Change Your Image
sedergren
Reviews
1939 (1993)
Documentary film about the year of Winter War, a Finnish Holy War.
Documentary film about the year of Winter War, a Finnish Holy War.
If you have to elect one film wizard in Finland, probably 90 % of votes will be given to director Peter von Bagh, who has been a number one speaker for film in Finland since 1960's.
Year 1939 had been very important for Finnish books and plays, but never before films year were used to give an impression how the world was before the war. 28 interviews, all from different viewpoints of life and society, fulfill the trends and ideas presented in compilated scenes.
Original idea was to produce a compilation film that is not concentrating that much to Winter War. Only after von Bagh learned the richness of newsreels the form of film came clear: "Reality won over the fictitious. After waiting eagerly the opening of the Olympic Games in 1940, everything turned suddenly to cold realism of war", von Bagh explained later. That is the reason why in the second half of film the archive films are mostly news reels of Suomi-Filmi.
Virtaset ja Kekkonen (1993)
Fragmented Finnish identity in portrait
Comical docudrama and a funny commentary about changes of life of Finnish family from 1950's to 1980's.
Presenting a typical Finnish family in typical industrial surrounding with the most typical hobbies and attitudes about life, sex and politics film gives a pretty quick look to changes of Finnish culture.
One of these Finnish films that are very difficult to understand for anyone who does not know local culture: feelings about skiing and other familiar Finnish sports, the hidden collectivity of local bars and serious drinking habits, marital development towards divorce, search for education or not, racist and nationalist ideas, difficult relation between Finland and Russia, and a sharp look to a long time president Kekkonen; all in 62 minutes.
Olen aito suomalainen, ammuu (1993)
Qvasi-documentary about cows (and women) in Finnish culture
Story about a cow - or a woman or Finnish Maiden - looking for her identity. Film consists of different elements: pretty smart compilation including excerpts from more than hundred films, of traditional documentary style with interviews of experts, plus satiric and humorous jokes and notions about cows, milk and other milk products including cattle products.
Lively show but fragmentary in form and its' comparison between a cow and a woman did not amuse everyone. However, it's clever in its contrasts between text and image. But do you have to be familiar with Finnish culture to understand anything?