The two films by Finnish
director Aku Louhimies “Frozen Land” and “Frozen City” tests the edges of the
dark human nature, shows the dark side of Finnish society and its social
problems both lack of hope and lightening elements and can be described as miserablistic.
“Frozen City” talks about a
man, a father, who works a taxi driver and whose wife one day just doesn`t come back from her holiday, so he takes care of their three children. When the wife is
finally back – it is clear that the couple can continue together, so they start
the process of divorce. Wife tries to make everything that the husband would
see the children less and less. That is the first thing what makes the main
character to feel oppressed and nervous, so it causes his impulsively rude and
violent behavior at his work and finally he loses the job. Then he has debts,
an irritating neighbor, finally, when he tries to pick up a woman in the bar –
she appears to be a prostitute and asks money, which he doesn`t have, he is
drunk and feels humiliated in all possible ways. All this leads to meaningless
violence. The film draws the psychological portrait of the protagonist by
placing him among nearly all the possible worst things that can happen for a
man – loss of family, job and freedom. The film depicts the crisis of men in
Finland (also as in a documentary “Steam of Life”). The shame of the character
is awakened and according to Finnish historian Juha Siltala, unemployment
causes the strongest feeling of shame for the Finnish men. Also social oppression
and closed modern city life causes the feeling of loneliness. The character is
left nearly without any hope. Just some in the end of the film after
unsuccessful attempt of a suicide when he lies in the jail hospital a sunshine
lights into his eyes.
In “Frozen Land” a school
teacher of literature is fired from his job due to the change of school profile
to the exact sciences. As a result, he spends his time drinking and fighting at
home with his son Niko. Finally, Niko is thrown out from home, he is hanging
around with his best friend Tuomas and Tuomas' girlfriend. He (while dazed from
drugs) forges a 500 € banknote and uses it at a pawnshop. The pawnshop owner
forks it over to a low-rent half-crook salesman named Isto… The is a story
constructed from sub-narratives (network narrative) and all of them are
connected that gives the impression that people`s fates are meaningfully
connected. All the events are devastating and totally pessimistic, “Frozen
Land” also doesn`t offer any hope until the end of the film when we see that
Niko was able to start a normal life. But he is the only one. The film gives
the idea that every wrong movement causes some other wrong one what leads to
violence, crime or disaster. Even though the film world is totally pessimistic
it leaves the ethical moral with a reference to The Decalogue that if the wrong
actions are not taken, there still is hope, light and also the way back (the
example of Niko).
So the both films mostly talk
about the lower part of society and its social problems as drugs or alcohol,
alienation of society, lack of solidarity, social oppression – the environment
that causes loneliness and the feeling of no way out. The film depicts the
total loss of paradise even though the action is taking place during the
economical boom. This can be seen as an opposition to Kaurismäki`s Proletariat
trilogy which also talks about the lower part of society and its problems
during the economical boom, but still there is much more hope and the paradise
is not lost, it is just “Shadows in Paradise”. We are left to judge what is
more objective to reality.
Written for my Finnish Cinema class back in JYU, 2012.
