Sunday, February 27, 2011

*Finnish Film Series* - Timo Koivusalo's "Täällä pohjantähden alla" (Under the North Star, 2009)



Spring 2011 Finnish Film Series

WHEN? Tuesday 3/1 at 5:30pm
WHERE? UC Berkeley Campus, Dwinelle B-4
COST? Free / Donations Accepted

Täällä pohjantähden alla (Under the North Star, 2009)
-181 min.
-Directed by Timo Koivusalo
-In Finnish with English subtitles



*"In the beginning there were the marsh, the hoe - and Jussi". Väinö Linna’s (see photo) novel trilogy Täällä pohjantähden alla – a true classic in Finnish literature history – was published in 1959-1962. A movie series was created in the 1970s, but this version was released in 2009. It follows the life of a crofter family Koskela in a little village of the Southern Finnish Häme region from 1880 to the 1950’s. This film covers the first two books of the trilogy.

The story begins with Jussi clearing marshland to create a croft and dreaming of a better life in a self-made and self-owned farm. By the time Jussi´s family grows and so does the tension between crofters and land-owners. Nationalism and socialism are rising new ideologies and the
Finnish society is divided more and more in to two: the rich land-owners and poor working class. Finland gets it’s independence from Russia in 1917 but the new nation is weak and torn apart. The Finnish Civil War breaks out between “the Whites and the Reds” in January 1918 and changes the life in Koskela family. Jussi’s son Akseli becomes an active socialist and finally, a leader for the Reds ...



**Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhgydXhqKKM


Bring some snacks and Kleenex, the movie is looong and touching.

No comments:

Post a Comment