finland, 1988, finnishThere’s to the point and then there’s Finnish to the point. I don’t think I’d do well there, but I do love watching it.
AKI KAURISMÄKI
Ariel
What is so striking about this film is the matter-of-fact dispassionate way everything in it plays out. It creates a world where anything can happen at any time, because it would all be treated as more or less the same. No one reacts to anything essentially, it all just happens to and around them. In a way that’s sort of similar to Jarmusch films, but with a very Finnish perspective, instead of a very American one.
Because anything can happen, it could feel like nothing happens. And in a sense it does. For a short film, with a ton going on, it’s surprisingly easy to forget just how much insanity actually takes place. It’s quite a journey from the closing of a mine and looking for part time work, to bank robbery and murder. But the story gets there anyway, one completely reasonable seeming moment at a time.
The entire thing is just so droll. I’m absolutely sure this isn’t for everyone. It’s far too detached and revels far too much in a dark humor. But it’s like catnip for me. I could watch a version of this that was ten times longer, and still enjoy every weird new twist and development.