Isn’t it a bit embarrassing really? We are part of the European Union, but hardly know some of the countries the former encompasses. In Finland’s case, the IFFR is set to change all that with a Signals homage to Peter von Bagh.
Cinephiles the world over consider Peter von Bagh one of the most skilled and passionate contemporary film critics and film historians. However, outside his home country only a very few people are aware that he also makes excellent documentaries about the history of Finland. This is precisely where we can learn a lot from Von Bagh. That said: there is no part of popular Finnish culture that is less studied internationally or less appreciated than its cinema. Naturally, almost everyone knows Aki Kaurismäki, whose latest film,
Le Havre constitutes one of the highlights of the 2012 IFFR. When Von Bagh was conducting research at the Finnish Film Archive , he was even a sort of mentor to the director. Kaurismäki regularly asked him to view his work and was subsequently provided with the necessary advice. But which other Finnish directors are we aware of?
Wrong question. The right one being: who should we be aware of? If we are to believe Von Bagh, we’ll only truly love Finnish film if we appreciate the work of Mikko Niskanen. Von Bagh dedicated his longest essay to this filmmaker,
The Story of Mikko Niskanen (2010). Like many Finns, Van Bagh is obsessed by this director’s over five-hour long magnum opus:
Eight Deadly Shots which dates back to 1972. It is with great pride that the IFFR this year presents the international premiere of the original version of this film. An exceptional opportunity: this Zola-esque monument about the mental decline of a poor farmer is rarely ever screened. Basically, film history constitutes the basis for Von Bagh’s work as a director. He usually reveals his take – and it really is his take – on the history of his country on the basis of excerpts from both classic Finnish films and pop music. An excellent example being
The Year 1939, a documentary Von Bagh made in 1993. To bring the year 1939 to life he used images of Ansa Ikonen and Tauno Palo, the stars of Yrjö Norta’s 1939 film
SF-Paraati, singing. He also incorporated newsreel footage. The film shows a country gearing up for the long awaited summer Olympic Games and for a war. At the same time, it is celebrating the fact that Frans Eemil Sillanpää has become Finland’s first winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Year 1939 reveals Finland’s hopes and fears at one of the most troubled times in its history. The film not only shows how people felt at the time, but also what those feelings could mean for the present and future of Finland. The Finland Von Bagh remembers is the Finland he seeks.
A remarkable aspect of Finnish culture which you’ll immediately fall in love with thanks to a Von Bagh film, is tango – yes, Finland is the second most important tango country after Argentina! Should you ever have the opportunity to spend a Friday nights in both these countries you will discover more tango between the Finnish towns of Hanko and Njuorggán than between the Argentinian towns of Ushuaia and Profesor Salvador Mazza . If push came to shove, even Finnish metal band Lordi would be capable of playing the average tango tune. They’d have to because otherwise other Finns would definitely look down on them. However, there’s considerable doubt whether Argentine rock band Divididos would be able to do the same just as easily. Most of Von Bagh’s films have the carefully-constructed rhythm of Finnish tango.
Blue Sky - Journey Into the Land of Memories from 1978 is a honest to God paean to Finnish tango in which a dance school becomes the centre of the country – of the world even: all human drama plays out on a few square metres of wooden dance floor.
So does that make Finland the world? Let’s put it this way: the Finland that Peter von Bagh shows us and which he returns us to time and again, is human existence, with a particular twist that makes all the difference. Thanks to Peter von Bagh we want to be the Finns that he seeks.
Guest programmer Olaf Möller is responsible for the Signals: Peter von Bagh programme