The first was Thomas Vinterberg's Submarino which tells the parallel stories of two brothers who continue in adulthood to struggle with consequences from the serious neglect they suffered in childhood. It depicts a really harsh life and in some respects was brilliantly filmed. The realism is both grueling and at times poetic, and the acting was totally convincing. The two boys try desperately to care for their baby brother since their mother can't (or won't) and then one of the two ends up as a single father who wants with all his heart to take care of his son, but is addicted to heroin. Truly heartbreaking material...
The other film, Miesten vuoro (being released internationally as Steam of Life) would have been wonderful if I hadn't already been so emotionally battered by Submarino (we had only a half hour between screenings). The film is a documentary depicting various Finnish men talking together while naked in the sauna. Brilliant concept wonderfully executed. It goes straight to the heart of Finnish culture and identity construction. There were a few perfect aesthetic moments in the film that exactly convey the off-kilter surrealism that runs through Finnish life. I wish I could find some images on the internet, but there don't appear to be any.
One such surreal and poetic scene was an exterior shot of a camping trailer out in the woods in northern Finland that had been converted to a sauna; through the steamy window you can see the butts of two men sitting inside. Another was two army officers who, after just having a deeply emotional conversation in the sauna, bow to each other and shake hands, and wish each other a happy independence day while still nude. It is really striking how many of these men interviewed are struggling emotionally with the loss of children, either through divorce or in once case through death. I think I have never seen such a strong portrayal of fatherly love and longing for absent children. It blew me away, and was really almost too much to bear.
When they introduced the film they compared it to Heftig og begeistret, and I can see why, though I think this one is really a better film. The only thing I didn't like is that at the very end they brought in a choir, which I thought made the similarities between the two films just too obvious. After the screening the director explained why they did it, and what the song means in the Finnish context (apparently it's a song often sung at the funerals of children), and that the father whose child had died felt very comforted by the inclusion of the song. That made sense as part of a process of public mourning within Finland, but not for those of us coming to this film from the outside.
It all makes me so very, very grateful for my little family and the amazing job that KE does as a loving and responsible (and fun!) father.
I've finished the front of the aran sweater, and am close to finishing the first sleeve. It's amazing how quickly it's going, considering I haven't really had much time to knit this week. I've pretty much decided just to finish this up before picking up the Fanakofte to do the finishing work on that. Once these two are done, I'm going to cast on for Lissuin, since I'm ready for some color experimentation after all these cables and finishing.
Off to make a pizza dough and block the front of the aran sweater...
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