Foxy Friday: Finnish Edition

(JUHO KUVA)

It’s Juhannuspäivä in Finland — midsummer, that is. The whole long weekend where a lot of Finns head out to their little cottages for fun in the water and woods, saunas (of course) and a bonfire under the midnight sun. Yes, there is drinking and sausages, too. Traditionally it was a time for spells to increase fertility on your farm including finding a spouse.

If you’re far from Finland this weekend (sob and shout out to my cousins in Kemi!) you could do worse than enjoy some great Finnish films. Not quite as well known as its Scandinavian neighbours to the west nor Russia to its east, the Baltic nation offers a uniquely rich national cinema that stands out in a homogenous filmmaking landscape.

I have to start with Aki Kaurismäki because well, you have to do so. Legendarily elusive of serious discussion and dismissive of any praise, he nonetheless reigns supreme because he’s at least had some fame outside Finland though not quite on the level of Renny Harlin. Harlin, despite sneaking in references to Finland in every single film, really remains a Hollywood director who comes from Finland. Kaurismäki captures the black humour and hopeful melancholy that permeate so much Finnish creativity (Angry Birds aside). I chose Ariel because it’s the first of his films I saw and it made me laugh so hard even though it’s also very dark (as this clip demonstrates). But see all of them! Seriously: all.

Chances are if you know anything about Finland and you’re a skulk member, you may know the wonderful Moomins. I considered putting one of the Moomin films here — Comet in Moominland is just wonderful and really captures the books! — but even more fascinating to me is this documentary on the artist who created them. Haru, The Island of the Solitary shows the rough little island where Tove Jansson spent much of her summers with her partner ‘Tooti’ (Tuulikki Pietilä). There are a couple of wonderful biographies of the artist that show her amazing work beyond the Moomins and the swirl of a life she had, but somehow the brutal simplicity of this island life stands out.

When did these filmmakers look into my dreams? I am, perhaps, one of a small number who form the ideal audience for this film that spins together Finnish mythology and wu xia action, but I’m sure its magic will appeal to a wide audience—if they can get over the strangeness of the concept.

Admittedly Jade Warrior sounds a bit esoteric: a mixture of the ancient Finnish story collection, The Kalevala, and the sword and sorcery of early China—with a little modern Helsinki life thrown in, too. It’s wu xia and urban fantasy and a whole lot more (see my long review here) but it’s a real fun film that has a lot to recommend it.

When’s the last time you saw a good sledgehammer fight anyway?

Härmä — In the plainlands of Ostrobothnia, Western Finland, a tradition prevails, according to which the first-born son inherits everything and the remaining offspring must fend for themselves. The law has been cast aside in many areas and groups of men, knife-wielding thugs, nicknamed ‘toughs’, control the fields. The blade rules the land. ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE NORTH, directed by Jukka-Pekka Siili, had its international market premiere in Cannes 2012.

When I saw there was a Finnish ‘Western’ you know I had to have it. Ignore the attempts to market it as Once Upon a Time in the NorthIt’s based on a very real phenomenon of the knife-gangs who strong-armed folks in the sparsely inhabited west in the late 19th century. When you’re accustomed to the hail of bullets in modern Westerns, it’s a bit disconcerting to see someone whip out a knife with menace (and impossible not to think of Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid). But the knife fights are well done — in fact all the action is nicely done. (See my long review here).

Of course I can’t skip over Rare Exports. What a wonderful film! And filmed in beautiful Lapland. Love that tagline: “This Christmas EVERYONE will believe in  Santa!” Be warned: Santa may not be quite what you were expecting! I think the less I tell you about this, the better. Just see the movie. Even Hollywood was sufficiently impressed to team this crew up with Samuel L. Jackson for Big Game.

A Beginner’s Guide to Finnish Myth & Folklore

Astuvansalmi Rock Paintings ©K. A. Laity

by K. A. Laity

Today Fox Spirit Books brings out a shiny new edition of my tales inspired by Finnish myth and folklore, DREAM BOOK. Inside you’ll find short stories (including two brand new ones), a little poetry and even a play.

Let me tell you a bit about the mythology. The Kalevala and The Kanteletar are the twin tomes of Finnish myth and folklore. The stories and songs that make up these collections are very old, but were gathered together in the nineteenth century as a surging sense of national pride grew. The tiny nation straddles the dividing line between the Baltic and Scandinavia, and had been dominated alternately by its two larger neighbours, Sweden and Russia.

In the 19th century, a doctor with a fascination for folklore, Elias Lönnrot set out to collect examples of the old tunes and stories that people told to try to capture what he saw as a vanishing way of life. In The Kalevala, he arranged these stories in runos to link together story arcs. You can read an English version online, but let me acquaint you with some of the recurring characters who show up in my stories.

Väinämöinen is the eternal sage. After Ilmatar the goddess gives birth to the world, he is the first human born. He knows all manner of magic. I’ve always found it fascinating that much of Finnish magic comes from know the true names of things and being able to sing them. At one point, Väinämöinen faces a young challenger who thinks he can take on the old man, but he gets sung right into a swamp. The panicky Joukahainen offers his sister’s hand in marriage, which starts another theme for the old magician: he never gets the girl.

Aino is the sister offered to Väinämöinen. Her parents think it’s an advantageous marriage, but the beautiful young maiden finds little appeal in being joined to the ancient sage and finally drowns herself to escape. She comes back, however, as a salmon to taunt Väinämöinen, so she lives again. Väinämöinen’s mother suggests he should go north to find a bride instead.

Louhi is the witch of the northern lands. There’s a great split in the Kalevala between the people of the south in Kaleva and those in the north, so they’re always portrayed as adversaries. Louhi, while seemingly as powerful as Väinämöinen, inevitably the stories depict her as “evil” which just sat wrong with me. I used to play in a band called Louhi’s Daughters with my friends Minna and Kasha, who shared the opinion that we were getting a rather one-sided view of Louhi. In our performances we tried to give a more balanced picture of this amazing woman. Our very first performance together was a retelling of the Aino story, which also proved a resonant touchstone for DREAM BOOK.

While The Kalevala has a series of narrative threads, The Kanteletar is a looser collection of songs grouped by who sings them, i.e. men, women or children. There are also a number of ballads that would be sung by everyone. Not surprisingly, one of the songs is all about the kantele, the national musical instrument of Finland. The name of the collection is kantele plus the feminine ending, so you might think of “Kanteletar” meaning the spirit of the kantele, the source of all the songs.

Here’s a video of snapshots from my visit to the ancient rock paintings.