Melancholian 3 huonetta (2004)

Director:

Pirjo Honkasalo

Writer:

Pirjo Honkasalo (writer)

Release Date:

8 October 2004 (Finland)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A searing examination of the unrelenting Chechen conflict, observed through the prisms of a Russian military boys academy, a war-torn town and a children's refugee camp. |

Plot Keywords:

Chechnya | Children | Enemy

Awards:

11 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Pirkko Saisio

...

Narrator (voice)

Also Known As:

Melancholia 3 rum (Sweden)
The 3 Rooms of Melancholia (USA) (festival title)

Runtime:

106 min | Argentina:106 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

Finland | Denmark | Germany | Sweden

Language:

Russian | Arabic | Chechen

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Poland:15 | Finland:K-11 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Chechnya, Russia

Company:

Millenium Film Oy

Trivia:

To make this film, Pirjo Honkasalo had to sneak in Chechnya as Russian authorities have restricted foreigners' access to the troublesome region.

Wonderful Portrait of Melancholia

Hello,

I just saw Three rooms of melancholia and I strongly disagree with some of the reviews. I must say I have no experience with homeless children in Russia but that's not what the film is about. I don't understand that You don't understand, this film is about "melancholia" (which the title indicates) and regarding this, the Three rooms of melancholia suffices. It is poetic documentary, and you will hardly find interviews in this cinematic mode. It tries not to judge and I think it succeeded. For example: it shows that the army saves children from the streets but on the other hand prepares them to be soldiers in cruel wars. The film touches the very soul of the "problem" and does not concern personal problems, told in cheap (American- style)interviews. It is a tacit portrait about the poems of that one boy and the grief of the mother and the fact that the boys in Ingushetia have little interest in a new day, that are symbols of the happiness, grief and aftermath of a compléte nation. I can understand that your topic of preference is not treated the way You would do it (probably to attend everybody to it) but then, this is not a news report nor some charity attention, but a film about the artist's interpretation of melancholia.