FAVOURITE FILMS: Pickpocket

Pickpocket (dir. Robert Bresson, 1959)

Pickpocket’s lead Michel (Martin LaSalle) has striking looks. He’s handsome like a statue but what’s most remarkable about him is his gaze. He seems almost blank with his guarded body language. Eyes are the mirror of the soul; it’s the eyes and LaSalle’s way of watching that unveil the hidden excitement and suspense in Michel.

When I saw Pickpocket, I had woken up in the middle of the night - I couldn’t get any more sleep so I decided to watch a movie from local TV’s internet broadcasting service. My plan was to watch it for a while and then try sleeping again. But from the very beginning of Pickpocket, I was hooked.

Pickpocket tells the story of - well - a pickpocket. Michel lives with nothing in a sad little room in Paris. He’s lonely, he doesn’t have money, his mother is sick. And then he starts pickpocketing. He has nothing and thievery starts to fill his life.

The movie is a true gem. It says little but shows much with it’s magnificent cinematography. There's something quite Chekhov-y about the film that is loosely based on Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment: it's the simple plot and the way it peeks into the life of this interesting individual and pickpocketing. The importance of atmosphere - which is masterfully achieved - and not trying to tell the whole story but just the part of it.

This is one of the masterpieces of cinema.

REVIEW: Toni Erdmann

Toni Erdmann (dir. Maren Ade, 2016)
***

Toni Erdmann is a story of a man called Winfried who wants to get closer to his thriving adult daughter. When his dog dies, this old man just pops to Bucharest where Ines is working for an oil company. In the process of taking care of his daughter in his own unique way, Winfried creates an alter ego called Toni Erdmann. Things get weird and very funny.

This movie has a lot of hype around it, it won FIPRESCI Award in Cannes and the way it has been talked about made me think this was going to be something truly fresh and enjoyable.

For my surprise, the movie didn't live up with the expectations. The film is crazy long and for the first part I found myself staring at the screen and feeling like I had already seen this film. It was dragging along with handheld camera - I do not like handheld camera for just the sake of it. Very few movies have the justification in the plot/atmosphere to use it so it almost never looks good.

When alter ego Toni Erdmann comes into picture, the pace gets a bit better, but in the end, there was just so much footage that should have been left behind. Kill your darlings. Please.

Main problem was that the aim for this movie was to be not just comedy but also a drama. If they would have had focus on what they did the best, it would have been a fresh watch and I would have cared more about the characters. Instead, they tried to build deeper into father-daughter communication; and I couldn't find anything new in their way of picturing it. There wasn't enough change in the characters to stay interested for almost three hours and other themes that were slightly touched passed by and I wanted to scream after them "that was something I would have loved to see more about!"

Toni Erdmann is a good movie but for that length, I truly think the movie should have more in it. More of anything.

Julieta (2016)

Pedro Almodóvar's Julieta was truly a gift for the Finnish audiences after a scarily bad film summer. It premiered last Friday; me and my friend went to see it yesterday. Simply said, Julieta is a great movie. Although slow paced, the story goes inevitably on by rhythm well fitted to the soundtrack. It's a story of guilt, ghosts from the past and missing people you love the most; it's intense without being overly dramatic.

I might have wanted to dive deeper into the relationships of Julieta, but on the other hand it was great to see so clearly that it was her side of the story coloured with memories and guilt. And I definitely didn't want to see so badly animated moose (like what. the. fuck. You know what I'm talking about when you see it). All in all the movie was very enjoyable with natural performances and beautiful cinematography. Highly recommended.

Espoo Ciné International Film Festival 2016

Helsinki International Film Festival (Love & Anarchy) has been an annual event for me for couple of years, but this is the first time I’ll attend Espoo Ciné - partly because I’m going to miss HIFF this year.

I chose these six movies as my festival repertoire:

The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (Hymyilevä mies / Juho Kuosmanen / 2016)
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Hymyilevä mies won Un Certain Regard at Cannes. That’s enough reason to see it: generally there doesn't seem to be much artistic ambition in the Finnish movie scene. The movie seems fresh, fun and beautiful and I can't wait to see it.

All About Them (À trois on y va / Jérôme Bonnell / 2015)
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I saw The New Girlfriend at last year’s HIFF and really enjoyed Anaïs Demoustier’s performance as a lead. The movie promises fun play with clichés and what's greater in a comedy?

Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud / 2007)
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Even though I have never read Persepolis, it’s reputation could not be missed. Both comics and animation are dear to me so this is going to be very interesting movie to see. Learning about lives that differ so much from ours is also so so important.

Love & Friendship (Whit Stallman / 2016)
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If it's just even close to as funny and quirky as the trailer, I'm going to have a great time.

Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade / 2016)
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Described fun and weird - sounds just about right for me.

Le Fils de Joseph (Eugène Green / 2016)
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Interesting themes of family, parenthood and religion - seems like a movie that sums up everything and paints a big, beautiful picture about life.

Brace yourself, change is coming

I'm just over month away from the big moment: moving to London. The thought of new city, new country, new studies and absolutely new life used to scare me but now I'm surprisingly at ease with it. Why should I worry? I know I'll land on my feet. I always have.

Leaving soon makes me feel differently about myself and my surroundings. Due moving around quite much as a child, I have never really felt like I belong to a place; now I have found one home with dear co-workers at my usual summer job place. I know I'll be coming back there next year too. My mother's house feels cosier than ever as the cats are so cuddly after me being away for most of the summer.

I have even found some of my roots. I love Finnish language more than ever and want to buy everything Moomin item I lie my eyes upon. I have realised how much I actually love the sea - and that's it's not just me, but that seawater flows deep in my veins as there are connections to the sea from both sides of my family.

Lately I have had to learn some hard life lessons: and the most important thing was that I don't have to face them alone. The people that have given me so much compassion, love and understanding won't fade away.

They'll have my back, where ever I am. That's something that doesn't change, and for that, I can make it.

What to watch on YouTube: Tom Rosenthal's music videos

Tom Rosenthal is a London based artist, whose quirky melodies and lyrics make me laugh and cry. Almost as much as I love his music, I love the videos attached to the songs. There is different approaches to music videos and I appreciate the way I feel like Tom himself sees videos really connected to his artistic work.

Many of the videos are made by him and his friends; they might be simple but almost all of them include some clever hook that makes them special and beautiful. My favourites are the new poetic Lead Me To You (directed by Annlin Chao) and Middle of My Mind.

There's so much beauty, meaning and power in something so terribly vulnerable and humane. 

X-Men: Apocalypse

I'm honestly a big X-Men fan. I've heard bold accusations that they aren't good movies or that I like them, my movie taste would be otherwise questionable. That's truly a pet peeve of mine; underestimating and ranking peoples' personal views on movies. I have had so much faith in X-Men and have always fought back the annoying comments.

But now, sitting in cinema in front of big screen showing X-Men: Apocalypse, I felt awkward. Because even though I've enjoyed watching all of the X-Men franchise before (haven't seen Wolverines though), I left the cinema with mixed but mainly disappointed feelings.

I was drooling over Michael Fassbender with a beard - but still giggled and sighed at the hugely cliché I'm-a-good-man-I-found-love-oh-shit-they-died-now-I'll-destroy-the-world plot line. Many of the coolest characters (Psylocke, anyone?) didn't have almost any screen time. What about the mixed timeline that didn't have any sense at points? Characters didn't seem to be any older than before.

The worst thing, though, was the very awkward way they underlined the franchise. Lame jokes. Lame references. The movie seemed to shout WATCH ALL OF THE MOVIES ALL OF THEM WE ARE SO COOL AND FUNNY all over the place. It was not cool.

Because movies should work on their own. Because that's what I've always loved about X-Mens - they haven't felt like a money making machine.

The young actors really shined though - I had read an article on Empire, where they all told about their experience, but even without reading it beforehand it was very clear that this job was such a big deal for all of them. They gave their all. I've never really liked Jean Grey, but Sophie Turner (whom I admit to love unconditionally, but her skill was definitely not just my blind appreciation) showed a Phoenix that I couldn't help but admire.

There was a lot of potential, but it didn't deliver. I'm just hoping that the upcoming X-Men movies return to the quality we are used to.

REVIEW: London Road

London Road (dir. Rufus Norris, 2015)
****

I absolutely adore Rufus Norris’ debut feature film Broken, so from early on I was very excited to see his next film, London Road. Today – way later than I would’ve liked to – I got to finally see it and Norris didn’t let me down.

I’m very surprised of how low ratings this movie has: it’s only 5,3/20 on IMDb. The reviews are polarized. It seems like the whole basis of the movie is too much for some to handle: London Road tells a real story of community that’s getting over horrible serial murders of five prostitutes, based on interviews of the locals. By the way, it’s a musical.

I feel like it’s mainly just that musicals are stereotyped as feel good, silly, overly dramatic. Definitely not the right way to process such serious (and recent, the murders taking place in 2006) matters. In addition to underestimating musicals, the viewers stubbornly close their eyes from the fact that the movie is not really about the murders; it’s about the community of London Road.

What’s really refreshing about the movie is the way it shows just regular people. It’s definitely not Broadway styled big show; the songs are based on what those real people said in interviews. It’s brilliant play with speech patterns and intonations more than actual singing. Stutter and erms are included so it actually sounds more natural than in many movies where the character pop pretty perfectly shaped sentences out of their mouth so effortlessly all the time. What comes to choreographies, they are based on coordinated movement to build the tension. I personally really dig that kind of styling as film really has no need to follow the reality faithfully.

By telling the story of the local people, the movie didn’t leave out the ones left outside of the community: the local prostitutes. It took the story to a new level, I even got goosebumps few times: the scene of the girls speaking about how it took the murders to make people want to help them, and then in near end when Julie (Olivia Colman) told the interviewer that she would want to thank the murderer of getting rid of the prostitutes, next to her sleeping daughter.

What I really did not like about this movie was the not-so-subtle symbolic color schemes. The greyish blue of the beginning was just not visually appealing, it felt too underlined and too pushed forward. Otherwise the cinematography and editing was really on point though. All in all, London Road is a bold, sharp and respectful but interesting movie. Rufus Norris is a great storyteller, I would love to see his work also on stage (and keep my fingers crossed for more movies too).

Why My Fair Lady sucks

On my mission to see all the movies I should, I got around to at last watch My Fair Lady. I think it might be the first Audrey Hepburn film I’ve seen (yes, I’m ashamed of myself).

It’s a witty movie with lovely score and great performances. Especially Rex Harrison shines as Henry Higgins, being the kind of charismatic character you just love to hate. I really enjoyed myself curled up in my covers, listening to the songs and getting to know the colourful characters. So, how did it suck if you liked it so much?

My Fair Lady sucks because it wins it all in so many ways and then it shoots its own leg and stumbles down. Yes, I’m talking about the ending.

Eliza Doolittle is absolutely brilliant character. I was already signed up for faithfully celebrating annual Eliza Doolittle Day. The growth to independence from Higgins’ influence was what really dragged me toward the movie. And then the end scene breaks my heart. After all the struggle she comes back to him and it makes no sense.

To have some explanation, one could argue that she had now won the battle and they both knew it – so she didn’t have to be without him if she didn’t want to. She could do so. He couldn’t, she’s in power. But the way this version of Eliza looks at poor professor Higgins… It’s a tender look. And gosh, if he would’ve learned anything at all he should’ve worked on what to say to her. After all the power she has gained back it doesn’t feel good enough reason.

Other commentators online were saying that she just had to marry someone as the social structures demanded that and Higgins’ was the only choice. Well, she had Freddy, but really he’s just a useless side character, she couldn’t possibly care for him – and he didn’t have money anyway. Why everyone tends to forget Freddy was the one character who was attracted to her for who she was right from the beginning? After the talk Eliza gave him (“Show Me”), it seems that he was there for her. That was just what she dreamed of in the beginning - that, and chocolate, and we could assume that somebody being there for her for a change would be something she needed a tad more. Just think about her father. Anyway, if she didn’t want to marry Freddy she could’ve married somebody else. It was proven that she was popular – and after all the attention at the embassy ball she sure looked good in the eyes of (rich) suitors.

Somehow Higgins still has his fans. Direct quote from a YouTube comment favouring Eliza/Higgins: “Higgins is a little sexist and over the top with his personality”. Little sexist? Really, it’s 2016 and men are still so easy to forgive. There was no proof of him changing his habits – and without that there was absolutely no reason for her return. Is it really just me who doesn’t think that love hurting is not a romantic idea? When love hurts you know it’s your time to leave.

My Fair Lady – the musical – is based on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, first performed in 1913. He did not write the two ending up together and he was repeatedly crossed when the impossibility of this pairing was ignored. To please the audience with a ‘happy ending’, the actor of Higgins gave Eliza flowers. "My ending makes money; you ought to be grateful.” Shaw wasn’t grateful. For the 1938 movie version of the play he offered a compromised tender farewell between the two and then a scene from Eliza’s and Freddy’s flower shop. Didn’t go as planned; in that movie too Eliza comes back like in My Fair Lady, joking about her first visit.

From Eliza’s point of view the ending doesn’t feel natural. It’s clear that the audience is keen to see Higgins as the hero but as the story goes on, I think it’s inevitable to see that Eliza is the real hero here – and I believe it was supposed to be so. If George Bernard Shaw could write a strong female character who chooses her own way and says no to a man a hundred years ago, you’d think that it could be seen so over romantic clichés decades later - and that the present day viewers could do that too. Bring down the patriarchy or what? 

Here we go again

When I started this blog, I thought that it would become a motivator for me to dig deeper into cinema – and maybe something to mention in my personal statement for film studies. As it can be seen, the noble idea was quite short lived. Whoops.

But since then everything has changed. I got into the school of my dreams without any mention of a film blog; I’m moving to London in September and starting a new chapter in my life. As the glorious unknown is getting closer, the urge to write about movies has grown stronger. I’m really motivated about my future studies and that’s why I want to do my best, why I’m already reading through books on cinema and watching the classics I should've seen ages ago.

So, this is something of a new beginning. Here’s my little travel video from my first visit to London last autumn. I promised I’ll come back... but didn’t really think it would mean actually moving there!