| Slovenian Film Festival Comes to Oulu |
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| By Nina Lah | ||||||
| Tuesday, 28 November 2006 | ||||||
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What do Slovenian and Finnish movies have in common? Is it the harsh honesty? Maybe the inspiration film directors draw from? Or is it the depiction of a melancholy everyday life that is often a popular theme in films from both countries? But there must be something because there’s been a Finnish film festival in Slovenia and now there’s a Slovenian film festival in Finland. From the 27th November, you will have the chance to see seven Slovenian movies right here in Oulu’s NUKU. Every day for one week, NUKU will show one movie during ‘Slovenian Movie Week.’ Perhaps it is just a coincidence but in mid-October there was a Modern Finnish movie week in Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital. The films showed were Lapsia Ja Aikuisia – Kuinka Niitä Tehdään? (Producing Adults), Pelikaanimies (Pelican Man), Äideistä Parhain (Mother of Mine), Matti (Hell is for Heroes), Kuutamolla (Lovers and Leavers), Tulennielijä (Fire Eaters), Juoksuhaudantie (Trench Road). After reading the plot outlines of these Finnish films on the internet, I realised that there is something weird about a few of them. Most of the stories are still connected to real-life problems; Venla in Lapsia Ja Aikuisia – Kuinka Niitä Tehdään? wants a child but her husband secretly gets a vasectomy to make sure that doesn’t happen. Iiris in Kuutamolla dreams about true love like in the movies but after meeting her prince charming soon realises it is just an illusion. Juoksuhaudantie is about a husband whose life revolves around making his wife happy. His life turns upside down when his wife leaves him and takes their children with her. Matti is a film about the life of famous Finnish ski-jumper Matti Nykänen. It focuses on his life outside the ski-jumping arena. According to the official site of the film, Äideistä Parhain is the first feature film ever made about the Finnish war children. It is a film about a boy who has two mothers and two homes - but still never feels at home ( http://www.aideistaparhain.com/english/ ). Tulennielijä depicts a tragic story about a mother who leaves her two babies to their grandmother just to be with a German officer during the War. But the most surreal of the seven is definitely Pelikaanimies. The idea of a pelican, getting so intrigued by humans and their lives that he dresses up like a human and starts imitating their lives is pretty bizarre. A friend saw three movies in Ljubljana and commented on the Pelikaanimies as a funny film, Äideistä Parhain was the one that moved her the most and Matti gave a nice surprise at the end when Jasper Pääkkönen (The actor playing Matti Nykänen) walked into the movie theater and greeted everyone. I only saw Kuutamolla and it was maybe similar to The Bridget Jones films. If you are more of a romantic type, then you can easily find something in the upcoming Slovenian movie week. On Monday you can have your first taste of what happens when too much happiness and love starts to irritate your neighbours. The obsession of four guys leaves deep scars on one couple's life. Predmestje (Suburbs) is a film about Slovenian xenophobia but can apply to any other nation. http://www.rtvslo.si/blog/entry.php?&id=437 Kajmak in Marmelada (Cheese and Jam) is a love story about a Slovenian woman and a Bosnian artist. The Slovenian spends her days working as a cook, he spends his scratching his behind and watching football. The differences in the nationalities contribute to constant disagreements between the two worlds and cause them to collide. Drastic situations need drastic measures and that's why Bozo decides to make things right. Kruh in mleko (Bread and milk) is a drama founded on an event that happened to its director. He explains: “When I was about 16 or 17 years old a certain scene made a profound impact on me. A chap, a family man whom I knew by appearance, came to a halt in the middle of the tavern at about three o’ clock in the morning, completely drunk, holding a plastic bag in his hand. There was a moment when it seemed that this man realized how he had ruined his own life. In the bag that he dropped on the floor were a loaf of bread and a litre of milk.” According to director, the movie focuses on the yearning for mutual love and warmth. http://www.emotionfilm.si/kruh/index1.html Uglaševanje (Tuning) is about an office worker having a mid-life crisis. The romance in his marriage is long gone so he starts looking for it outside it. The couple are faced with temptations but the question is: are they strong enough to resist them? A film about human craving for love, closeness and acceptation, about a couple unable to live together but at the same time not strong enough to separate. Director Janez Burger tries to find out what is love like in our egocentric world. Can love exist in a world in which everybody pays attention only to himself? Ruševine (Ruins) tells how Herman, a respected middle-aged director is preparing a previously unknown work by an old Icelandic master, to be played in an open-air theatre. As we soon learn, the real playwright is Herman and his discovery is a hoax. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0334267/#comment). On Sunday you can go and see a romantic film called Pod njenim oknom (Beneath her Window). Duša is in her thirties and deals with problems like does her married lover really love her and is there someone sneaking into her apartment to unclog her sink. But there is someone who is more important and will have a profound impact on her life, as soon as he will come out of the darkness beneath her window. Both Finnish and Slovenian movies have a real-life feeling to them and they did very well in different international festivals. Sadly at least the Slovenian movies didn't get the deserved fame at home and are more appreciated abroad. For more information on the Slovenian movie week in Oulu go to: http://www.ouka.fi/oek/ajankohtaista/index.html#slovenia
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