Reviews

Many sources cite this as Mänttäri's best film, and I can agree. It's a story of 17-year old Katja, who moves to his father's place. She hasn't been in touch with her dad Ossi for 10 years after her parents' divorce. There are many questions from the past that the two try to deal with in a short time.

The film features many bar scenes and colorful minor characters, typical for Mänttäri. There are also tragic elements in the form of the neighbour family. Hanna Manu, who plays Katja, gives a display of fresh energy, carrying the movie along. It would have been nice to see her more in Finnish cinema, but for some reason this has been her only lead role. Antti Litja does probably his best work here, drawing an immediately recognizable portrait of a Finnish man of his generation.

The film's strength is, that is doesn't take itself too seriously. It doesn't get too gloomy, even if there's lots of unspoken grief and loneliness in between the lines.

For me this was a nostalgic trip to Finland of early 90's, which by that time was deeply in the hands of an economic recession. The numerous drinking scenes fit the atmosphere well. The film is beautifully shot and there's an air of approaching winter and melancholy in many scenes, balancing with the straight-forward, outspoken attitude of young Katja's character.

This film has been named as one of the seminal films of the "Iranian new wave". I saw it in a Finnish cinematheque as part of an Iranian theme series. It was surprisingly fresh and strong even after more than 40 years.

The director's style resembles very much Bresson. He is not interested in psychological realism, but rather shows gestures which are both ritual and mundane. The lack of emotions between the characters in striking, but never overstated, and towards the end the film seems to become a cinematic essay on the impossibility of human relationships.

Every frame in this film in carefully planned. The small village, Caspian shores, barroom interiors - all this is as important as the inner life of the characters. It's clear that the role of the scenery has influenced Kiarostami a lot. The film leaves an intense afterglow, perplexing with it's matter- of-fact view upon life and death.

This is clearly a very original film. Sokurov uses "Madame Bovary" as his inspiration, and transforms hidden desires and longing of the protagonist into metaphysical beauty. You can't say there's much "happening" in the film. It owes more to painting than to drama, and that's what makes it so stunning. The inner life of the characters is still the centerpoint. Sokurov and his photography team turn reality into something akin of icon-art, twisting and distorting visual image into fantastic forms. Simply: marvelous.