Palme

Maud Nycander, Kristina Lindström: Palme (SE/DK 2012).

Palme.
    SE/DK © 2012 B-Reel AB. P: Fredrik Heinig, Mattias Nohrborg.
    D: Maud Nycander, Kristina Lindström. DP: Anders Bohman, Magnus Berg – digital post-production: The Chimney Pot. Graphic design and AN: Martin Hultman. M: Benny Andersson. ED: Andreas Jonsson, Niels Pagh Andersen, Hanna Lejonqvist. Research: Jonas Goldmann, Anneli Kustfält, Lars-Olof Lamperts.
    Multi-lingual in Swedish and other languages. Palme himself speaks good English, Swedish, French, and Spanish in the archival footage.
    105 min. [Announced: a tv series version Palme I–III, 3 x 58 min.].
    Released by Scanbox Finland with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Scandinavian Text Service [Swedish subtitles for non-Swedish passages only].
    2K DCP viewed at Kinopalatsi 6, Helsinki, 10 Nov 2012 (weekend of Finnish premiere).    

Featuring (as listed in Svensk filmdatabas): Olof Palme [archival], Lisbet Palme, Joakim Palme, Mårten Palme, Mattias Palme, Ulf Adelsohn, Roy Andersson, Carl Bildt, Ingvar Boman, Ingvar Carlsson, Jörn Donner, Lars Edelstam, Kjell Olof Feldt, Anders Ferm, Carl Johan De Geer, Jan Guillou, Richard Guston, Christina Jutterström, Anette Kullenberg, Anna-Greta Leijon, Thage G. Peterson, Olof Ruin, Mona Sahlin, Pierre Schori, Desmond Tutu. – More people featured in archival footage: see my rough notes beyond the jump break.

Synopsis from Svensk filmdatabas: "It's 25 years since the February night when Olof Palme was shot dead on the streets of Stockholm, changing Sweden forever overnight. Palme is the film about his life and times, and about the Sweden he helped to create. A man who changed history."

AA: A magnificent documentary portrait on Olof Palme (1927–1986). Palme was a statesman with an international stature and dignity, never avoiding controversy, and this movie is worthy of him.

The documentary is obviously authorized by the Palme family which has given access to the home movies of the family. Yet it is not a glossy and sanitized portrait; the attempt is rather warts and all.

Palme never avoided debate, conflict, and controversy, and neither does this movie which also deals with sensitive and difficult aspects of the Palme story, including the IB scandal of blacklisting political opponents.

One of those aspects is that Palme was vocal on Vietnam but not always so alert about injustice next door, although he condemned the Prague repression in 1968. In Finland it was even more so. It was easy to condemn Pinochet although we knew what was going on in Estonia.

The movie has a strong vision about welfare society, fought for by the social democrats, but becoming common property in the 1980s, as Jörn Donner gets to state here.

The public and official statements of little Sweden on behalf of international solidarity and against aggression, dictatorship and racism are now seen in the perspective of history. The statements did matter.

And the Swedish welfare model, top of the world, did matter, not least in Finland.

Compilation quality with source footage ranging from home movie 8 mm to tv video quality to newly filmed interviews.

BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK: EVEN ROUGHER NOTES:

Arbitrage

Keinottelua / Bedragaren. US © 2012 Arbitrage LLC. P: Laura Bickford, Justin Nappi, Robert Salerno, Kevin Turen. D+SC: Nicholas Jarecki. DP: Yorick Le Saux - Camera: Arricam LT, Cooke S4 and Angenieux Optimo Lenses - Laboratory: DeLuxe, New York (NY), USA - Film length (metres): 2916 m (Portugal, 35 mm) - Film negative format: 35 mm (Kodak Vision3 200T 5213, Vision3 500T 5219, Vision2 Expression 500T 5229) - Cinematographic process: Digital Intermediate (4K) (master format), Super 35 (3-perf) (source format) - Printed film format: 35 mm (spherical), D-Cinema - Aspect ratio: 1.85:1. PD: Beth Mickle. AD: Michael Ahern. Set dec: Carrie Stewart. Cost: Joseph G. Aulisi - Brioni (Richard Gere) - Mendel (Susan Sarandon - tbc). Makeup: Joelle Troisi. Hair: Pamela May. VFX: Alvernia Studios - Mikolaj Valencia. M: Cliff Martinez. "I See Who You Are" (Björk, Mark Bell) perf. Björk. S: Alvernia Studios - Piotr Witkowski. ED: Douglas Crise. Casting: Laura Rosenthal. C: Richard Gere (Robert Miller), Susan Sarandon (Ellen Miller), Tim Roth (Det. Michael Bryer), Brit Marling (Brooke Miller), Laetitia Casta (Julie Côte), Nate Parker (Jimmy Grant), Stuart Margolin (Syd Felder), Chris Eigeman (Gavin Briar), Graydon Carter (James Mayfield), Bruce Altman (Chris Vogler), Larry Pine (Jeffrey Greenberg). Loc: New York City. 106 min. Released by FS Film with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Suvi Tohmo / Carina Laurila-Olin. 2K DCP viewed at Kinopalatsi 7, Helsinki, 10 Nov 2012 (premiere weekend).

Official synopsis: "Arbitrage, the feature directorial debut of writer Nicholas Jarecki, is a taut and alluring suspense thriller about love, loyalty, and high finance. When we first meet New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Miller (Richard Gere) on the eve of his 60th birthday, he appears the very portrait of success in American business and family life. But behind the gilded walls of his mansion, Miller is in over his head, desperately trying to complete the sale of his trading empire to a major bank before the depths of his fraud are revealed. Struggling to conceal his duplicity from loyal wife Ellen (Susan Sarandon) and brilliant daughter and heir-apparent Brooke (Brit Marling), Miller's also balancing an affair with French art-dealer Julie Côte (Laetitia Casta). Just as he's about to unload his troubled empire, an unexpected bloody error forces him to juggle family, business, and crime with the aid of Jimmy Grant (Nate Parker), a face from Miller's past. One wrong turn ignites the suspicions of NYPD Detective Michael Bryer (Tim Roth), who will stop at nothing in his pursuits.  Running on borrowed time, Miller is forced to confront the limits of even his own moral duplicity. Will he make it out before the bubble bursts?"

Arbitrage is a strong contribution to the cinematic accounts of an essential contemporary theme, epic fraud in the world of big finance, handled with distinction in documentaries such as The Inside Job, studied in more general-allegoric ways in Cosmopolis based on the novel by Don De Lillo, and appearing as a central theme in modern fantasy adventures such as The Dark Knight Rises (Bruce Wayne loses his entire property in financial fraud masterminded by his supposed partner Miranda Tate). Oliver Stone has also contributed with a well-timed sequel - Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

The roots of this kind of fiction go back to Émile Zola and his novel L'Argent (1890), filmed with distinction by Marcel L'Herbier in 1928 just before the Wall Street crash and the Great Depression. During the Depression itself the world of financial speculation was impressively covered by artists such as Julien Duvivier in David Golder, based on the novel by Irène Némirovsky, and Max Ophuls in his brilliant Komedie om Geld.

In the 1980s there was a huge rise of what we in Finland called "casino economy" with financial gambling, swindling, fraud and speculation rampant, along with the early information technology bubbles. There were unheard-of dimensions to credit and speculation. Tom Wolfe caught something of the spirit of the age in his novel about "the Masters of the Universe", The Bonfire of the Vanities, not quite successfully filmed by Brian De Palma. Oliver Stone had more success in his original Wall Street ("greed is good"), where he could draw on family experience on Wall Street dealers (his father was one).

Nicholas Jarecki in Arbitrage is aware of the tradition, and The Bonfire of the Vanities looms in the background with its subplot of the master of the universe covering up his participation in a fatal car crash.

Today I read in Financial Times Weekend that the role of the one percenters has been exaggerated. It is those who belong to the one per mille whose influence is huge. Robert Miller (Richard Gere) is one of them.

Arbitrage is about facade and reality. It starts with the 60th birthday of the protagonist ("age is about mind over matter: when you don't mind it doesn't matter"), it's all smiles and happiness on the surface. Behind the sunny, glossy surface the business is based on fraud, and Robert breaks her daughter Brooke's heart when she finds out that her father has cooked company books. Robert has already broken his wife Ellen's heart by focusing his love-life on his French mistress Julie, an art dealer. When Julie dies in a car crash caused by Robert the accused is the young black Nate whom Robert had summoned to help.

Robert is a villain about to face two trials, for fraud and for manslaughter. But his cooked books work and he manages to sell his company and save himself financially before the bubble bursts. And the over-eager policeman on the case of the car crash makes the mistake of faking evidence about Nate's car entering a certain road, and when the policeman is exposed, the case against Nate (and Robert) is dismissed.

Robert has evaded legal justice, but he still has to face his daughter and wife who have lost their respect towards him. In the eyes of those closest to him he is a fake. Ellen knows about Robert's guilt in the killing and blackmails him: "I'm not going to lie if you don't sign" (their separation agreement with heavy terms). In Julie's funeral nobody knows about Robert's guilt except Robert, himself. The film ends with a benefit gala where Robert is celebrated as a philanthropist, the introductory speech given by Brooke. The film ends abruptly as Robert is about to take the floor.

Memorable features: - Robert's lawyer advises Robert to tell the truth, because with lies, everything gets worse. - Like in Shadow of a Doubt, the protagonist is a villain who is not caught and convicted but who loses the trust of his closest ones and gets stuck in a web of lies. - Nate: "Money's gonna fix everything?" Robert: "What else is there?" - "Nothing's beyond money with you." - "The world's cold. You gonna need a warm coat."

Arbitrage has been shot on 35 mm film, but the visual quality in the digital screening was only passable, not very good. The restrictions of the digital intermediate were especially notable in nature footage.

2 Days In New York

2 päivää New Yorkissa / 2 dagar i New York. DE/FR/BE © 2012 Polaris Films, Senator Film Produktion, Saga Film, Tempête Sous un Crâne, Alvy Productions, In Production, TDY Filmproduktion, BNP Paribas Fortis Film Fund [exact list tbc]. P: Scott Franklin, Ulf Israel, Christophe Mazodier, Jean-Jacques Neira, Hubert Toint. D: Julie Delpy. SC: Julie Delpy, Alexia Landeau - story: Alexia Landeau, Alexandre Nahon - add. dialogue: Alexandre Nahon. DP: Lubomir Bakchev - Camera: Arri Alexa, Zeiss Ultra Prime Lenses - Source format: Codex - Cinematographic process: ARRIRAW (source format), Digital Intermediate (2K) (master format) - Printed film format: 35 mm (spherical), D-Cinema DCP - Aspect ratio: 1.85:1. PD: Judy Rhee. AD: Charles Kulsziski. Set dec: Shelley Barclay. Cost: Rebecca Hofherr. Makeup: Julia Lallas. VFX: Cédric Fayolle. Songs written and sung by Julie Delpy. S: Gert Janssen. ED: Julie Brenta, Isabelle Devinck. Casting: Jessica Kelly, Suzanne Smith. C: Chris Rock (Mingus), Julie Delpy (Marion), Albert Delpy (Jeannot), Alexia Landeau (Rose), Alexandre Nahon (Manu), Kate Burton (Bella), Dylan Baker (Ron), Daniel Brühl (The Oak Fairy), Talen Ruth Riley (Willow), Owen Shipman (Lulu), Malinda Williams (Elizabeth), Carmen Lopez (Julia), Emily Wagner (Susan), Arthur French (Lee Robinson), Petronia Paley (Carol Robinson), Alex Manette (John Kelly), Vincent Gallo (Vincent Gallo). Bilingual: in English and in French. 95 min. Released by Cinema Mondo with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Outi Kainulainen / Markus Karjalainen. 2K DCP viewed at Tennispalatsi 8, Helsinki, 9 Nov 2012 (day of Finnish premiere).

Official synopsis (Magnolia Pictures): "Marion and Mingus live cozily—perhaps too cozily—with their cat and two young children from previous relationships. However, when Marion’s jolly father (played by director Delpy’s real-life dad), her oversexed sister, and her sister’s outrageous boyfriend unceremoniously descend upon them for a visit, it initiates two unforgettable days that will test Marion and Mingus’s relationship. With their unwitting racism and sexual frankness, the French triumvirate hilariously has no boundaries or filters... and no person is left unscathed in its wake."

"Directed and cowritten by Delpy, 2 Days in New York is a deliciously witty romp. One of the pleasures of this follow-up film to 2 Days in Paris is the addition of Chris Rock, who—amid the Gallic mayhem—convincingly plays the straight man as Marion’s hipster American boyfriend. With great skill and energy, Delpy heightens cultural differences to comedic extremes but also manages to show that sometimes change is the best solution to a relationship that’s been pushed to its limit." (official synopsis)

Two Finnish expressions occurred to me while watching 2 Days In New York: Perhe on pahin [The Family Is the Worst], the Finnish title for the sitcom All In the Family - and Hullunkuriset perheet [Zany Families], the Finnish title for the children's playing card set Happy Families.

The blended family of Marion and Mingus represent "the straight ones" in this New York comedy in which the guests from Paris - father Jeannot, sister Rose, her boyfriend Manu - are the wild force, enfants et parents terribles, who break all the rules. But also Marion is a walking catastrophe in her dealings with key contactpeople in the art gallery where she opens her photo exhibition, an intimate chronicle, a reflection of herself and her ex-boyfriend in bed under the sheets. The most striking feature in her exhibition is that not only has she offered these large photographs of her private life for sale but she has also offered her soul for sale for the highest bidder. The price, it turns out, is 5000 dollars. She even meets the buyer (Vincent Gallo!) because she wants her soul back, but Vincent Gallo, instead, would like to get the instruction manual.  For the confused Marion the action has been "a conceptual statement".

Memorable features: - The rampage of the terrible Frenchmen in New York, exceeding all stereotypes. - The blitz montages. - The Halloween theme and the death drive in the little black girl. - The creepy art critic John Kelly: "I like the theme more than the execution". - The neighbours are led to believe that Marion is mortally ill with brain tumour, and they buy all the photographs in the exhibition because "they'll be worth a fortune soon". - The Thai masseurs who are actually Vietnamese. Marion's father was born in French Indochina, in the same village, it turns out, as the masseurs. - In the conclusion Marion saves a pigeon from protective metal wiring in Central Park, and its flight to the sky puts things into a new perspective. - Mingus's dialogues with a cardboard Obama are a running feature. In the conclusion Marion and Mingus have a little Obama (albeit a girl) of their own, and Marion presents her a hand puppet show of her parents' love story.

The most memorable condensation of the movie is Mingus's remark to Marion: "ever since your family came you are a different person". He even considers whether Marion is a "psycho bitch". Not.

No problem with the visual quality. Almost all footage is of built space, interiors, street views, close-ups or medium shots. In Central Park the nature is glimpsed only very quickly or it is out of focus, and we get just a general impression of the autumn colours.

Bab el hadid / Gare Centrale / Central Station

Keskusasema. EG 1958. P: Gabriel Talhami. D: Youssef Chahine. SC: Abdel Hay Adib – dialogue: Mohamed Abu Youssef. DP: Alevise Orfanelli – black and white – 1,37:1. AD: Gabriel Karraze (art dir.), Abbas Helmy (set dec.). Makeup: Sayed Mohamed, Hamdi Rafaat. M: Fouad El-Zahry. S: Aziz Fadel. ED: Kamal Abul Ela. C: Youssef Chahine (Kenaoui / Qinawi), Hind Rostom (Hanuma), Farid Shawqi (Abou Serib), Has-san el Baroudi, Abdel Ghani Nagdi, Abdel Aziz Kha-lil, Naima Wasfy, Said Khalil. Loc: Cairo (Egypt). In Arabic. Tv transmissions in Finland: YLE Teema 21.10.2007, 7.6.2009. Sources give different durations: 95 min, 90 min, 77 min. The 77 min version played back at 25 fps from a digibeta (the best format available) from Pyramide, opening credits written in Arabic and English, sous-titres français par Frédéric Benaoui, e-subtitles in Finnish by Lena Talvio, viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki (The Train In the Cinema), 6 Nov 2012.

The Cairo Central Station is the milieu of criss-crossing destinies among refreshment and newspaper sellers and porters, some of whom are working without permit and constantly hiding from the police, while there is a rising awareness of the need of getting organized into trade unions. There are idlers and hangers-on, too, on the scene.

The story is full of life in the same way as the first neorealistic movies by Roberto Rossellini. The milieux, clothes and life circumstances seem real and true to life, but this is also a movie about dreams and passions, conveyed in terms of melodrama and crime fiction. There is a dance sequence to Egyptian-flavoured contemporary pop music, and the sexually frustrated Kenaoui covers his walls with images of buxom pin-up girls. Coca-Cola is among the beverages sold to great demand in the sultry central station. In the same way as the original Italian neorealistic movies Bab el hadid is a movie about life in poverty, but most importantly, it is about an irrepressible life-force that has the potential to transcend any hardship. No miserabilism here.

The teeming life on a railway station has never been more vividly conveyed. The crowds are enormous, the trains are constantly on the move, the work of the porters is hard, and one porter's hand is badly injured. Women sell refreshments illegally and are constantly on the run when policemen appear. There are also instances of danger and last-minute rescues from approaching trains in situations even involving children.

The railway station is a site of modernity, mobility, urbanity, rootlessness and alienation. These people have emerged from the countryside not too long ago. Close-ups of rails, gears, pistons and wheels, and sounds of steam trains acquire psychological and symbolic meanings. They function as expressions of Kenaoui's deranged state of mind.

The women are full of temperament and vitality, even vulgarity, and there is a sexy sequence where they drench each other with a big water hose. There is also a sequence about an Anti-Marriage Society For Women with the slogan "Marriage Is A Device Of Oppression".

Boldly, the director Youssef Chahine himself plays the main role of the madman of the station, Kenaoui, always wearing a torn wool cap. He limps, and he is seriously unbalanced, fantasizing about the voluptuous Hanuma, and deciding to stab her to death; instead he almost manages to murder another woman, Hallawetumi. In the conclusion, Kenaoui is deported from the station in a strait-jacket after another attempt to stab Hanuma with his knife. Kenaoui is a pitiful character, "a kind word may soften him, an evil deed may make him a murderer".

There is vitality also in the cinematography. There are vigorous camera movements, brisk instances of cutting, an exciting use of deep focus, and extreme close-ups of glowing eyes.

The digibeta was the best that was available for our screening. Produced from a flawless and scratchless source it conveys the visual outline and composition very well, but fine detail is missing from the video look of Digital Betacam.

Comme un chef / The Chef

Daniel Cohen: Comme un chef / The Chef (FR/ES 2012) with Jean Reno (Alexandre Lagarde), Michaël Youn (Jacky Bonnot). The Finnish tagline plays with the proverb "too many cooks spoil the soup".

Le Chef - rakkaudesta ruokaan / Le Chef. 

    FR/ES © 2012 Gaumont / TF1 Films / A Contracorriente Films. P: Sidonie Dumas. D+SC: Daniel Cohen. DP: Robert Fraisse - camera: Arri Alexa Plus. PD: Hugues Tissandier. Cost: Emmanuelle Youchnovski. SFX: Guy Monbillard. VFX: Nicolas Borens. M: Nicola Piovani. S: Rym Debbarh-Mounir. ED: Géraldine Rétif. 

    C: Jean Reno (Alexandre Lagarde), Michaël Youn (Jacky Bonnot), Raphaëlle Agogué (Béatrice), Julien Boisselier (Stanislas Matter), Salomé Stévenin (Amandine), Serge Larivière (Titi), Issa Doumbia (Moussa), Bun-hay Mean (Chang), Pierre Vernier (Paul Matter), Santiago Segura (Juan), Geneviève Casile (Béatrice's mother), André Penvern (Béatrice's father), Rebecca Miquel (Carole). - Virgile Bramly, Élodie Hesme (restaurant critics).

    85 min. 

    Released by Atlantic Film with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Janne Kauppila / Kajsa Wickström. 

    2K DCP viewed at Kinopalatsi 9, Helsinki, 2 Nov 2012 (day of Finnish premiere).

Official synopsis: "Jacky Bonnot, 32 ans, amateur de grande cuisine, au talent certain, rêve de succès et de grand restaurant. La situation financière de son couple le contraint cependant d’accepter des petits boulots de cuistot qu’il n’arrive pas à conserver. Jusqu’au jour où il croise le chemin d’Alexandre Lagarde, grand chef étoilé dont la situation confortable est mise en danger par le groupe financier propriétaire de ses restaurants..."

AA: Feelgood entertainment: a well-made comedy with sharp dialogue, excellent performances and brilliant timing. The clash is between the celebrity chef Alexandre Lagarde (Jean Reno) and the never-heard Jacky Bonnot who does have real talent in la grande cuisine. 

The famous Lagarde restaurant is in danger of losing one of its stars which would mean that Lagarde, himself, would be fired. On the day of the restaurant trial Lagarde stays out and attends his daughter's thesis defense trial, instead. Jacky Bonnot is left to take care of everything, and the wily owner who wants to oust Lagarde has arranged that the kitchen is empty. The situation is saved with an inspired interpretation of molecular cuisine.

The actors relish their interpretations of the star chef and the wannabe chef with bigger-than-life egos.

The visual quality of the presentation was good.

Argo

Argo / Argo. US © 2012 Warner Bros. Pictures. PC: GK Films. P: Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Grant Heslov. D: Ben Affleck. SC: Chris Terrio - based on the article "Escape from Tehran" by Joshuah Bearman in Wired magazine. DP: Rodriego Prieto - Camera: Arri Alexa Plus, Hawk V-Lite, V-Plus, V-Series, Zeiss Super Speed, Ultra Prime and Angenieux Optimo Lenses; Arricam LT, Hawk V-Lite, V-Plus, V-Series, Zeiss Super Speed, Ultra Prime, Angenieux Optimo and Canon Lenses; Arricam ST, Hawk V-Lite, V-Plus, V-Series, Zeiss Super Speed, Ultra Prime, Angenieux Optimo and Canon Lenses; Bolex H16 REX-5, Kern-Paillard Switar and Angenieux Lenses; Canon 1014 AZ - Laboratory: EFilm (digital intermediate) - Film negative format: 16 mm (Kodak Vision3 250D 7207, Vision3 500T 7219), 35 mm (Kodak Vision3 250D 5207, Vision3 500T 5219, Vision2 500T 5260), 8 mm (Kodak Vision3 500T 5219, Ektachrome 100D 5285), Digital - Cinematographic process: ARRIRAW (2.8K) (source format) (some scenes), Digital Intermediate (4K) (master format), Hawk Scope (anamorphic) (source format), Super 16 (source format) (some shots), Super 35 (source format) (some scenes), Super 8 (source format) (some shots), Techniscope (source format) (some scenes) - Printed film format: 35 mm (partial blow-up) (Fuji), D-Cinema - Aspect ratio: 2.35:1. PD: Sharon Seymour. AD: Peter Borck, Deniz Göktürk. Set dec: Jan Pascale. Cost: Jacqueline West. Makeup: Kate Biscoe. Hair: Kelvin R. Trahan. M: Alexandre Desplat. S: Erik Aadahl. ED: William Goldenberg. Casting: Lora Kennedy. C: Ben Affleck (Tony Mendez), Bryan Cranston (Jack O'Donnell), Alan Arkin (Lester Siegel), John Goodman (John Chambers), Victor Garber (Ken Taylor), Tate Donovan (Bob Anders), Clea DuVall (Cora Lijek), Scoot McNairy (Joe Stafford), Rory Cochrane (Lee Schatz), Christopher Denham (Mark Lijek), Kerry Bishé (Kathy Stafford), Kyle Chandler (Hamilton Stafford), Chris Messina (Malinov). Loc: California, Istanbul. In English and Farsi. 120 min. Released by FS Film with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Meri Tuomi / Jenny Björk. Viewed at Tennispalatsi 9, Helsinki, 2 Nov 2012 (day of Finnish premiere).

Argo is also the name of the fake science fiction movie-in-the-movie.

Tagline: "The movie was fake. The mission was real."

Official synopsis: "Based on true events, Warner Bros. Pictures’ and GK Films’ dramatic thriller “Argo” chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis—the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades. On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, a CIA “exfiltration” specialist named Tony Mendez (Affleck) comes up with a risky plan to get them safely out of the country. A plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies."

An entertaining thriller based on a true story, well made, with a sympathetic cast. The account of the contribution of Hollywood producers to a real-life world political crisis is reminiscent of Wag the Dog, although Argo is not a satire. The dignified and realistic account of U.S. diplomats feels authentic and credible.

Interestingly, there is an attempt at a balanced view in the backstory to the Iranian revolution. The prologue goes back to Mohammad Mosaddegh who nationalized Iran's oil reserves. Britain and the USA plotted the overthrow of the democratically elected Mosaddegh in 1953, and with British-American support the Shah Mozammed Reza Pahlavi started to rule tyrannically, crushing opponents violently via the SAVAK intelligence agency. After the revolution rebels demanded the USA to send back the Shah to face a trial for his deeds.

The anger of the Iranian people is seen as based on very concrete reasons: the close ones of many have been killed or tortured by SAVAK.

Also the end credit sequence is impressive with a split-screen comparison montage of the real and the fake images of the thrilling story.

No problem with the visual quality of the presentation.

50 years of James Bond movies

Skyfall is breaking box office records in Finland and elsewhere. After 50 years, the producers are still having a huge commercial success with James Bond movies. In film industry terms such a long-term success is extraordinary.

Interestingly, Skyfall is about old-fashioned secret agent methods getting obsolete in a world where cyber espionage is more efficient. In the first part of the movie James Bond is already declared missing in action and given a funeral service. He has been shot by a fellow agent on the orders of M. There is a resurrection, and then a dark double appears, a former colleague turned super-villain called Silva. With Bond they had been the top agents, and also Silva had been left by M to die. While Bond represents the old school, Silva is a grand master of the new school of cyber-terrorism.

Kalle Kinnunen has paid attention to the similarity between Skyfall and The Dark Knight, for instance in the characterization of the villain (The Joker / Silva). In both Skyfall and The Dark Knight Returns the antihero (Batman / Bond) is fatally wounded and has to save the day with significantly diminished strength.

This kind of approach is novel in the history of the Bond movies, although You Only Live Twice had similar dimensions. But such an approach was part of Ian Fleming's concept from the very beginning.

Casino Royale (1953), the first James Bond novel, has a deranged mood which the movie adaptations have not even tried to reach. The first Bond villain, Le Chiffre, had gotten his name because he had lost his identity during WWII; all that remained was the number tattooed on his arm. Bond poses as a rich Jamaican playboy gambler to break Le Chiffre and the chain of financing to French Communists, but Le Chiffre almost breaks Bond with sadistic torture.

“The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning” belongs to the great opening lines in the history of literature, but in the 2006 film adaptation of Casino Royale there was no smoking at all.

The 2006 film adaptation of Casino Royale which introduced Daniel Craig as James Bond was appreciated by many, and it was a huge commercial success, but for me that Bond revival movie was largely an imitation of the inventive Bourne movies. For me, sex was missing, and also the visual quality was weaker due to the restrictions and limitations of the digital process. Even worse was Quantum of Solace, where the relentless blitz montage weakened the impact. Skyfall is clearly the best of Daniel Craig's Bond movies.

Because Skyfall dares to face the mortality of its antihero it may succeed in giving a new lease of life to him.

The James Bond movies make no sense as suspense thrillers, but when they work, they are impressive spectacles. Skyfall works, and as a spectacle it is catchy. There is an assured touch and a sense of confidence in how the crazy story is told. And there is substance in the cultural references, as analyzed by Henry K. Miller on the BFI website.

Interesting debate on Jim Emerson's site, 14 Nov 2012
 http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/2012/11/skyfall_hey_kids_lets_put_on_a.html#more

Sen noci svatojánské / A Midnight Summer's Dream

Jiří Trnka: Sen noci svatojánské / A Midnight Summer's Dream (CZ 1959).

Jiří Trnka: Sen noci svatojánské / A Midnight Summer's Dream (CZ 1959).

Kesäyön unelma / En midsommarnattsdröm. CZ 1959. PC: Československý Film. P+D+SC: Jiří Trnka – based on the fairy-tale comedy (1596) by William Shakespeare. Co-SC: Jiří Brdečka. AN: Jan Karpaš, Stanislav Látal, Vlasta Jurajdová, Břetislav Pojar, Jan Adam, Bohumil Šrámek. DP: Jiří Vojta – Eastmancolor, scope. Design: Jiří Trnka. M: Václav Trojan. ED: Hana Walachová. S: Emanuel Formánek, Josef Vlček, Emil Poledník. Czech version with a commentary in Czech. 80 min. 35 mm print from Národní filmový archiv (Prague), electronic subtitles in Finnish by Tomas Lehecka. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki (Jiří Trnka), 28 Oct 2012.

Shakespeare's cast of characters (from Wikipedia):

The Athenians
Theseus – Duke of Athens
Hippolyta – Queen of the Amazons, betrothed to Theseus
Philostrate – Master of the Revels
Egeus – father of Hermia, wants her to marry Demetrius
Hermia – in love with Lysander
Helena – in love with Demetrius
Lysander – in love with Hermia
Demetrius – in love with Hermia at first but later loves Helena

The Fairies
Oberon – Titania's husband and King of the Fairies
Titania – Oberon's wife and Queen of the Fairies
Robin Goodfellow/Puck – servant to Oberon
Peaseblossom – fairy servant to Titania
Cobweb – fairy servant to Titania
Moth – fairy servant to Titania
Mustardseed – fairy servant to Titania
First Fairy, Second Fairy

The Mechanicals (An acting troupe)
Peter Quince – carpenter, leads the troupe and plays Prologue
Nick Bottom – weaver, plays Pyramus
Francis Flute – bellows-mender, plays Thisbe
Robin Starveling – tailor, plays Moonshine
Tom Snout – tinker, plays Wall
Snug – joiner, plays Lion

The number of characters in William Shakespeare's romantic fairy-tale comedy can seem intimidating, and in the beginning one must pay a lot of attention as many new characters are quickly passing by. Among the Athenians true love must find its way through arranged marriage plans. The escape to the midnight forest exposes everybody to the fairies and their formidable love potions. To the wedding a performance of a troupe of amateur players has been promised, and the troupe, too, gets involved in the goings-on in the magic forest. Everything gets mixed up, but in the end there will be three happy weddings.

There is a consistent droll and enchanted mood in this puppet animation adaptation of the play. Charming features include: – The stars and the star signs – Funny paintings about love and sculptures of battles – The enchantment in Oberon's kingdom – The transformations – The funny effects of the love potion: even statues start to make love – The donkey trick to Titania – Official ceremonies bore everyone to death – The full moon smiles approvingly.

In this adaptation Puck says in his final words that "there is a lot in our dreams that will live forever".

The colour is beautiful in this print.

Kybernetická babička / Cybernetic Grandmama

Jiří Trnka: Kybernetická babička / Cybernetic Grandmama (CZ 1962).

[Kybermummo]. CZ © 1962 Kratky film Praha. EX: J. Možíš. D+design: Jiří Trnka. AN (moving of the dolls): Stanislav Látal, Vlasta Pospíšilová, Jan Adam, Zdeněk Šob. DP: Jiří Šafář. M: Jan Novák. Narrator: Otylie Beníšková. ED: Hana Valachová. 29 min. Print from Národní filmový archiv (Prague), electronic subtitles in Finnish by Tomas Lehecka. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki (Jiří Trnka), 28 Oct 2012.

A modernistic parody of the computer world with a story vaguely resembling The Emperor's Nightingale - both being about the real thing and the mechanical substitute.

In the world of the future the little girl is walking together with her grandmother. They cross a dangerous bridge and enter an airplane hangar. The mother is in the galaxy, light years away. The cybernetic grandmother is a computer whose mouth is computer graphics, whose singing is electronic music, who urges the girl to health via play, who is uncannily adroit with ball games and skip rope and whose fairy-tale about three wooden eggs, Brok, Flop and Chlup is seen in limited animation.

There was a cordial laughter in the audience at the cyber comedy. In this movie Jiří Trnka also plays with psychedelia and avantgarde. The electronic music score by Jan Novák is inspired.

The print looks used but has good colour.

Anita Björk (1923-2012)

Alf Sjöberg: Fröken Julie / Miss Julie (SE 1951) with Anita Björk.

"Miss Julie - she's me" says Monica (Ellen Page) in Woody Allen's To Rome with Love. Monica is a young Hollywood actress who knows one line from every poem and who has an instant comment to every cultural reference.

But Anita Björk (*24 April 1923, †24 October 2012) was the one who had the true right to say "Miss Julie - she's me". This year is the centenary of the death of August Strindberg. Alf Sjöberg's Miss Julie (1951), starring Anita Björk, is the best film adaptation of Strindberg's work and one of the best literary adaptations of all times, which means that it is a genuinely cinematographic work on the same spiritual level as the original text. In my student days I made a scene by scene analysis of the movie and the play for the Film Society of the Tampere University Students' Union, and since then I have admired both the play and the movie even more.

The substance of Anita Björk's career was in the theatre, but she also played in the movies. As a Finn it is a pleasure to remember her superior performance as Kyllikki in the 1956 adaptation of the most-filmed Nordic novel, Johannes Linnankoski's The Song of the Scarlet Flower. All the five movie Kyllikkis have been very good, but Anita Björk was the definitive Kyllikki in an otherwise not very inspired movie adaptation. Olavi the Nordic Don Juan (in this adaptation perhaps inevitably played by Jarl Kulle), the wandering lumberjack and logroller, has been flying from flower to flower, but when he meets Kyllikki it's the end of his wandering days.

Anita Björk's last appearance in moving images was in Ingmar Bergman's television adaptation (2000) of Per Olov Enquist's play Bildmakarna / The Image Makers. She plays Selma Lagerlöf in the story about the making of The Phantom Carriage; it turns out that the story is profoundly personal both for the author and the director. For both, the story about the deranged alcoholic is the story of their father. Both had been forced as children to assume responsibility when the drunken father had threatened the family. The scene where Sjöström shows his film to Lagerlöf, and Lagerlöf, shattered by the shock of recognition, rises to touch the screen, is unforgettable.

Sirocco (Mikko Kuparinen 2012)

Mikko Kuparinen: Sirocco (2012) starring Eeva Putro as Raisa who finds an abandoned baby in a garbage container.

D: Mikko Kuparinen
SC: Mikko Kuparinen, Elina Pohjola, Mira Muikku – based on the short story Merkki by Tuuve Aro
C: Eeva Putro, Tuukka Martiskainen, Luna Huotari
DP: Juice Huhtala
PD and costume design: Laura Haapakangas
S: Pekka Aikio
ED: Matti Näränen
P: Elina Pohjola, Pohjola-filmi
    2K DCP released by Pohjola-Filmi with English subtitles n.c.
    Viewed in the programme "Lähiöleffat: Korsoteoria ja Sirocco" [Suburban Movies: Korsoteoria and Sirocco]
    at Kinopalatsi 5, Helsinki, 27 Oct 2012 (premiere weekend).

Sirocco refers to the comment overhead at the party: "pakko päästä Italiaan – sirocco kutsuu" / "I must get to Italy – the sirocco is calling".

The production information: "Raisa (Eeva Putro) who avoids human contacts finds an abandoned baby from the garbage shelter of the apartment house in which she lives. What will happen when the lonely woman does not tell anybody but decides to keep the baby?" (my translation)

AA: The connections between Korsoteoria and Sirocco include the urge to travel abroad and an abrupt situation with a baby. Raisa works at the laundry of a hospital, and when she discovers the baby hidden in the garbage shelter of her apartment block she starts to take care of the baby without telling anybody. There is a nice-seeming man who invites Raisa to the party of the hospital workers, but when his approaches become violent and a rape is imminent Raisa hits him with a metal tube. We do not learn whether she knocks him unconscious or whether she actually kills him. The police is after the baby, but Raisa repeats to them a line overheard at the office party: "I must get to Italy – the sirocco is calling". – I watched the movie attentively but also here I failed to connect with the abyss of alienation and desolation.

Korsoteoria / So It Goes

Antti Heikki Pesonen: Korsoteoria / So It Goes (FI 2012). Armi Toivanen as Elli.

Finland | Suomi © 2012 ELO Helsinki Film School.
Fiction | 29 min | DCP | col.
Director: Antti Heikki Pesonen
Script: Antti Heikki Pesonen
Cinematography: Aarne Tapola
Sound: Toni Teivaala
Editing: Hanna Kuirinlahti
Music: Antti Pouta
Production: Aalto yliopisto / Tia Kalenius
Cast: Elli (Armi Toivanen), Santeri Mäntylä, Max Ovaska, Asko Sahlman [1955-2011], Juha Kukkonen, Sanna-Kaisa Palo
    2K DCP released by Pohjola-Filmi with English subtitles by Kaisa Cullen. Viewed in the programme "Lähiöleffat: Korsoteoria ja Sirocco" [Suburban Movies: Korsoteoria and Sirocco] at Kinopalatsi 5, Helsinki, 27 Oct 2012 (premiere weekend).

The title of the movie means literally "Korso Theory", Korso being a suburb not far to the north from Helsinki.

Tampere Film Festival 2012: "So It Goes is a story about a working class woman called Elli who has never traveled outside of Finland. She will either get a cruise abroad or love. But not both."

AA: I watched Korsoteoria in Tampere Film Festival this year, but not attentively enough, and I was grateful for this chance to revisit it in normal commercial cinema programming - thanks to this rare recognition for a short film produced at the film school. I confess that the film is so desolate that I have a hard time relating to it. Elli is a thief and a robber with no redeeming features. The guy who is living with her is a drug addict. Elli plays for sucker the nerdy guy who is attracted to her. The boy is very badly hurt in the head in the robbery when Elli and her pal clean up his home, and he lands into the emergency room. Despair, deep and pure. Urban poetry: "olen umpijäässä talvella / kesällä täynnä sinilevää" ["in the winter I'm all frozen / in the summer full of blue alga"]. The boy draws a heart on the window pane with his own blood. Even the teacher has lost all hope, and upon his return from Estonia or Stockholm with a cargo of liquor he is stone drunk and hits the boy with his car, killing him. At the funeral Elli cries, maybe for the first time. "I never told him I was pregnant". - A central figure in modern Finnish cinema is the harridan, and Elli belongs to the most terrifying among them.

Sinivalkoinen valhe / When Heroes Lie

Arto Halonen: Sinivalkoinen valhe / When Heroes Lie (FI 2012).

Den blåvita lögnen / När hjältarna ljuger [Swedish title in Sweden] / Når heltane lyg [Norwegian title].
    FI © 2012 Art Films Productions AFP Oy.
    P+D: Arto Halonen. SC: Kevin Frazier, Arto Halonen, Jouni Kemppainen - idea: Iikka Vehkalahti. DP: Arto Halonen, Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen - many different cameras, many cameramen - main camera a big HD camera with a zoom lens and HD resolution. D-cinema mastering: Tommi Gröhn. Colour grader: Pasi Mäkelä. M: Tapani Rinne. S: Martti Turunen. ED: Sanna Liinamaa, Antti Tuomikoski.
    Multi-lingual.
    119 min.
    Released by Future Film with Finnish / Swedish subtitles n.c. 2K DCP (presumably).
    Viewed at Kinopalatsi 5, Helsinki, 26 Oct 2012.

Interviewees: JOHANNA AATSALO, TIMO ARASOLA, RENZO BARDELLI, MAGNAR DALEN, MANUELA DI CENTA, BJÖRN EKBLOM, PEKKA HOLOPAINEN, SONJA HUTTUNEN, VEIJO HÄMÄLÄINEN, TIMO HÄRKÖNEN, MIKKO JAATINEN, KARI KAJAUS, KAARLO KANGASNIEMI, EDO KELTER, SAMULI KIVIRANTA, SARI KOPRA, ERJA KUIVALAINEN, HEIKKI LAAPIO, PEKKA LEHTINEN, INGGARD LEREIM, SUVI LINDÉN, MARJO MATIKAINEN-KALLSTRÖM, RAIMO MATIKAINEN, PIRKKO MÄÄTTÄ, EIJA PELKONEN, JARI PIIRAINEN, RIKU RANTALA, SEPPO REHUNEN, TAPANI RISSANEN, VILJO SADEHARJU, JAANA SANTALA, TIMO SEPPÄLÄ, ELENA SIMANAINEN, JARKKO SIPILÄ, HARRI SYVÄSALMI, ERKKI VETTENNIEMI, JUHA VIERTOLA, KARI VÄISÄNEN, JAN ANDERSSON, SILVANO BARCO, DARIO BELLODIS, MAURILIO DE ZOLT, SANDRO DONATI, SAMI HEISKANEN, TIMO HUOVINEN, PERTTU HUUSKO, KAIJA HÄRKIN, HANNU ITKONEN, MARKKU JYLHÄSALO, TAPIO KALLIO, ESA KATTAINEN, LEILA KETOLA, JOUKO KOKKONEN, ARI KORHONEN, IMMO KUUTSA, MATTI LEHESJOKI, ANTTI LEPPÄVUORI, SARAH LEWIS, JOHANNA MATINTALO, JUHA MIETO, JUSSI MERIKALLIO, HELGE OFTEBRO, PAAVO M. PETÄJÄ, GIUSEPPE PULIÈ, OLLI RAUSTE, JARMO RISKI, SEPPO ROMPPAINEN, BENGT SALTIN, JAANA SAVOLAINEN, SUVI-ANNE SIIMES, JUSSI SIMANAINEN, PIERGUIDO SOPRANI, ARI TUULI, TAPIO VIDEMAN, KIMMO VIRTANEN, EMMA ÅMAN.

The official synopsis: "When Heroes Lie is a daring documentary which deals with the grim history of doping in Finnish cross country skiing and exposes the web of lies in world championship sport. The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2001 in Lahti was designed to be yet another climax in Finnish cross-country skiing. It was not to be. Instead, there was a "shame of catastrophic dimensions" as six Finnish skiers were caught in the use of forbidden substances. After the collective bust questions remained: was it all about a fleeting transgression and "amateurish dabbling" or a systematic, fully planned and global fraud?"

"When Heroes Lie covers the history of doping in cross-country skiing since the 1970s until today, the dramatic turns of the Lahti Ski Championships in 2001 and the doping news trial against STT [Suomen Tietotoimisto, the leading Finnish news agency] which started in 1998. As a result of a long and comprehensive reasearch the movie offers a lot of new information about the doping culture in Finnish cross-country skiing: how it started, how widespread it was and who were the central players. The movie contains interviews with Finnish and international experts, coaches and sportspeople and archival material from different sources. They contribute to a ruthless picture about a system in which heroes were created at no matter which cost - by any means necessary and the audience was not too particular, either."

"Via the example of sport the movie shows how our society creates a foundation for a hypocritical pursuit of victory. It also raises the question whether the distortions of sport are reflections of the distortions of the society. Whether the society in general functions along similar ground rules." (The official synopsis, translation mine).

Cross-country skiing is my favourite sport as an occasional Sunday sportsman, but I haven't watched sports games since I was a kid in the 1960s. I feel sympathy for the Finnish "karpaasi" top skiers who were caught in the doping scandals in 2001. They did the wrong thing, but they would have been great athletes - or even greater ones - if they had not resorted to doping. Watching this movie I realise how overwhelming the pressure must have been since the 1970s.

The key testimony comes from Kaija Härkin who found religion and a way out of the anxiety that led her to depression and suicidal thoughts because of the vicious circle of sedatives and stimulants required of her. According to her the general brutalization took place in the 1970s. Previously the ski sport was basically clean.

Sinivalkoinen valhe is a settling of accounts of the huge web of lies related to the ubiquitous doping culture in Finnish ski sport. Much of this has been in general knowledge, but the movie expands its wings to cover a wider field.

Listening to testimonies from Sweden, Norway and Italy one cannot help but deduce that doping is the global modus vivendi in top ski sport. The evidence is convincing, and the footage of the squirming interviewees who try to testify otherwise is telling.

Mika Myllylä (1969-2011) is a martyr of this story. "What is the point of sustaining such an enormous system of fraud?" "You have to store in your memory every single step sign: how did I lie here?"

A movie which occurred to me after seeing Sinivalkoinen was Shadow of a Doubt by Alfred Hitchcock. At my most recent viewing of it I paid attention to the gallows humour about the crushing stress of Uncle Charlie having to lie at every single step and to remember how he has lied in order to avoid being exposed as a serial killer.

Even more generally, Sinivalkoinen valhe is a contribution to the Ibsenian theme of livsløgn - the life-lie - a fraudulent foundation myth.

For top skiers a gold medal translated into big money (ten million Finnish marks) in sponsorship deals. For some of the skiers a top career opened up in politics. The Italian MP Manuela Di Centa's interrupted interview is memorable. The agony on the Finnish MP Marjo Matikainen's face is the most unforgettable impression of the movie. They should tell all, they should tell the truth, and everybody would be happier and freer. Their talent is undeniable, and it is wrong that they had to compete in a system that forced them to resort to doping.

Compilation quality with lots of low definition television and video footage. No problem with new interview close-up footage made for this movie. There is no attempt to convey visually the grandeur of the ski sport.

Skyfall

Sam Mendes: Skyfall (GB/US 2012) starring Daniel Craig as James Bond.

007 Skyfall / 007 Skyfall.
    GB/US © 2012 Danjaq / United Artists / Columbia Pictures. P: Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson.
    D: Sam Mendes. SC: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan – based on characters created by Ian Fleming. "Ulysses" by Alfred Tennyson (1833 / 1842).
    DP: Roger Deakins – Camera: Arri Alexa M, Zeiss Master Prime Lenses, Arri Alexa Plus, Zeiss Master Prime and Angenieux Optimo Lenses, Arri Alexa Studio, Zeiss Master Prime and Angenieux Optimo Lenses, Red Epic, Zeiss Master Prime Lenses (helicopter shots). – Laboratory: Company 3, London, UK (digital intermediate), EFilm (digital intermediate) – Source format: Codex – Cinematographic process: ARRIRAW (2.8K) (source format), Digital Intermediate (4K) (master format), Redcode RAW (5K) (source format) (aerial shots) – Printed film format: 35 mm (anamorphic) (Kodak Vision 2383), 70 mm (horizontal) (IMAX blow-up) (Kodak Vision 2383), D-Cinema – Aspect ratio: 2.35:1. Digital imaging services: 4K London. Camera team: huge.
    PD: Dennis Gassner. AD: Chris Lowe. Set dec: Anna Pinnock. Art dept: huge. SFX team: big. VFX team: huge – MPC, Lola VFX, Double Negative, Cinesite, BlueBolt, Baseblack, Peerless Camera, Blue-Bolt, Nvizible, The Moving Picture Company, Hydraulx, previz. Stunt team: huge. Cost: Jany Temime. Special costume credit: Tom Ford. Makeup: Naomi Donne. Hair: Zoe Tahir. AN: David Bryan. Animatronic designers.
    M: Thomas Newman. Theme song "Skyfall" (Adele Adkins, Paul Epworth) perf. Adele. The villain's anthem: "Boom Boom" (John Lee Hooker) perf. The Animals.
    S: Karen M. Baker, Per Hallberg. ED: Stuart Baird. Casting: Debbie McWilliams. The painting: J. M. W. Turner: The Fighting Temeraire (tugged to her last berth to be broken up) (1838).
    C: Daniel Craig (James Bond), Judi Dench (M), Javier Bardem (Raoul Silva / Tiago Rodriguez), Ralph Fiennes (Gareth Mallory / M), Naomie Harris (Eve Moneypenny), Bérénice Marlohe (Sévérine), Albert Finney (Kincade), Ben Whislaw (Q), Rory Kinnear (Tanner), Ola Rapace (Patrice).
    Loc: Istanbul, the Varda railway bridge near Adana, Fethiye (Turkey) – London – Shanghai – Hashima Island – Smithfield Market, Holborn, London (car chase) – Glen Etive (Highland, Scotland) – Hankley Common (Elstead, Surrey).
    Studios: Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage (Pinewood Studios).
    144 min.
    Released by FS Film with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Anitra Paukkula / Rabbe Sandelin.
    Viewed at Kinopalatsi 1, Helsinki, 26 Oct 2012 (European premiere day). 

James Bond 50th anniversary logo.

Skyfall Lodge is the name of Bond's ancestral home in Scotland.

AA: There was a special feeling of attention and appreciation among the audience to a movie which is clearly better than the two previous Bond adventures. Skyfall belongs to the category of industrial design in the cinema, to the class of producers' cinema. Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have taken enormous risks and solved huge problems in the changing production circumstances. To succeed again they have had to reinvent much of the success formula.

The 50th anniversary James Bond movie is a reboot of the concept. The cold war ended over 20 years ago, rendering the original Bond concept obsolete, but the movies had been making fun of it almost from the beginning, at least since Goldfinger. Now the whole idea of traditional espionage and the 00 activity with a licence to kill is being questioned.

The movie starts with the theft of a hard drive with an almost complete register of NATO agents in terrorist organizations. On the orders of M there is a shooting which brings down James Bond to almost certain death. He is declared missing, probably killed, and given a funeral. In the most important turning-point the villain Silva hacks into the MI6 data administration system and blows up the MI6 headquarters.

The rules have changed, and M and Bond fight what looks like a losing battle in the new age of cyber-espionage and cyber terrorism.

M quotes Alfred Tennyson:
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

The villain's intent: to destroy MI6 – and M. His motive: revenge. His character: completely mad. Silva belongs with villains such as The Joker in The Dark Knight, and there are even more sinister hints that remain unexplored in the movie.

Bérénice Marlohe's performance is impressive as Sévérine, sadistically threatened by Silva. Her voice and body language tell us about unspeakable terrors.

Memorable features in the movie: – The ruined island city of Silva. – James Bond's leap into a moving subway train in London. – The ruined buildings at Skyfall mirror Silva's desolate island. – The grave of James Bond's parents at Skyfall with the names Andrew Bond and Monique Delacroix engraved on the gravestone. – Silva's tale of the two rats standing – representing Bond and Silva. – James Bond's tears as M dies. – In the conclusion we meet the new M (Ralph Fiennes) and Miss Moneypenny (Eve, the agent who shot James Bond in the prologue).

Skyfall is much better edited than the two previous Bond movies – Quantum of Solace was a mess with its relentless blitz montages. Stuart Baird is a master in this genre; I also liked his approach as an action director in Executive Decision. There is a good, strong, assured and catchy rhythm in Skyfall. Action sequences are balanced with more reflective sequences.

Also the cinematography of Skyfall – DP: Roger Deakins (a favourite of the Coen brothers! and Sam Mendes) – is better than in the previous two Bond adventures. Not yet on the same level as the glorious all-photochemical James Bond movies, but getting there again. Warm colour is back. Nature footage does not usually look good on digital, and here it is being avoided.

MORE DATA BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK:

Staré pověsti české / Old Czech Legends

[Vanhoja tshekkiläisiä taruja]. CZ 1952. PC: Studio Kresleného a Loutkového Filmu. EX: Vladimír Janovský, Jaroslav Možiš. D+design: Jiří Trnka. SC: Jiří Trnka, Jiří Brdečka, Miloš Kratochvil – based on the works of Alois Jirásek (1894) and K. Kosma. DP: Ludvík Hájek, Emanuel Franek - Agfacolor. AN (moving of the dolls): Břetislav Pojar (gentle Neklan, Princess Libussa), Bohuslav Šrámek (Přemysl, Bivoj), Zdeněk Hrabě (dancers), Stanislav Látal (Kresomysl; a drunken page), Jan Karpaš (dancers), Josef Kluge, František Braun. M: Václav Trojan. Orchestra: FISYO, conductor: Otakar Pařik – chorister:  Jan Kühn. S: Josef Zavadil-Poledník, Emanuel Formánek. ED: Helena Lebdusková. Voice talent: Karel Höger, Eduard Kohout, Růžená Naskova, Zdeněk Štepánek, Václav Vydra. 2470 m / 90 min. This movie was not released in Finland. Print from Národní filmový archiv (Prague), electronic subtitles in Finnish by Tomas Lehecka. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki (Jiří Trnka), 25 Oct 2012.

A puppet animation epic based on legends and myths about the origins of the Czech people as told by Alois Jirásek inspired by the national romanticism of the 19th century, like Kalevala in Finland and Kalevipoeg in Estonia.

There is a fine mood, simultaneously droll and grand, as steam rises from the pot and the storyteller plays on his harp, telling about (1) the founding father called Čech who brought his people to the shores of Elbe and Moldau. (2) After Čech the ruler is Krok who builds a castle on the Moldau and who has three daughters, of which Libuše / Libussa is the most highly regarded. (3) Bivoj is the supreme hunter able to catch a huge wild boar single-handedly. (4) The wise Libuše becomes the new leader, but her matriarchy faces fierce opposition. She withdraws into the sacred forest and sees into the future. (5) During the reign of Přemysl the maidens are longing bitterly for the matriarchy of Libuše. Mining flourishes, farming deteriorates: there are thistles instead of grain. (6) The people rises against the atrocities of the Lucanians, and there is a giant battle to defeat them.

This movie belongs to the heroic-patriotic line in Jiří Trnka oeuvre, but thanks to the droll humour and the fantastic images there is never a sense of an overbearing message. Rather this movie is a proud statement from a small and original nation. Memorable visions include: - magnificent primal landscapes in the beginning - the introduction of the forest animals (birds, buffaloes, foxes, wild boars, roe-deer) - the water nymph, the water spirit hovering around the baby on the field where the parents are harvesting - Perun, the thunder god: the village on fire - the eagles spreading their wings on the sky - the longest day of the year (Midsummer): the bonfires to celebrate the Sun God - the full moon and the smoke signals on mountain tops - atavistic dances and visions from the most ancient times - the furious war - the peaceful reconstruction, the celebration of fertility after the war.

Václav Trojan's impressive score is important for this movie, inspired in its retro-national-romantic approach.

The visual quality of the print is mostly excellent.

Román s basou / Romance with a Double Bass

[Bassoviulun tarina / Bassoviulu / Romaani bassoviulusta / Romanssi bassoviulusta]. CZ 1949. PC: Studio Kresleného a Loutkového Filmu. D+design: Jiří Trnka – based on the short story "Roman s kontrabasom" / "Роман с контрабасом" (1886) by Anton Chekhov. AN (moving of the dolls): Břetislav Pojar, Zdeněk Hrabě, Stanislav Látal, Jan Karpaš, Bohuslav Šrámek. DP: Emanuel Franek. M: Václav Trojan. There is a narrator in this movie. 398 m / 15 min. Print from Národní filmový archiv (Prague), electronic subtitles in Finnish by Tomas Lehecka. Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki (Jiří Trnka), 25 Oct 2012.

The story: before the evening concert at the prince's castle the bassist takes a swim, but thieves rob his clothes. The bassist notices a beautiful girl, the prince's daughter, fishing with a rod and line, and attaches a bouquet onto the line. Trying to pull the heavy catch the daughter needs to get into the water, too, and takes her clothes off, but the thieves rob them, as well. The gallant bassist offers the shelter of his double-bass case to the girl and tries to catch the thieves. Meanwhile, his fellow players notice the now surprisingly heavy case and carry it with them to the castle, where the surprise is great when a knocking is heard from inside the case. And still today local people claim they can hear melancholy chords of the double-bass from under the bridge.

A funny and colourful puppet animation based faithfully on an early humoristic sketch by Chekhov. In Jiří Trnka's oeuvre this animation belongs in the vicinity of Archanděl Gabriel a paní Husa based on a story in Decamerone by Boccaccio, but Román s basou is much gentler.

A nice print.

Císařův slavík / The Emperor's Nightingale

[Keisarin satakieli] / Kejsarens näktergal. CZ 1949. PC: Studio Kresleného a Loutkového Filmu. P: Bohumír Buriánek. D: Jiří Trnka. Live action D: Miloš Makovec. SC: Jiří Trnka, Jiří Brdečka – contribution: Vítězslav Nezval - based on the fairy-tale Nattergal (1843) by H.C. Andersen – several translations in Finnish. DP: Ferdinand Pecenka (live action). Agfacolor. Lab: Barrandov. AN (movement of puppets): Bohuslav Šrámek, Břetislav Pojar, Jan Karpaš, Zdeněk Hrabě, Stanislav Latal. Design: Jiří Trnka, Milena Neubauerová, Karel Sobotka, František Braun, Erik Miloš Bülow, Josef Zdrůbecký, Karel Mázel, Ludvík Hájek. M: Václav Trojan – perf: FISYO – conductor: Otakar Pařík – singing: the child choir of the Bohemian Singing Choir – chorister: Jan Kühn. ED: Helena Lebdušková. C: Helena Patočková, Jaromír Sobota. Dialogueless. 2069 m / 76 min. Not released in Finland. Print from Národní filmový archiv (Prague). Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki (Jiří Trnka), 21 Oct 2012.

A sick and lonely boy has to stay in bed on his birthday while a girl waits outside the gates for him to come out and play in the woods. Examining the toys in his room the boy has a dream based on Andersen's fairy-tale about the emperor's nightingale. The emperor of China is almost crushed by the court routine, and when he hears the nightingale outside he is given an artificial nightingale. Everybody is euphoric at first, but the brilliant tune of the artificial nightingale always remains the same and makes the emperor mortally sick. Only the real nightingale can save the emperor from impending death. When it returns in the boy's dream he gets up, throws his ball through the window and runs with the girl to the depth of the green forest.

A masterpiece with memorable features: - A virtual silent (dialogueless) movie, driven by the beautiful music by Václav Trojan, with charming violin solos for the real nightingale - The solitude of the boy - Voyage autour de ma chambre: the boy imagines the fairy-tale based on his toys - The emperor of China paints a model moustache for himself on the mirror - His mechanical swan lake - Paradis artificiels - there is even a singing pike, just like the statue by Reijo Hukkanen erected in August 2012 in front of the Helsinki Music Center, inspired by the surrealistic poem "Hauen laulu" ["The Song of the Pike"] by Aaro Hellaakoski - In Trnka's movie the song of the pike is conveyed by a theremin - The astrologist sees a little Chinese girl by the gates with his telescope - The episode with the frog and the parasol has a funny jazzy theme music - Only the little girl can approach the elusive nightingale - Interesting triangle and circle masks and vignettes in the episode with the Chinese lanterns and fireworks - Although the real nightingale is discovered the artificial one gets the applause - The little girl rows along the stream - The spring of the mechanical bird is broken - There is a weird sequence on the graveyard.

A print with beautiful colour from Národní filmový archiv.

Kevade / Spring

Kevade / Spring. Photo gallery from Filmoteca Hawkman Blues.

[Kevät].
EE-SU 1970, year of production 1969. PC: Tallinnfilm. P: Kullo Must. D: Arvo Kruusement. SC: Kaljo Kiisk, Voldemar Panso - based on the novel (1913) by Oskar Luts. DP: Harry Rehe - black and white - scope. S: Harald Läänemets. AD: Linda Vernik. Cost: Krista Kajandu. Makeup: Rostislav Nikitin. M: Veljo Tormis. Conductor: Eri Klas. ED: Ludmilla Rozenthal.
    C: Arno Liiver (Arno), Riina Hein (Teele), Aare Laanemets (Toots), Margus Lepa (Kiir), Ain Lutsepp (Tõnisson), Leonhard Merzin (Laur the teacher), Endel Ani (Julk-Jüri the sacristan), Kaljo Kiisk (Lible the bell-ringer), Rein Aedma (Imelik), Kalle Eomois (Kuslap), Raul Haaristo (Vipper), Heiki Koort (Peterson), Heido Selmet (Visak), Tõnu Alvens (Lesta), Silvia Laidla, Ervin Abel, Evald Tordik jt.
    Loc: Palamuse, Tallinn, Torma (Jõgevamaa).
    Tallinn premiere: 5.1.1970.
    Digital intermediate produced by Digital Film Finland / Finnlab (2006). 35 mm print from Estonian Film 100 viewed with e-subtitles in English at Cinema Orion, Helsinki (Estonian Film 100), 20 Oct 2012.

Kevade / Spring, the novel and the movie, belong to the most beloved treasures of Estonian culture. The novel is the first work in the Paunvere trilogy (Spring, Summer, Autumn) by Oskar Luts; there were also Paunvere short stories, and a posthumous work called Winter. The director Arvo Kruusement has made movies of the trilogy (1970, 1976, 1990), the same actors playing the same characters. The dialogue of Kevade has become a part of Estonian folklore.

I saw Kevade for the first time, and I look forward to seeing it again. Impressive features include: - The ensemble playing of more than ten central characters: teen-age schoolchildren and their teachers - The sense of the epoch, the late Belle Époque just before WWI - The fights of the gangs of boys (Estonian and German) bring to mind Ferenc Molnar - The pranks such as drowning the raft - The pain of first love (Arno - Teele - Toots) - The rich flavour of the cinematography - The central motif of the magnificent willow, "my grandfather planted it" - The central motif of the river, the melting of the ice - Teele invites Arno to the new home - the school is out, the summer is there, with flowers, meadows, sunshine.

The print, struck from a 2006 digital intermediate, is clean, and good in close-ups and interiors, but the limitations of the digital process used are evident in the nature footage.

Hope Springs

Lemmenlomalla / Hope Springs [Swedish title]. US © 2012 GHS Productions, Inc. PC: Film 360 / Escape Artists. Columbia Pictures, Mandate Pictures, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures present. P: Todd Black, Guymon Casady. D: David Frankel. SC: Vanessa Taylor. DP: Florian Ballhaus: - Camera: Arri Alexa, Zeiss Ultra Prime and Angenieux Optimo Lenses - Laboratory: DeLuxe, New York - original format: Codex - Cinematographic process: ARRIRAW (2.8K) (source format), Digital Intermediate (2K) (master format) - release format: 35 mm (anamorphic) (Kodak Vision 2383), D-Cinema - Aspect ratio: 2.35:1. PD: Stuart Wurtzel. AD: Patricia Woodbridge. Set dec: George DeTitta, Jr. Cost: Ann Roth. Makeup: Louise McCarthy. Hair: Jerry Popolis. M: Theodore Shapiro. S: Rick Chefalas. ED: Matt Maddox, Steven Weisberg. Casting: Margery Simkin. C: Meryl Streep (Kay), Tommy Lee Jones (Arnold), Steve Carell (Dr. Feld), Elisabeth Shue (Karen, the bartender), Mimi Rogers (Carol, the neighbour). Loc: Connecticut (Guilford, Norwalk, Stonington). 100 min. Released in Finland by Future Film with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Mariia Haatanen / Heidi Nyblom Kuorikoski. 2K DCP (presumably). Viewed at Maxim 2, Helsinki, 20 Oct 2012. 

Official synopsis: "Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) are a devoted couple, but decades of marriage have left Kay wanting to spice things up and reconnect with her husband. When she hears of a renowned couple's specialist (Steve Carell) in the small town of Great Hope Springs, she attempts to persuade her skeptical husband, a steadfast man of routine, to get on a plane for a week of marriage therapy. Just convincing the stubborn Arnold to go on the retreat is hard enough - the real challenge for both of them comes as they shed their bedroom hang-ups and try to re-ignite the spark that caused them to fall for each other in the first place."

Feelgood entertainment with serious themes: it's about a marriage which has turned into a dreary routine. Kay wants to save it, and even Arnold has the insight that if he does not restart everything he'll end up a lonely man because Kay cannot live without love.

Meryl Streep gives a brilliant humoristic performance, largely based on little touches and gestures which hit exactly the right buttons.

Tommy Lee Jones surprises me as a comedy actor, and his performance is worthy of Walter Matthau ("if looks could kill").

The visual quality of the screening was fine.

Must Have Been Love

Eirik Svensson: Must Have Been Love (NO/FI 2012) with Espen Klouman-Høiner (Jacob / Andreas) and Pamela Tola (Kaisa).

Kaksi tarinaa rakkaudesta / Det måste ha varit kärlek. NO/FI © 2012 4½ Fiksjon / Kinotar. P: Karin Julsrud, Lasse Saarinen, Rimbo Salomaa. P assoc: Linn Kirkenær. D: Eirik Svensson. SC: Eirik Svensson, Jyrki Väisänen. DP: Martin Hogsens Solvang. M: Verneri Pohjola. S: Micke Nyström. ED: Karsten Meinich. C: Pamela Tola (Kaisa), Espen Klouman-Høiner (Jacob / Andreas), Pihla Viitala, Laura Birn, Mattis Herman Nyquist (August), Audun Lunnan Hjor (Audun). Loc: Istanbul, Helsinki, Oslo (Tøyen, Kaffeflugen on Pilestredet street, kebab restaurant on Torggatan), Berlin. In Finnish and Norwegian. 91 min. Released by Nordisk Film with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Jaana Wiik / Saliven Gustavsson. 2K DCP (presumably). Viewed at Tennispalatsi 12, Helsinki, 20 Oct 2012 (Finnish premiere weekend).

Official synopsis: "During a holiday trip to Istanbul the dancer-choreographer Kaisa becomes infatuated with the handsome Norwegian Jacob, but the romance that has started beautifully is interrupted as the Norwegian guys continue their journey. While working in Oslo Kaisa bumps into Andreas who looks exactly like Jacob, but as a human being Andreas is completely different. By and by, a serious relationship is started, but the memory of Jacob still lingers in Kaisa's mind."

"Must Have Been Love tells about the incessant tension between infatuation and insecurity while falling in love and finding 'the right one'. How can one tell true love from a romantic dream whose object is inaccessible? Can one find the right one, or is the whole life fundamentally a journey of self-discovery?" (official synopsis, my translation)

There is talent among the cast and the crew, but Must Have Been Love is seriously underwritten and fails to reach an aching, irresistible approach to the interesting story: with one guy (Jacob) everything goes right, with the other guy (Andreas) nothing goes right. The guys look identical, played by the same actor, and Kaisa tries to project the good qualities of Jacob to Andreas, but it is impossible.

Aspects of interest: – There are scenes where the interplay of the actors is engaging: the three Finnish girls meeting the three Norwegian guys in Istanbul, all communicating in bad English while arranging a barbeque party. – When Kaisa meets Andreas, Kaisa is not dancing anymore, and Andreas has stopped playing basketball. Kaisa is now a dance coach for children. She speaks about the difficulty of verbalizing choreography. – Paavo Nurmi was a great runner, but "he could not run away from himself".

The location shooting is great in Istanbul (the panoramas, the fish market), in Oslo (see above), in Helsinki (Corona Bar among other places), and Berlin (U-Bahnhof Möckernbrücke).

The visual quality of the screening was ok.