Laulu koti-ikävästä (Finnish Blood Swedish Heart)
Mika Ronkainen:
Laulu koti-ikävästä (Finnish Blood Swedish Heart) (Finland, 2012)
90 min. - Finnish - English subtitles
-S-
In his documentaries Huutajat and Freetime Machos Mika Ronkainen, a director from Oulu, northern Finland, successfully portrayed the northern Finnish mentality. Through the quirky characteristics of the people of Oulu, Ronkainen illustrated the usually unspoken sentiments of northern men. The films got an excited reception all around the world, but the real breakthrough for this director has been Finnish Blood Swedish Heart that premiered this year.
This film is clearly Ronkainen’s strongest film yet. Finnish Blood Swedish Heart won the award for best documentary at the prestigious Gothenburg International Film Festival, and brought home impressive three trophies from Tampere Film Festival. On the surface, this terrific film tells a story about Kai Latvalehto’s, a guitarist for the Finnish pop band Aknestik, and his father’s road trip to Gothenburg, where Kai grew up. Like many western Finnish families, the Latvalehtos moved to Sweden for better job opportunities in the 1970s. A childhood between two countries is still a sore spot for the now middle-aged guitarist, who wants to find out where he came from.
On a deeper level, this is also a film about the burden of being a Finn in Sweden and about the relationship between a father and a son. During the road trip these two stoic men discuss for the first time the painful points of Kai’s childhood, from the father’s drinking to the sense of inferiority caused by being an immigrant. It is hard to follow these discussions with dry eyes. When a Finnish man speaks of his feelings, it can be painful.
In addition to telling touching story, Finnish Blood Swedish Heart is filmed beautifully and it is filled with fantastic music. The sentimental colour scheme from the 1970s transports the viewer to the summer cottages of nostalgic Finland. The plot is intermitted by music scenes, including performances by Anna Järvinen and Harri Mänty from Kent. They play old songs about the immigration from Finland to Sweden. This is the Finnish music documentary of the year.
Sun 17th Nov at 3:00pm Tapio 4