They Have Escaped (2014)

Directed by: JP Valkeapaa
Country: Finland / others

Movie Review: J.P. Valkeapaa demonstrates why he is a filmmaker to keep in mind, after presents us with “They Have Escaped”, the second feature of his career. In a small Finnish town, two misfits meet at a halfway house for troubled teenagers, initiating a caustic adventure that will change their lives forever. Reserved and quiet, Joni (Teppo Manner), of 19 years old, arrives to the facility with the mission of confiscating illegal substances, after having fled the military service due to stuttering. He was given no choice, since it’s that work or jail. Despite the warnings that strictly forbade him to make friends or hang out with the teenage dwellers, he becomes attracted to the 17 year-old, Raisa (Roosa Soderholm), a rebellious bleached-hair punk with red lips and heavy dark eyeshadow, helping her to get away with stolen cigarettes. Together, they will take the road of adventure towards Raisa’s home, plus a brief visit to her grandma. Guided by vague dreams and hopes of a more exciting future, this escapade won't be devoid of perturbation and mishaps along the way. Forced to steal and ask for a ride, they end up being caught in a final macabre experience that marks a radical change in the direction taken initially. The moments of enjoyment are as many as the afflictive ones, but “They Have Escaped” transforms itself into a really dark, claustrophobic experience that can be disconcerting in its last minutes due to its baffling final scene. It’s a shame that Valkeapaa only has created hypnotic dreamlike ambiances for brief moments, but the film benefits with strong performances, an impactful sound design, and the contrasting humor/terror of the tale. It works both as a social criticism and a cutting experiment on horror, set up in unrelenting tones.

Concrete Night (2013)

Directed by: Pirjo Honkasalo
Country: Finland / others

Movie Review: Ultimately dedicated to documentaries, Finnish helmer Pirjo Honkasalo returns to fictional drama with the stylish “Concrete Night”, 15 years after “Fire-Eater”. Based on the novel of the same name by Pirkko Saisio, the plot was effectively composed in the grey atmosphere of Helsinki, where 14-year-old Simo (Johannes Brotherus) lives with his unconcerned mother (Anneli Karppinen) and older brother Ilkka (Jari Virman), who is about to go to prison due to drug dealing. Simo shows a great admiration for his harsh, pessimistic, and lost brother, being negatively influenced by everything he does or says. The film, magnificently photographed in black-and-white, is loaded with dreamlike tones and enhances the alienation where its characters are sunk. The opening scene that shows Simo’s nightmare, getting trapped underwater, starts to make sense as the film approaches its end. It was a product of the negativism and disillusion of his brother’s theories, which were based on become free of hope, not expecting tomorrow, and devalue the human being’s existence. The predestinated arrival of a homosexual neighbor, who was living abroad, seemed to have been the last straw to make Simo explode from all the restrained anger and disenchantment of his young life. Despite philosophical allusions to love, fear, and future, the story is very simple and definitely casted some spell on me, with its mirrors, glasses, water, and creative details. It belongs to those ones dark, poetic, and beautiful…

Naked Harbour (2012)

Directed by: Aku Louhimies
Country: Finland

Review: “Naked Harbour” gathers a bunch of characters to depict several different stories set in Vuosaari, a neighborhood in the city of Helsinki. Aku Louhimies put grown-ups and kids to interact in distinct problematic situations. All depicted with gloominess, we have: a couple of junkies with debts and no food, a divorced mother struggling with cancer, a married man who can’t put his sexual life in order and finds a lover, a bullied boy and his mother, a father who is obsessed with losing weight and torments his son, a 16-year old girl who lives with her dad and doesn’t want to be ordinary, and finally an American guy who goes to Finland to give some lectures. The stories are about love and pursuit for recognition, but all of them include a prolonged heaviness and cruelty, just to bring some indulgence and self-pity in the end at the sound of Robbie Williams’ “Feel”. Joyful moments aren’t abundant in a depressing film that carries ‘I can cope with my life’ as purpose.

Purge (2012)

Directed by: Antti Jokinen
Country: Finland / Estonia

Review: “Purge” is a Finnish bleak drama, based on the best-selling novel by Sofi Oksanen. It tells the life stories of two women, whose memories needed to be purged after years of torments and pain. After having found each other, they will be able to put some hope on their lives. This is the kind of story that we already have seen for so many times, and if it doesn’t get the perfect mood or the right approach, it will fall on banality. That’s what happened to “Purge”. In one hand: scenes of violence and exploitation; in the other: a bloody love story adorned with political connotations and inevitable betrayals. Hope emerges as a possibility in the end, but was achieved through unconvincing sequences of self-repentance and killings. “Purge” was selected to represent Finland at the 85th Academy Awards, but it falls short from what I expected from a drama of this kind.

Le Havre (2011)

Directed by: Aki Kaurismaki
Country: Finland / France

Plot: When an African boy arrives by cargo ship in the port city of Le Havre, an aging shoe shiner welcomes him into his home.

Quick comment: Talented finnish director Kaurismaki is back with this wonderful story about illegal immigration in France. Through a poignant humor and an uncanny style that gives particular attention to the image composition, he continues to fill the screens denouncing society issues and telling us that if you do the good you’ll be rewarded. I also recommend from this director:"a man without a past", "the match factory girl", "ariel" and "lights in the dusk".

Relevant awards: Best film, director, script and cinematography (Jussi awards); Fipresci prize (Cannes).

Rare Exports (2010)

Realizado por: Jalmari Helander
País: Finlândia

Um bizarro conto de Natal chega-nos da Finlândia, onde o Pai Natal é capturado e é posto à venda. Num estilo que aparentemente é destinado à família, chegamos à conclusão mal o filme começa que se trata de uma comédia negra, não aconselhável a crianças. O herói da história é Pietari, um miúdo com bastante cultura natalícia que será responsável por uma operação arriscada na captura de duendes e na sua exportação como Pais Natal. Com uma boa dose de originalidade, poderia ter sido bem melhor no que respeita à sua execução (por vezes demasiado para encher o olho), acabando por não satisfazer em todos os aspectos.