minna Haapkylä (Eve), Tiina Lymi (Taru), Kaneli Johansson (Ninni), Jorma Tommila (Harri).
    Loc: Tyrnävä.
    101 min.
    Released by Nordisk with Swedish subtitles by Saliven Gustavson.
    Viewed at Maxim 1, Helsinki, 6 September 2008.

A gray digital intermediate look.

On a horse farm in the province of Pohjanmaa (Ostrobothnia), Finland, the teenage daughter Ninni is kicked by the maverick Indigo and taken to hospital by her stepmother Taru and her father Harri. Her biological mother Eve, who lives in Sweden, is alerted, and she comes back the next day having abandoned her baby ten years ago.

The single kick of a horse causes turbulence in all of their lives.

Strengths include performances by Minna Haapkylä and Tiina Lymi. The visual concept of the film is effective, juxtaposing the stagnation in the protagonists' lives with the life force of the horses and the presence of a big river and its rapids. The film would be even better if the concept were more dynamic in storytelling or otherwise. Boldly the film has been shot in the gray rain of October. Much of the force of the crane shots and other well-composed images is lost in digital transition.