U-Carmen eKhayelitsha

ZA 2004. PC: Spier Films. D: Mark Dornford-May. Based on the opera Carmen, music by Bizet, libretto by Meilhac & Halévy, based on the tale by Mérimée. DP: Giulio Biccari. Starring Pauline Malefane (Carmen), Andile Tshoni (Jongikhaya). In Xhosa with German subtitles. In the presence of the director, the stars and members of the team. Viewed at Berlinale-Palast, Berlin Film Festival (Competition) 13 Feb 2005. Following the model of Carmen Jones this is another all-black Carmen, this time set in South Africa. The songs sound great also in Xhosa. Carmen and the others are very Rubensian in contrast to the cinema's Carmen tradition. The talented singers perform in their own voices (Carmen Jones was dubbed) very well. The film interpretation does achieve the tragic power of the tale. **

Les Temps qui changent / Changing Times

André Téchiné: Les Temps qui changent / Changing Times (FR 2004) Catherine Deneuve (Cécile), Gérard Depardieu (Antoine). "Can a first love turn into a last love?"

Les Temps qui changent at Berlin Film Festival. "Two of French film's great personalities: Catherine Deneuve and André Téchiné relaxing before the premiere". 12 Feb 2005. Photo: Berlin Film Festival.

Red Carpet: Les Temps qui changent. Dieter Kosslick accompanies André Téchiné, Catherine Deneuve, Paolo Branco and Richard Lormand to the premiere in Berlinale Palast. 12 Feb 2005. Photo: Berlin Film Festival.

FR © 2004 Gemini Films / France 2 Cinéma. D: André Téchiné. SC: Téchiné, Laurent Guyot, Pascal Bonitzer. DP: Julien Hirsch. Songs by Angélique Kidjo: "Tumba", "Okanbale", "Les petits riens". Starring Catherine Deneuve (Cécile), Gérard Depardieu (Antoine), Gilbert Melki (Nathan), Lubna Azabal (Nadia / Aicha). 98 min. Ugly digital look. Released thru Gemini, German subtitles. Viewed at Urania, Berlin Film Festival (Competition), 13 Feb 2005. After an absence of 30 years Gérard Depardieu revisits his teenage love Catherine Deneuve. The location is Tangiers, the actors are excellent, the storytelling not compelling, the ugly digital look distracting. I had a hard time trying to focus. Téchiné is not at his best this time.

...

BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL 2005

"Antoine arrives in Tangiers from Europe. He is on an assignment to supervise the setting up of an audiovisual centre, his task being to expedite the process. However, Antoine is secretly hoping that he will find Cécile here. His quietly obsessive love for her has endured for more than thirty years.

Cécile has forgotten Antoine. She emigrated to north Africa and has since endured the trials and tribulations of marital routine with Nathan, a doctor of Moroccan-Jewish extraction who is her junior in age. The couple have a son, Samy, who lives in Paris and comes to visit them during the holidays.

The film takes place towards the end of the summer. Samy arrives at his parents’ house, bringing with him his partner, Nadia, and her child, whose father is unknown. Samy and Nadia are a chaste couple. Arming themselves, they protect each other from all manner of adversities in order to live out their various passions. Nadia has to learn to let go of her twin sister Aicha – and as a result finds herself embroiled in a bitter struggle against her inner demons. Samy has to learn to bring his affection for Bilal into accord with his tenderness for Nadia.

Theirs is a little holiday world in which Cécile finds it impossible to find a balance. Experiencing nothing but restlessness and self-doubt, the familiar has become quite alien to her. Lonely, wealthy and unmolested by life’s storms, Antoine appears like a ghost from the past expressing his desire for a pure, unshakable ideal of love. Does being cloistered inside his gentle obsession make him invincible? What is this all about? It’s nothing but a dream, counters Cécile, the realist. But, who knows, perhaps this dream will, unwittingly, become reality."

Provincia meccanica / Smalltown, Italy

Stefano Mordini: Provincia meccanica / Smalltown, Italy (IT 2004) with Stefano Accorsi (Marco Battaglia) and Valentina Cervi (Silvia Battaglia).

IT 2004. PC: Medusa Film. D: Stefano Mordini. SC: Silvia Barbiera, Stefano Mordini. DP: Italo Petriccione. Starring Stefano Accorsi (Marco Battaglia), Valentina Cervi (Silvia Battaglia). 107 min. Poor visual look. German subtitles. Viewed at Urania, Berlin Film Festival (Competition), 13 Feb 2005. An entry in the minimalist school of new Italian cinema, the story of an unconventional family. I saw 30 minutes.

One Day in Europe (in the presence of Hannes Stöhr and his team)

Hannes Stöhr: One Day in Europe (DE/ES 2005). The day of the Champions League final between Galatasaray and Deportivo la Coruña stops life in four European cities, adding to the problems of tourists in trouble, who are already struggling with the language barrier.

DE/ES 2005. PC: Moneypenny Filmproduktion. D+SC: Hannes Stöhr. DP: Florian Hoffmeister.

    MOSCOW starring Megan Gay (Kate), Ludmila Tsvetkova (Elena). 

    ISTANBUL starring Florian Lukas (Rokko), Erdal Yildiz (Celal). 

    SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA starring Peter Scherer (Gabor), Miguel de Lira (Sargento Barreira).

    BERLIN starring Rachida Brakni (Rachide), Boris Arquier (Claude). 

    100 min. Digital look. In seven languages. Released by Beta Cinema 1 / Beta Film, German subtitles. In the presence of the film-making team. 

    Viewed at Berlinale Palast, Berlin Film Festival (Competition) main screening, 12 Feb 2005. 

AA: Tales of four cities during the Champions' League football game. The pretext is much like Jim Jarmusch (Night on Earth, Coffee and Cigarettes), but Hannes Stöhr has a humoristic approach all his own. As it was close to midnight and this was the fifth film of the day, I had difficulty focusing, but this might be a film worth revisiting.

Brasileirinho / The Sound of Rio: Brasileirinho (2005 Berlin, in person: Mika Kaurismäki and team)

Mika Kaurismäki: Brasileirinho (BR/FI/CH 2005). A musical journey through the Choro.

Brasileirinho: Grandes Encontros de Choro

    BR/FI/CH © 2005 Marco Forster Productions / Marianna Films / Studio Uno. D: Mika Kaurismäki. M: Brazilian Choro music. Featuring Marcello Goncalves, Zé Paul Becker, Elza Soares. 90 min. Digital look. In Portuguese with German subtitles. In the presence of Mika Kaurismäki and eight other filmmakers / artists. Viewed at Delphi, Berlin Film Festival, 12 Feb 2005. A continuation to Moro do Brasil, this musical journey focuses on the Choro music tradition, older than the Samba. The first film was a panorama of the many kinds of popular music of Brazil; this one is more focused on one current. The music is great, the atmosphere infectuous. There was a discussion with the film-makers after the show hosted by Christoph Terhechte. ***

Hotel Rwanda

GB/ZA/US/IT (c) 2004 Kigali Films. D: Terry George. SC: Keir Pearson, Terry George. DP: Robert Fraisse. Starring Don Cheadle (Paul Rusesabagina), Sophie Okonedo (Tatiana), Joaquin Phoenix (Jack), Nick Nolte (Colonel Oliver). 121 min. In English. Released by Lions Gate Films, German subtitles. Viewed at Urania, Berlin Film Festival (competition), 12 Feb 2005. Digital look. Epic story of the 1994 Rwanda genocide centers at the hotel Mille Collines. The Belgian Hutu Paul Rusesabagina, married to the Tutsi Tatiana, fights for his operation and for the safety of his people in the middle of the unspeakable bloodbath. A dignified effort to help understand the harrowing goings-on where almost a million people lost their lives in a hundred days. ***

Asylum

David Mackenzie: Asylum (US/IE 2004) with Marton Csokas (Edgar Stark), Natasha Richardson (Stella) and Ian McKellen (Peter Cleave).

Vangitut. US/IE 2004. PC: Seven Arts Pictures. D: David Mackenzie. SC: Patrick Marber – based on the novel by Patrick McGrath. DP: Giles Nuttgens. Starring Natasha Richardson (Stella), Ian McKellen (Peter Cleave), Marton Csokas (Edgar Stark), Hugh Bonneville (Max Raphael), Joss Ackland (Mr. Straffen). 93 min. Distributed by Seven Arts / Sony Pictures, German subtitles. Viewed at Urania, Berlin Film Festival (Competition) 12 Feb 2005. Patrick Marber is the sharpest writer of dialogue of the moment: as in Closer, he provides excellent lines for top actors, and there is a strong audience reaction to his wit. After Young Adam, David Mackenzie again confirms his talent in creating a strong atmosphere. Both men seem to be inspired by sexual obsessions and strange passions. The film is compelling until midpoint. The tale of degradation through love is powerful but leaves me asking about the point. ***

Thumbsucker (2005 Berlin Film Festival)

Mike Mills: Thumbsucker (US 2004). Lou Taylor Pucci (Justin Cobb).

Thumbsucker team at Berlin Film Festival. Keanu Reeves, Tilda Swinton, Mike Mills, Lou Taylor Pucci.

US 2004. PC: This Is That. D+SC: Mike Mills – based on the novel by Walter Kim. DP: Joaquin Baca-Asay. Starring Lou Taylor Pucci (Justin Cobb), Tilda Swinton (Audrey Cobb), Vincent D'Onofrio (Mike Cobb), Keanu Reeves (Dr. Perry Lyman), Vince Vaughn (Mr. Geary). 94 min. Heavy digital look. With German subtitles. Viewed at Urania, Berlin Film Festival Competition, 12 Feb 2005. The 17-year-old Justin is still a thumbsucker: this is the starting-point of an original American growing-up story: painful, funny, with great dialogue, good actors. ***

Man to Man

FR/GB/ZA (c) 2005 Vertigo Productions / Skyline (Man to Man) / France 2 Cinéma / France 3 Cinéma / Boréales / The Imaginarium. D: Régis Wargnier. SC: Michel Fessler, Frédéric Fougea. DP: Laurent Dailland. Starring Kristin Scott Thomas (Elena van den Ende), Joseph Fiennes (Jamie Dodd), Lomama Boseki (Toko), Cécile Bayiha (Likola). 122 min. Digitally processed look (obvious loss of detail and definition in long shots of the jungle etc.). A Wild Bunch release. Original in English, with German subtitles by Heinz Schwarzinger. In the simultaneous video presence of Régis Wargnier, Kristin Scott Thomas, Joseph Fiennes, Lomama Boseki, Cécile Bayiha, etc. Viewed in CinemaxX 3, Berlin, 10 Feb 2005 (the parallel opening of the Berlin Film Festival). The story of a Central Africa jungle trader (Kristin Scott Thomas) and three Edinburgh scientists who believe they have found the missing link in 1870. The humanity of the two pygmies vs. the bigotry of the white ones. A fascinating story, soberly told, with good actors. ***

BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL 2005

Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) 10-20 Feb, 2005. I arrive as a guest of the "Information Tour for Film Experts" by Auswärtiges Amt / Goethe-Institut. Starting from the arrival at the airport everything is being taken care of. Hotel Angleterre by Checkpoint Charlie is within a 15 minute walking distance from the Festival center.
The touring group of 22 is global, with:
Gary Maddox (The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia)
Antonio Mazon Robau (Cinemateca de Cuba)
Christos Mitsis (director of The International Film Festival of Athens, Greece)
Blagoja Kunovski (The International Film Camera Festival, Skopje, Macedonia)
Ludmila Nemyria (The Ukraine Film Foundation)
Teboho Moseling Mahlatsi (film-maker, South Africa)
Mary-Beatrix Mugishagwe (tv and film producer, Daressalaam, Tanzania)
Youssef Sherif Rizkalla (director of the Cairo International Film Festival, Egypt)
Saleh Al-Suhaimi (film producer, Riad, Saudi Arabia)
Chalida Uabumrungjit (Thai Film Foundation), Bangkok, Thailand
Aviva Meiron (Cinematheque Jerusalem) Israel
Nicolas Deocampo (director, festival director) Manila, the Philippines
Ibrahim Moumni (Al Hayat) Beirut, Libanon
Bartosz Zurawiecki (Film monthly magazine) Warsaw, Poland
Misrobiddin Nugmanov (tv producer) Duschanbe, Tadzhikistan
David Melo Torres (film counsellor, Ministry of Culture) Bogota, Columbia
Futoshi Koga (Asahi Shimbun, film festival organizer) Tokyo, Japan
Ruoyu Yang (Radio and TV Team Shechuan) Chengdu, China
Alfredo Barría (film festival director, counselor of the ministry of culture, professor of film history) Valparaiso, Chile
Ricardo Bedoya (film critic and historian, co-organizer of the South American Film Festival) Lima, Peru
Mark Jenkins (journalist) Washington, D.C., USA
Our expert guides are Miriam Dagan, Anna Held, Luciana Sollero, and Hamza Chourabi.
We are invited to the Thursday evening opening gala, featuring Man to Man directed by Régis Wargnier.
On Friday 11 Feb we are given a special Information Tour Berlin by bus, hosted by the city planning expert Mr. Ares Kalandides. I have lived in West Berlin (Zehlendorf, Charlottenburg, Dahlem) for three years 20 years ago, and I was a Berlinale regular during the era of the great retrospectives (Babelsberg, Pommer, Special Effects, Colour, Scope) and before the film festivals boomed in Finland (we have film festivals every month now). Berlin has changed totally since: the wall came down, Berlin became the capital of Germany, and for years the largest construction site of the world. Now most of the re-building has been accomplished. The Tour offered an impressive view. We started at the Checkpoint Charlie, where a part of the Wall has been reconstructed in a new site. We toured through Friedrichshain, witnessed the impressive renovation of Karl-Marx-Allee, saw Prenzlauer Berg, drove thru the Jewish area around the Synagogue and the Charité hospital area, went past the giant Lehrter Bahnhof construction site, to be the hugest railway station in Europe, saw the new German government buildings and witnessed the finishing stage of the Holocaust memorial next to the Weimar-era Reichstaghaus. Of West Berlin we visited the tour of Staatsbibliothek, Nationalgalerie, Wittenbergplatz, KaDeWe, Kurfürstendamm, Bahnhof Zoo, and the Embassy Area. We drove through the Sony Center / Marlene-Dietrich-Platz media area, saw the Museum Island and witnessed the nothingness of Berlin Alexanderplatz, so central until the downfall of the Third Reich and so devastated since. We took a walk to the attractive Hackescher Hinterhöfe near the Goethe-Institut. All in all, it was a two-hour sighting of top architects from all over the world. Berlin with its huge area and many parks, forests and lakes is not a crowded metropolis. The big majority rent their apartments, there are not relatively many private cars, the BVG public transport system is excellent, and after the wall, brown coal is no longer used as fuel, as a result of which the air is cleaner and there are no longer smog alarms.

Vägar ut ur lådan

Irti laatikoista / Ways Out of the Box. FI (c) 2005 Astrid-Film. P+D+SC: Ywe Jalander. Featuring Reima Pietilä and Raili Pietilä. 58 min. Original in Digital Betacam. Original in Swedish, with Finnish subtitles. Introduced by Ywe Jalander. Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 9 Feb 2005. An exciting documentary on the visionary architects Reima Pietilä and Raili Pietilä. Many of their great projects are explored, including the Suvikumpu Project, the Dipoli, the Kaleva Church, the Finnish Embassy in New Delhi, the Metso Library, and the President's Mäntyniemi Residence. There are several insightful interviews. ***

Haapa ja bambu / Aspen and Bamboo (in person: Ywe Jalander)

Ywe Jalander: Haapa ja bambu / Aspen and Bamboo (FI 1997). Fujiwo Ishimoto: Marimekko Fabric Ruoko blue.

Aspen och bambun. FI © 1997 Astrid-Film. P+D+SC: Ywe Jalander. M: Paroni Paakkunainen. Featuring Fujiwo Ishimoto. 54 min. Betacam SP. Introduced by Ywe Jalander. Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 9 Feb 2005. Beautiful documentary on the Japan-born designer Fujiwo Ishimoto who settled in Finland as a young man and became a top artist for Marimekko and Iittala. There is a spiritual undercurrent between Japan and Finland. How design is inspired by nature. ***

Film concert Lazybones with Tuukka Terho (guitar) and Severi Salminen (violin)

Lazybones. Buck Jones (Steve "Lazybones" Tuttle).

US © 1925 Fox. D: Frank Borzage. SC: Frances Marion. DP: George Schneiderman. Starring Buck Jones (Steve "Lazybones" Tuttle), Madge Bellamy (Kit as a young woman), ZaSu Pitts (Ruth Fanning).
     MoMA print. 6395 ft /22 fps/ 78 min.
     Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 8 Feb 2005, with music by Tuukka Terho (guitar) and Severi Salminen (violin).

Borzage's second masterpiece invites comparison to Russian classics like Chekhov and Goncharov in its sense of the missed opportunities of life. Lazybones is the Oblomov of America: the world goes by, life goes by, and he is mostly content to fall asleep in a big tree by the riverside. Even WWI he experiences as a somnambulistic hero-by-accident. Having taking into his custody an abandoned baby he loses his girlfriend, and a generation later, as the baby is a young woman, he realizes that love has passed him by. Lazybones is a mirror to the question "what is life all about", what have all the others accomplished? This time I felt there is maybe a bit too much caricature, but there are several subtly humoristic scenes, including the laconic ending. ****

THE JUSSI GALA

THE JUSSI AWARDS FOR THE BEST FINNISH FILMS OF 2004
Best picture: Koirankynnen leikkaaja
Best director: Markku Pölönen (Koirankynnen leikkaaja)
Female lead: Outi Mäenpää (Kukkia ja sidontaa)
Male lead: Peter Franzén (Koirankynnen leikkaaja)
Female supporting role: Minttu Mustakallio (Lapsia ja aikuisia)
Male supporting role: Kari Väänänen (Juoksuhaudantie)
Screenplay: Markku Pölönen (Koirankynnen leikkaaja)
Cinematography: Kari Sohlberg (Koirankynnen leikkaaja)
Production design: Jussi Halonen, Samuli Halla, Petri Neuvonen (Pelikaanimies)
Costumes: Elina Kolehmainen (Keisarikunta)
Music: Sanna Salmenkallio (Melancholian 3 huonetta)
Sound design: Paul Jyrälä (Pelikaanimies)
Editing: Kimmo Taavila (Vares)
Documentary: Melancholian 3 huonetta / Pirjo Honkasalo
Popular favourite: Keisarikunta

The Jussi Gala took place at Studio 51, Helsinki, Sunday 6 Feb 2005. The Jussi Awards were given for the 60th time.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Brad Silberling: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (US 2004). Jim Carrey (Count Olaf), Kara Hoffman and Shelby Hoffman (Sunny Baudelaire), Emily Browning (Violet Baudelaire), Liam Aiken (Klaus Baudelaire).

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Lemony Snicketin surkeiden sattumusten sarja / Lemony Snicket's berättelse om syskonen Baudelaires olycksaliga liv. 

    US © 2004 Kumar Mor CCS. Released thru Paramount / DreamWorks. P: Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parks. 

     D: Brad Silberling. SC: Robert Gordon – based on the books by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler), The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, and the Wide Window. SC: Emmanuel Lubezki. PD: Rick Heinrichs. Special FX: Michael Lantieri. Visual FX: Stefen Fangmeier / Industrial Light and Magic. AN: beginning: Littlest Elf; end credits: Axiom Design. M: Thomas Newman. 

    Starring Jim Carrey (Count Olaf), Emily Browning (Violet Baudelaire), Liam Aiken (Klaus Baudelaire), Kara Hoffman and Shelby Hoffman (Sunny Baudelaire), Timothy Spall (Mr. Poe), Meryl Streep (Aunt Josephine), Jude Law (Lemony Snicket [voice]). 

    Family film / fairytale. 

    Released by Buena Vista Finland; Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Marko Hartama / Nina Ekholm. 

    Viewed at Kinopalatsi 10, Helsinki, 5 Feb 2005. 

An ambitious and wonderfully bizarre fairytale film. I'm not familiar with the books, thus incapable of comparison, but here there is a consistency of tone and an abundance of visual invention. Certainly to be revisited. Sophisticated digital look. ****

Shall We Dance? (2004)

Peter Chelson: Shall We Dance? (US 2004). At a Chicago dance studio, Paulina (Jennifer Lopez) inspires John Clark (Richard Gere) to dance.

Saanko luvan? / Får jag lov? 

    US © 2004 Miramax. D: Peter Chelsom. SC: Audrey Wells - based on the 1996 film by Masayuki Suo. DP: John de Borman. M: many styles of dance music. LOC: Winnipeg, Chicago.
    Starring Richard Gere (John Clark), Jennifer Lopez (Paulina), Susan Sarandon (Beverly Clark), Stanley Tucci (Link). 108 min.
    Released by Buena Vista Finland, Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Tarja Dibaja / Janne Staffans.
    Viewed in Tennispalatsi 11, Helsinki, 4 Feb 2005.

The 1996 Masayuki Suo film Shall We Dansu? was a wonderful celebration of dance and an interesting study of Japanese everyday life. The story of the middle-age salaryman who finds new vitality in dance was humoristic and sounded authentic. I remember thinking that it should be remade in Finland by Markku Pölönen. Now there is this American adaptation which takes the same story outlines and fills them with American detail. This is more a study on characters and relationships, and there is actually little great dancing in the film. Astaire and Charisse in The Band Wagon are glimpsed through a window on monitors. Still this perhaps calculatedly audience-pleasing film makes it point on the joy of dance, the actors are good, and the characters likeable. A good date movie. ***

Closer

Mike Nichols: Closer (US 2004). L to r: Clive Owen (Larry), Natalie Portman (Alice), Julia Roberts (Anna), Jude Law (Dan).

Iholla / Closer [title in Sweden] / Closer, entre adultes consentants / Hautnah. 

    US © 2004 Columbia. D: Mike Nichols. SC: Patrick Marber – based on his play. DP: Stephen Goldblatt. M: Mozart: Così fan tutte; Rossini: La Cenerentola. LOC: London. Starring Natalie Portman (Alice), Jude Law (Dan), Julia Roberts (Anna), Clive Owen (Larry). 106 min. Released by CTSN, Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Timo Porri / Janne Staffans. Viewed at Bristol, Helsinki, 4 Feb 2005 (date of Finnish premiere). Brilliant dialogue, brilliant actors, brilliant scenes. However, it starts to drag, get sour. In the end I found myself not caring about the characters. There's a lot to savour. Nichols, Marber and the actors in great form. To be recommended as modern film drama and a satire on modern life. ***

...

NB. 28 March 2026. I have not revisited Closer. It lingers in mind as brilliantly written and executed but also as a film with a daring surface and an icy undercurrent. Beyond the cool and stylish veneer, a sense of loss, solitude and emptiness.

Humoresque

Humoreski. US (c) 1920 International Film Service. PC: Cosmopolitan. P: W.R. Hearst, released thru Famous Players-Lasky / Paramount-Artcraft / Adolph Zukor. D: Frank Borzage. SC: Frances Marion - based on a story by Fannie Hurst. DP: Gilbert Warrenton. M: Hugo Riesenfeld, including Humoresque by Dvorák, Fritz Kreisler played the violin in the premiere. Starring Gaston Glass (Leon Kantor), Alma Rubens (Gina Berg = Minnie Ginsberg), Vera Gordon (Mama Kantor), Dore Davidson (Abraham Kantor). 5631 ft /20 fps/ 76 min. Beautiful toned print restored by UCLA, brief preserved scenes on the verge of decomposition. Viewed at the musicians' rehearsal screening at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 4 Feb 2005. Borzage's first masterpiece revisited, has lost none of its power. There is a special visual intensity, both in the glowing faces of the actors and the glimpses of Jewish life in New York. Borzage had already discovered the close-up as an art form. The faces of the old-timers seem to be inscribed with ancient history. This film started the great 1920s Jewish cycle in American cinema, another culmination of which was The Jazz Singer, a story which has many parallels with this one: the mother's love; the Kol Nidre / the mortal music. ****

Ba mùa / Three Seasons

Tony Bui: Ba mùa / Three Seasons (VN/US 1998). Nguyen Ngoc Hiep (Kien An). 

Kolme vuodenaikaa / Tre årstider. 

    VN / US 1998. PC: October Films / Quan Giai Phong / Open City Films. 

    D+SC: Tony Bui. DP: Lisa Rinzler. 

    Starring Don Duong (Hai), Nguyen Ngoc Hiep (Kien An), Zoë Bui (Lan), Harvey Keitel (James Hager). 

    A Kamras release. In Vietnamese and English with Finnish / Swedish subtitles. Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 3 Feb 2005. 

An impressive debut feature by Tony Bui, the first American film shot in Vietnam since the war. The film covers four stories in Shanghai. The atmosphere is wonderful, there is an intensive feeling of heat, of lived life. The colour cinematography is sensually, vibrantly photochemical. Worth revisiting (I saw the first 30 minutes only).

History Is Made at Night (1937)

History Is Made at Night. Charles Boyer (Paul Dumond), Jean Arthur (Irene Vail).

Kuin varas yöllä / Som en tjuv i natten / ...und ewig siegt die Liebe. US © 1937 United Artists. P: Walter Wanger. D: Frank Borzage. SC: Gene Towne, Graham Baker, additional dialogue by Vincent Lawrence, David Hertz. DP: David Abel. Starring Charles Boyer (Paul Dumond), Jean Arthur (Irene Vail), Leo Carrillo (Cesare), Colin Clive (Bruce Vail). 98 min.
    Good definition of light in an original language print with text frames in German only without sound.
    Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 3 Feb 2005.

Charles Boyer and Jean Arthur shine in a luminous romantic thriller with sparkling dialogue. Another example of how the Lubitsch touch and the Borzage touch came close in the 1930s, with much deeper feeling with Borzage. ****

Niskavuori taistelee / Niskavuori Fights

Edvin Laine: Niskavuori taistelee / Niskavuori Fights (FI 1957). The final image of the Niskavuori saga: beyond the rainswept window, the portrait of Loviisa, the grand old lady of Niskavuori (Elsa Turakainen). My screenshot from Elonet: Niskavuori taistelee.

Niskavuoris kamp. FI 1957. PC: Suomen Filmiteollisuus. D: Edvin Laine. SC: Juha Nevalainen - based on the play by Hella Wuolijoki Entäs nyt Niskavuori (1953). DP: Osmo Harkimo. PD: Aarre Koivisto (1920-2005). M: Heikki Aaltoila. Starring Elsa Turakainen (Loviisa, the old lady of Niskavuori), Mirjam Novero (Ilona, the young lady of Niskavuori), Tauno Palo (Juhani Mattila/Juhani Niskavuori Jr.), Martti Katajisto (Paavo, the son of Ilona). 96 min. Swedish subtitles. Beautiful, clean print viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 2 Feb 2005. The final play of the Niskavuori epic ends in 1945. Aarne, the lord of the house, falls in the war. Juhani, the illegitimate son, appears decades after his mother had left the house where she served as a maid. Loviisa, the old lady, is losing her strength, and the house is about to fall apart as all her surviving children want to sell it, but there is a future in Juhani Jr., Ilona, and Paavo. Laine and Nevalainen softened the bitter politics of the play, yet they turned out a marvellous epic film. Again several sequences are purely visual and have a documentary quality recording the hard work of the people of the home front. "I have often built on injustice. I won't take it with me", are among Loviisa's last words. The final camera movement from outside the Niskavuori manor on a rainy night stops at Loviisa's eyes looking at us from her portrait on the wall. Maybe ****

Une histoire d'eau / A Story of Water

Francois Truffaut & Jean-Luc Godard: Une histoire d'eau / A Story of Water 

FR 1958. PC: Les Films de la Pléiade. P: Pierre Braunberger. D: Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard. DP: Truffaut, completed by Godard. SC+ED+narration: Godard. Starring Caroline Dim and Jean-Claude Brialy. 13 min. 35 mm print from Cinemateket / Svenska Filminstitutet viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 30 Jan 2005. The title is a wordplay on Histoire d'O by Pauline Réage (pen name of Anne Desclos). Initiated by Truffaut who shot the big Paris floods with the actors, but brought to the finish by Godard, this is a droll short which manages to combine the spirit of both young film-makers. ****

The Day I Met Caruso

The Day I Met Caruso. Sandy Descher (Elizabeth), Lofti Mansieri (Enrico Caruso.

US © 1956 Hal Roach Studios. P: Willis Goldbeck. D: Frank Borzage. SC: Zoe Akins – based on a short story by Elizabeth Bacon Rodewald.
    Starring Lofti Mansieri (Enrico Caruso), Sandy Descher (Elizabeth). 25 min.
    Viewed at SEA, Orion, 30 Jan 2005.

A little Quaker girl sees Caruso on train and reproaches the star for his fancy ways: "Be worthy of thy gift!". Caruso spends the trip playing cards with the girl and singing. "O soave fanciulla" (Puccini: La Bohème), "Recitar!... vesti la giubba" (Leoncavallo: Pagliacci), "La donna è mobile" (Verdi: Rigoletto), "La Fleur que tu m'avais jetée" (Bizet: Carmen), "O sole mio", "Over There" (to WWI soldiers going to the front). The girl realizes that by cultivating the voice of his Caruso might be worthy of his gift. ****

Der Untergang / Downfall

Oliver Hirschbiegel: Der Untergang / Downfall (DE 2004). Bruno Ganz (Adolf Hitler).

Perikato / Undergången. DE © 2004 Constantin Film. P+SC: Bernd Eichinger – based on books by Joachim Fest and Traudl Junge & Melissa Müller. D: Oliver Hirschbiegel. Starring Bruno Ganz (Adolf Hitler), Juliane Köhler (Eva Braun / Hitler), Alexandra Maria Lara (Traudl Junge), Ulrich Mattes (Joseph Goebbels), Corinna Harfouch (Magda Goebbels). DP: Rainer Klausmann. PD: Bernd Lepel. 150 min. Released by Sandrew, Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Paula Kaurismäki / Patrik Edman. Viewed in Kinopalatsi 1, Helsinki, 30 Jan 2005. On Hitler's and Nazi Germany's last days in Berlin, this is a strong entry in the history of the war film, the historical film, and the biopic. It's powerful but nuanced. It shows the monsters as human beings yet does not apologize for them. It helps understand how it happened. The actors are excellent. The production values are very good. I saw the film on its premiere weekend, and quite evidently it is starting to grip a large audience in our country. ***

The Aviator

Lentäjä / Aviator. US (c) 2004 IMF. A Miramax release. D: Martin Scorsese. SC: John Logan. DP: Robert Richardson. PD: Dante Ferretti. Songs: "Howard Hughes" by Leadbelly, etc. ED: Thelma Schoonmaker. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio (Howard Hughes), Cate Blanchett (Katharine Hepburn), Kate Beckinsale (Ava Gardner). 170 min. Digital look. Released by CTSN, Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Timo Porri / Saliven Gustavson. Viewed at Bristol, Helsinki, 29 Jan 2005. An enjoyable biopic for a film buff. It really starts with Hughes's ambitious struggle to produce Hell's Angels at the dawn of sound film. Among other things, Hughes was a fascinating maverick film producer. We are also shown entertainingly his efforts in aviation. The climax is the Senate hearings of 1947. DiCaprio was the dynamo of this big project, and in the climax he is at his best. Cate Blanchett gives a Katharine Hepburn imitation (having just seen several Cukor / Hepburn films I'm not convinced, though). Kate Beckinsale does not have the Ava Gardner aura, but the characters of both Katharine and Ava are strongly written. Hughes's life was more interesting than I had expected. A great entertainment. I did not like the digital look of the film, nor do I think Scorsese's ambitious idea to follow various historical colour designs from Cinecolor and two-strip Technicolor to fuller colour designs works well in digital. There is something more that's missing than full colour. ***

Pakasteet / Frozen Goods

Risto Jarva: Pakasteet / Frozen Goods (FI 1969).

FI 1969. PC: Filminor / Paulig. D: Risto Jarva. M: Erkki Kurenniemi. Starring Jukka Sipilä, Erik Helenius, Tarja Markus. 15 min. Viewed at SEA, Orion, 28 Jan 2005, as a part of the Film and Design lecture. The promotion film celebrating 25 years of Paulig's frozen foods became a meta-filmic comedy and a comic setpiece of 1960s design. Jarva's inspiration in Tati and Tashlin is in evidence. ***

Powers of Ten

Charles Eames & Ray Eames: Powers of Ten (US 1977).

US 1977. PC: IBM / Charles & Ray Eames. Directed by Charles Eames and Ray Eames. M: Elmer Bernstein. FX: Alex Funke. 9 min. A print with Finnish commentary. Viewed at SEA, Orion, 28 Jan 2005, as part of the Film and Design lectures. Charles Eames and Ray Eames, the great designers, the husband-and-wife team, were also creative film-makers. The concept of this one is simple and magnificent: by powers of ten, we zoom out to the universe from a couple having a picnic in Chicago. Then we journey back again, and by negative powers, deep into the nuclear world. I thank Kaj Kalin for alerting me to this film. ****

Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta

Sången om den eldröda blomman / Das Lied von der feuerroten Blume / The Song of the Scarlet Flower. FI 1938. PC+D: Teuvo Tulio. Based on the novel by Johannes Linnankoski. Starring Kaarlo Oksanen (Olavi), Rakel Linnanheimo (Kyllikki), Mirjami Kuosmanen (Annikki), Nora Mäkinen (Elli), Birgit Nuotio (The Dark Girl). 110 min. English subtitles. Viewed in Filmmuseum Potsdam, 27 Jan 2005. The first Finnish film adaptation of the novel about the "Don Juan of the North", which had been filmed in Sweden twice before. It is a beautiful Nordic Bildungsroman about a man's romantic / erotic quest. There is more burning visual passion in Tulio than in the previous adaptations, and many of the actors are excellent. Stiller's version is the masterpiece, but all the others, save the last one by Niskanen, are worth seeing. Tulio's film is still one of the most popular Finnish films of all times. The director himself prevented his films being shown, and first since his death in 2000 they are being made available again. In Filmmuseum Potsdam, it's a part of a tribute including a beautiful photo exhibition. ***

7th Heaven (1927) (Movietone)

7th Heaven. Janet Gaynor (Diane), Charles Farrell (Chico)

Seitsemäs taivas / Sjunde himmeln. US © 1927 Fox. D: Frank Borzage. SC: Benjamin Glazer, Frances Marion – based on the play by Austin Strong. DP: Ernest Palmer. Songs: "Diane" (Ernö Rapée, Lew Pollack), "Seventh Heaven" (William Perry, Ronn Carroll).
    Starring: Janet Gaynor (Diane), Charles Farrell (Chico). Movietone 120 min.
    Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki 25 Jan 2005.

Borzage's first grand poem of love set in a stylized studio Paris where the lovers rise literally from the sewers towards heaven, the attic apartment where they are near the sky. WWI breaks out, and Chico is believed dead, but he comes back blind, yet "My eyes are still filled with you". This celebration of l'amour fou is moving because of Borzage's total sincerity. There is an interesting parallel to this in Un long dimanche de fiancailles. ****

Coffee and Cigarettes

Jim Jarmusch: Coffee and Cigarettes (US 2003).

Kahvia ja tupakkaa / Kaffe och cigaretter. 

    US © 2003 Smokescreen, Inc. 

    D+SC: Jim Jarmusch. DP (b&w): Tom DiCillo, Frederick Elmes, Ellen Kuras, Robby Müller. M: "Louie Louie" perf. by (1) Richard Berry & The Pharaohs (2) Tom Waits. "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" (Gustav Mahler) perf. by Janet Baker. 

    Starring Roberto Benigni, Steven Wright, Joie Lee, Cinqué Lee, Steve Buscemi, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Isaach De Bankolé, Cate Blanchett, Alfred Molina, Steve Coogan, GZA, RZA, Bill Murray, William Rice, Taylor Mead. 

    93 min

    Released by Cinema Mondo, Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Janne Mökkönen / Ditte Kronström. 

    Viewed in Tennispalatsi 14, Helsinki, 24 Jan 2005. 

AA: 11 vignettes, 17 years in the making, in the original minimalist Jarmusch style, and in his episodic style as in Night on Earth. There, the pretext was the taxi. Now, it's coffee and cigarettes. Seemingly a random collection, yet there are structures and themes. The vignettes are based on pairs, often opposites (Cate Blanchett's double role), there is the familiar Jarmusch comedy theme of the apparently cool meeting the apparently uncool, and there is his satirical motif of how fame can mess your personality. The audience obviously liked the film. ***

Man's Castle

Man's Castle. Loretta Young (Trina), Spencer Tracy (Bill). Please click to enlarge the image.

US © 1933 Columbia. P+D: Frank Borzage. SC: Jo Swerling. DP: Joseph August. Starring Spencer Tracy (Bill), Loretta Young (Trina), Glenda Farrell (Fay La Rue). 79 min.
    Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 23 Jan 2005.

The always surprising intimate romantic masterpiece by Borzage from the depths of the Great Depression. Never forgetting the grim conditions of reality, Borzage celebrates the power of transcendence. A major example of Hollywood before the code: after 1934, it was usually distributed in cut and changed versions. ****

Ray

Taylor Hackford: Ray (US 2004) with Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles.

Ray / Ray. US © 2004 Unchain My Heart. Released by Universal. D: Taylor Hackford. SC: James L. White. DP: Pawel Edelman. M: Ray Charles. Starring Jamie Foxx (Ray Charles), Kerry Washington (Della Bea Robinson), Regina King (Margie Hendricks). Curtis Armstrong (Ahmet Ertegun), Richard Schiff (Jerry Wexler). (Director's cut 178 min). 152 min. Digital look. Released by Buena Vista. Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Janne Staffans. Viewed at Tennispalatsi 12, 23 Jan 2005. The fine biopic boasts excellent interpretations from the actors and handles three delicate subjects. Race: how Ray Charles emerges from a poor single-mother home in the South and fights his way to the top as a black entertainer. Blindness: how he learns to live by the ear. Drugs: his struggle with heroine addiction. The music is wonderful, and the career from the Southern circuit to Seattle and from Atlantic to ABC/Paramount is very interestingly told. "I've Got A Woman", "What'd I Say", "Unchain My Heart", etc. are movingly integrated in the storytelling. Ray Charles is a major figure in the birth of soul. For lovers of soul and the Atlantic sound this is a must. At least ***

Un long dimanche de fiançailles / A Very Long Engagement

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Un long dimanche de fiançailles / A Very Long Engagement (FR/US 2004) with Audrey Tautou (Mathilde).

Pitkät kihlajaiset / En långvarig förlovning. FR/US © 2004 by 2003 Productions / Warner Bros. France / Tapioca / TF1. D: Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Based on the novel by Sébastien Japrisot. DP: Bruno Delbonnel. M: Angelo Badalamenti. PD: Aline Bonetto. FX: Jean-Baptiste Bonetto. Starring Audrey Tautou (Mathilde), Gaspard Ulliel (Manech). 134 min. Elaborate digital look. Released by Sandrews, French version with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Outi Kainulainen / Ditte Kronström, acknowledging the book translation by Annikki Suni. Viewed at Maxim 1, Helsinki, 22 Jan 2005. A dazzling film adaptation of Japrisot's novel is full of original visual invention. Jeunet's artistic world expands in this historical journey into WWI. I found myself admiring the effects, never forgetting the digital artifice. This is a quality film, but both the love and the war could be portrayed more movingly.

Lucky Star (silent version) (1990 NFM restoration) presented by Hervé Dumont

Lucky Star. Charles Farrell (Tim), Janet Gaynor (Mary). Please do click to enlarge the image.

Päivänsäde / Solstrålen. US © 1929 Fox. D: Frank Borzage. DP: Chester Lyons, William Cooper Smith. Starring Charles Farrell (Tim), Janet Gaynor (Mary).
    Originally released as a silent and in Movietone /24 fps/ 97 min.
    The film long believed lost was restored by Nederlands Filmmuseum 1990 as the silent version /24 fps/ 87 min.
    Presented by Hervé Dumont.
    Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 21 Jan 2005.

Borzage's final silent is a dream-like love poem in the Massachusetts countryside. In the tender friendship of Tim, the young Mary discovers her womanhood. Tim has returned from war confined into the wheelchair. He has turned his place into an enchanted cottage where he can fix most anything. Visually, the film is realized mostly in an atmosphere of grayness, until the finale takes place in dazzling snow. A noble spiritual journey in a world of poverty, even squalor, yet beyond realism. ****

The River (1929) (1993 La Cinémathèque Suisse / La Cinémathèque francaise reconstruction by Hervé Dumont) introduced by Hervé Dumont

The River (1929). Charles Farrell (Allen John), Mary Duncan (Rosalee).

Rakkauden virta / Hennes frestelse / La Femme au corbeau. US © 1929 Fox. D: Frank Borzage. DP: Ernest Palmer. M: Maurice Baron, Hugo Riesenfeld, Ernö Rapée. Starring Charles Farrell (Allen John), Mary Duncan (Rosalee).
    Original Movietone version was 72 min
    Fragmentary material survives in 16 mm only.
    The Hervé Dumont reconstruction with film footage, stills, and explanatory titles based on the script (La Cinémathèque Suisse / La Cinémathèque francaise 1993: 16 mm Movietone 55 min. Presented by Hervé Dumont.
    Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 20 Jan 2005.

Two strangers meet in the winter solitude of an abandoned sawmill: the innocent man and the woman who has seen it all. Borzage's version of the Garden of Eden has a mythical quality. It is extremely spare, but fully conscious of the elements: the river, the snow, the fire, the earth. There is primordial simplicity and directness in the Borzage touch. As Dumont says, this is a tale of desire, and the development of the mutual attraction is followed in enchanting scenes, as where the woman finds the naked man in the river, where the woman presses her body to the man to compare heights, where the man feels the woman's heartbeat, where the woman throws herself on the checkerboard that the man wants to suggest as the evening's entertainment, and where the woman rescues the man from freezing to death with the heat of her own body. The reconstruction makes sense of the whole. ****

Niskavuoren Heta / Heta from Niskavuori (2005 screening introduced by Anu Koivunen)

Edvin Laine: Niskavuoren Heta / Heta from Niskavuori (FI 1952). Lammentaustan Santeri (Leo Lähteenmäki) wants to see his son with Heta Harjula o.s. Niskavuori (Rauni Luoma) but she refuses. "Don't you have a heart?" "I once had a heart, but it froze in your hands".

Heta från Niskavuori. FI 1952. PC: Suomen Filmiteollisuus. P: T. J. Särkkä. D: Edvin Laine. SC: Hella Wuolijoki, Paula Talaskivi - based on the play by Wuolijoki (1950). DP: Pentti Unho. Starring: Rauni Luoma (Heta), Kaarlo Halttunen (Akusti), Mirjam Novero (Siipirikko), Martti Katajisto (Jaakko), Leo Lähteenmäki (Santeri). 93 min. Introduced by Anu Koivunen. Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 19 Jan 2005. The first masterpiece by Laine, already a veteran of the Finnish theatre and cinema. He had directed and carried the male leads of most of Hella Wuolijoki plays, but this first HW film of his is a very cinematic epic, with long purely visual sequences. Heta, the last to get married from the great Niskavuori manor, weds a farmhand, and they start to build their life from scratch. Heta's whole life is built on pride, to transcend the humiliation of being rejected by the man she loved ("Once I had a heart, but it froze in your hands"). Heta and Akusti build a new manor, even bigger than Niskavuori. But the real feat happens with humble Akusti who grows to be a wise and just leading figure of the municipality, to the end ignored by Heta. This epic of Finnish society from the 1890s to the 1920s even tackles the taboo subject of the 1918 Civil War quite strongly. It anticipates the concerns of Laine's films based on Linna (the unknown soldiers, the North Star cycle). ****

79 primaveras / 79 Springs (2005 screening)

Santiago Alvarez: 79 primaveras / 79 Springs (CU 1969).

79 Springs / 79 kevättä. 

    CU 1969. PC: ICAIC. D: Santiago Alvarez. Poems by Ho Chi Minh and José Marti. 

    35 mm print. 

    25 min

    The film has no spoken sound. The intertitles are in Spanish. 

    Screened at the Finnish Film Archive, Orion, Helsinki, 18 Jan 2005. 

    E-subtitles in Finnish by Mari Halonen. 

The official Cubanese obituary of Ho Chi Minh was created by Alvarez as a poem. The theme of death is conveyed via transitions from positive to negative. There is an inspired use of slow motion, surrealistic juxtapositions (screaming flowers opening, bombs exploding). The musical montage from Silvio Rodriguez, the passionate Cubanese song, and Iron Butterfly is effective. Alvarez plays film like Hendrix played the guitar. The finale is a cinematic explosion where the film itself is exposed as material with sprocket holes, scratches, and it's torn and burned. A high point of experimental film and visual music. This film was very popular among Finnish film aficionados of the time, and it has stood the test of time. It is one-sided, yet ****

MY BLOG NOTES ON 79 PRIMAVERAS

79 primaveras (2005 screening)

79 primaveras (2019 screening)

Du Kích Cu Chi / The Cuchi Guerrillas

Photo not from the movie. Nữ du kích Củ Chi.

VN 1967. PC: Xuong Phim Giai Phong (The Military Film Office). D: Tái Liên. 21 min. 35 mm, b&w.  Viewed at the Finnish Film Archive, Orion, Helsinki (Vietnam War, 30th Anniversary of the End of the Vietnam War), 18 Jan 2005. This veritable guide to guerrilla warfare helps understand how the US juggernaut was defeated. This military film is fascinating because of its matter-of-fact observations on everyday life under total war. Quite cinematic, with charming music.

Vietnam (Roman Karmen 1955)

Roman Karmen: Vietnam / Вьетнам / Việt Nam (SU/VN 1955).

Вьетнам / Việt Nam.

    SU/VN 1955. PC: Tsentralnaja studija dokumentalnyh filmov. D: Roman Karmen. 30 min excerpt from the end of the 90 min film made after Dien Bien Phu. 16 mm, colour, Finnish commentary. SEA print viewed at SEA (30th anniversary of the surrender of Saigon / series curated by Taina Dahlgren), Orion, Helsinki, 18 Jan 2005. The history of the Vietnam war as seen by daredevil Karmen.

Ho Chi Minh (1970)

Ho Chi Minh (VN 1970). Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) in 1946. Photo from Vietnamese Wikipedia - Bách khoa toàn thư mở (vi.wikipedia.org).

Hồ Chí Minh

VN 1970. First 21 min part from a three-part 60 min film. 35 mm colour. In Vietnamese without subtitles. Viewed at SEA, Orion, Helsinki, 18 Jan 2005. The official Vietnamese film obituary of Ho Chi Minh. Fascinating early Vietnamese footage from 1911 and later.

Emma och Daniel – mötet / Emma and Daniel: The Meeting

Ingela Magner: Emma och Daniel – mötet / Emma and Daniel: The Meeting (SE 2003). Maria Gidlöf (Emma), Staffe Soulis (Daniel).

Emma & Daniel – mötet / Emma ja Daniel – kohtaaminen. SE © 2003 Omega Film. D: Ingela Magner. Based on the novel by Mats Wahl. DP: Mats Olofsson – Super 16 mm>digital post>35 mm. LOC: Vuoggatgålme, Kvikkjokk. Starring Maria Gidlöf (Emma), Staffe Soulis (Daniel), Marie Richardson (Sara), Örjan Landström (Anders), Göran Schauman (Isak). Family viewing. Released by Kinoscreen. Finnish subtitles by Pirkko Lahti. Viewed in Kinopalatsi 3, Helsinki, 17 Jan 2005 (premiere week). A pleasant sample from the strong Swedish tradition of cinema about the young. It's also a part of a recent exciting multi-national cycle of films about the Far North (The Invisible Elina, The Cuckoo). Two single parents have a date in Lapland. Their 12-year-old children hate each other at first sight. Emma, the girl of Lapland lives in a trekking area outside the reach of electricity and even mobile phones. Daniel is the Stockholm nerd seemingly tied with an umbilical cord to his Lifebook. Guess who have a date next year.

Kuuban valloittajat / The Conquistadors of Cuba

Arto Halonen: Kuuban valloittajat / The Conquistadors of Cuba (FI 2005).

FI 2005. PC: Art Films Produktion. P+D+SC: Arto Halonen. M: Tuomas Kantelinen. Digibeta>35 mm. In Spanish, with English subtitles. Viewed at DocPoint closing gala, Bio Rex, Helsinki, 16 Jan 2005. The story of Cuba via the luxury Cadillacs, Chevrolets and Lincolns of Batista, Meyer Lansky, and Che Guevara, still maintained by experts.

Varis / Crow (2004)

Esa Nissi: Varis / Crow (FI 2004).

FI 2004. D: Esa Nissi. ED: Mika Ronkainen, Rostislav Aalto. Betacam SP. 36 min. Documentary. Viewed at DocPoint, Kiasma, Helsinki, 16 Jan 2005. A visually arresting essay on the crow's encounter with human civilization. 

... 

IMDb: "Esa Nissi's documentary about the symbiosis of man and crow. A story about a peasant crow which tries to adapt to modern city life. Winter is coming and nature no longer provides sufficient nutrition. The fosterling of the countryside has to change its lifestyle radically. Overwinter migration lies ahead. Luckily, unlike it's forefathers, the crow doesn't have to endure a flight to Middle Europe. The nearest city provides the means to survive. Could a swollen urbanized man help? Crow tells how the city community created by man embraces a migrant one autumn day."

Meän kesä / Our Summer

Mika Ronkainen: Meän kesä / Our Summer (FI 2004).

FI 2004. D: Mika Ronkainen. Betacam SP. 57 min. English subtitles. Documentary. Viewed at DocPoint, Kiasma, Helsinki, 16 Jan 2005. Deeply felt intimate documentary of a Northern Finnish family where a woman, the mother of five, takes her father who has Alzheimer's disease, to spend the summer in her childhood home.

Fata Morgana (2004)

Markku Lehmuskallio & Anastasia Lapsui: Fata Morgana (FI 2004). Photo + view movie at Yle Areena.

FI 2004. D: Markku Lehmuskallio, Anastasia Lapsui. DP: Johannes Lehmuskallio. AN: Katariina Lillqvist. 35 mm archival footage +35 mm animation + Super16 mm new live footage > digital intermediate > 35 mm. 59 min. Documentary. Viewed at DocPoint, Kiasma, Helsinki 15 Jan 2005. Lehmuskallio and Lapsui at their best in a powerful study on the Chukchi culture by the Bering Strait. They combine creatively archival footage, interviews and even animation for mythology.

Krooli

The Crawl. FI 2004. P: Marko Röhr. D+ED: PV Lehtinen. DP: Pasi Pauni. Digibeta>35mm scope. 26 min. Viewed at DocPoint, Kiasma, Helsinki, 15 Jan 2005. A beautiful essay on the world of female swimming champions. A poem about the encounter of the swimmer and the waterworld.

Darwin's Nightmare

Hubert Sauper: Darwin's Nightmare (AT/BE/FR 2004).

Darwinin painajainen.

AT/BE/FR 2004. D: Hubert Sauper. Video>35 mm. 107 min. Viewed at DocPoint, Forum 1, Helsinki, 15 Jan 2005. Documentary. A nightmare on the Victoria Lake, where the Nile Perch, introduced by man, has upset the ecosystem of the lake and the society around it. A deeply worrying look into a case of globalization. (I viewed the first half only as I got tired on the heavy video look on the big screen.)

Hearts and Minds (2000 Academy Film Archive preservation)

Peter Davis: Hearts and Minds (US 1974).

US 1974. PC: BBS. P: Henry Lange, Bert Schneider. D: Peter Davis. Featuring Daniel Ellsberg, J. W. Fulbright, Walt Rostow, William C. Westmoreland, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, George S. Patton IV, Ronald Reagan, etc. 112 min. 16 mm>35 mm. A fine print of the 2000 preservation by Academy Film Archive. Documentary. Viewed at Docpoint, Bio Rex, Helsinki, 15 Jan 2005. First screening in Finland of the classic film. So far, I had thought The Year of the Pig is the best film on the Vietnam war, but this one shares the distinction. Like De Antonio's film, it gives us the chance to listen to all sides. ****

Touching the Void

GB 2003. D: Kevin Macdonald. 106 min. HD Video>35mm. Viewed at DocPoint, Forum 1, Helsinki, 15 Jan 2005. Reconstructed true story of the 1985 trek of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates in the Siula Grand Mountain in the Peruvian Andes. More thrilling than most thrillers, a profoundly moving study on the fight for life in extreme danger. The funniest moment: at the edge of the bottomless ravine the man hears in his mind the music of Boney M ("Brown Girl In A Ring"), even though he does not even like it.

Rich and Famous

Rich and Famous. Candice Bergen, Jacqueline Bisset.

Rikas ja kuuluisa / Rik och berömd. US 1981. PC: MGM. D: George Cukor. Based on the play Old Acquaintance (1940) by John Van Druten.
    Starring Jacqueline Bisset, Candice Bergen, Meg Ryan. 116 min.
    Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Marjatta Kaija / Anna-Lisa Holmqvist.
    Viewed at SEA, Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 14 Jan 2005.

The final film of George Cukor ended our tribute to the master whose career lasted 50 years and 50 films. A surprise, a film worth reconsidering: Cukor still in full form with a modernized version of the popular play, the story of the love-hate relationship of two women over several decades.

Bisset is the serious and long-suffering author, Bergen the bestselling novelist. Cukor's direction of the actresses is emotionally rich. Funny dialogue, never a dull moment. Satirical and tender. Cukor, having lived through the Production Code, enjoys the post-Code freedom, also expressing epithets about "homosexuals and Jews". The final meeting of the women even charmingly opens the possibility that their relationship might be more than friendship. ***

Paha maa / Frozen Land

FI © 2005 Solar Films.
   D: Aku Louhimies. SC: Paavo Westerberg, Jari Rantala, Aku Louhimies – inspired by the tale of Tolstoy "The False Coupon". DP: Rauno Ronkainen.
    C: Pertti Sveholm, Jasper Pääkkönen, Mikko Leppilampi, Pamela Tola, Matleena Kuusniemi, Samuli Edelmann, Sulevi Peltola, Mikko Kouki.
    130 min. Digital look.
    Released by Buena Vista International Finland.
    Viewed at sold-out Tennispalatsi 1, Helsinki, on the premiere date 14 Jan 2005.

A grim tale of several intersecting destinies of unemployment, homelessness, greed, and alcohol. A pitch-black look into contemporary life. A false banknote sets the action on its course as in Tolstoy's tale, which also inspired important films by Berthold Viertel / Béla Balázs (Die Abenteuer eines Zehnmarkscheines) and Robert Bresson (L'Argent); but the film of Louhimies is completely original. It's kind of an antithesis to some founding films of the current modern wave of Finnish cinema (Onnen maa , and the feature debut of Louhimies, Levottomat). Certainly a major film worth re-visiting. Maybe ****

Olipa kerran Utopia / Once Upon a Time There Was a Utopia

Lasse Naukkarinen: Olipa kerran Utopia / Once Upon a Time There Was a Utopia (FI 2004).

FI 2004. D: Lasse Naukkarinen. 90 min. Beta SP. Viewed at DocPoint, Bio Rex, Helsinki, 12 Jan 2005 (opening gala). Documentary. The video autobiography of the director-cinematographer from the early 1960s Radicalism, through the Communist Odyssey, and to the present day. Fascinating glimpses on the protest against the Prague repression, on Vietnam and Chile activism, on a labour brigade in Cuba. This is hopefully a prologue to more film / video essays on the years of political and cultural engagement.