She's letting go of chasing time

[sovay]

In the Kalevala, the mother of young Lemminkäinen collects her son's bones from the black River of Death and tries to make them come back to life and tell their story. We are now facing a similar task. But the voice we give to the past—we must listen to it carefully.

If Antti-Jussi Annila's second film has one-tenth the grace, intelligence, and myth-potency of his first, then by all the gods I am watching Sauna (2008) as soon as I can pry the DVD from greygirlbeast's live, typing fingers, because Jade Warrior (2006) was amazing. Viking Zen found it on Netflix; she asked me if I wanted to watch a Finnish-Chinese martial arts epic and never having seen a Finnish-Chinese anything, I said yes. I didn't recognize the director's name. We were expecting it to be fun, perhaps an incongruous sort of Scandanavian wuxia. (You have to admit it's not really a stand-out title.) What the film turns out to be is an astonishing fusion of Chinese myth and the Kalevala, taking place in two languages and multiple layers of time, present-day Finland and China about four thousand years ago; it is about second chances and lost chances and the naming of demons and what it means to be a smith, and it contains some of the most striking passages I can remember from a recent film. There is a fight scene in which one of the participants is armed with a war fan and the other with a kantele. (It creates its own soundtrack.) Scenes at the protagonist's forge are as spark-filled and primal as Iron Man only hinted at. There is a genuine feel of the otherworldly and no way to tell from the mythic substrate whether the story will end in hope or tragedy or whether that question is even meaningful; it begins in fragments and puzzles itself together as it goes along, like archaeology, and when at last it is all locked seamlessly into place, the shape is not what you thought it was. Truly, I don't want to say too much. By now you should be able to tell whether you need to see this film, though if you're on my friendlist, I don't know why you wouldn't. But if nothing else, it is not a combination of mythologies I would have thought of: and it's done so beautifully, I am waiting now to see what else I haven't thought of, and need.

Comments

[readingthedark.livejournal.com]

So good to know. Sauna was so impressive that I worried that Jade Warrior wouldn't be as powerful.

[sovay]

Sauna was so impressive that I worried that Jade Warrior wouldn't be as powerful.

Honestly, based on everything you and greygirlbeast and handful_ofdust have said, I am expecting Sauna to be the greater film of the two, but Jade Warrior blew me away. I didn't even get into the acting, especially that of Tommi Eronen, Markku Peltola, and Zhang Jingchu—two of whom must be fluent in more than one language—or the spareness of the script, which consistently evokes more than it tells and tells as much through glance and movement as it does through words, or the music, which is as culturally blended as the storyline and not like any film score I've ever heard. Like, accordion, electronics, and throat singing; it could turn from folksy to symphonic to fingernails under your skin, and always moving with the camera. Its worst flaw really is its undistinguished title; I don't understand why it never got an American release. Seriously, the closest it got was the Toronto Film Festival. What?

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen Jade Warrior yet, but I clearly must, and so cannot compare the two. Sauna was amazing, but I think takes a couple of watches to really set in properly. The first time I saw it, there were parts that left me scratching my head, but made a lot more sense on subsequent viewings.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

You had me astonishing fusion of Chinese myth and the Kalevala (which name I always want to spoonerize to Kavelala--oh my ridiculous brain).

Sticking it right on Netflix now.

BTW just read shweta_narayan's poem that you so wisely selected for Strange Horizons. Beautiful.

[sovay]

Sticking it right on Netflix now.

Awesome. Enjoy!

BTW just read shweta_narayan's poem that you so wisely selected for Strange Horizons. Beautiful.

Glad you liked it. The credit really is Shweta's!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

The credit really is Shweta's!

Yes, and I've told her how much I like it. But it's thanks to you that her talent is honored in a prominent place.

(Well. On this occasion, with regard to this poem.)

--The wind, sovay! I just got up and checked the computer and found your comment--and meanwhile outside the most amazing wind is blowing.

[sovay]

(Well. On this occasion, with regard to this poem.)

Heh. Thank you. I start editing again in May . . .

I just got up and checked the computer and found your comment--and meanwhile outside the most amazing wind is blowing.

Here, too. I suspect it's spinning off the tornados in the South, somehow.

[rose-lemberg.livejournal.com]

OMG, I need to see this film. Thank you for the recommendation.

[sovay]

OMG, I need to see this film. Thank you for the recommendation.

You are very welcome. Let me know what you think!

[rose-lemberg.livejournal.com]

I watched it last night. It is wonderful; I was somewhat thrown though by existence of Finnish-speaking Finns in Finland 4,000 years ago. I'm very happy I own the film now, and will watch it again soon. It was fun to recognize Finnish words (but then I realized the words I know are from Kalevala deciphering attempts, not from any acquaintance with Modern Finnish...)

[sovay]

I was somewhat thrown though by existence of Finnish-speaking Finns in Finland 4,000 years ago.

I suspect Mandarin-speakers have the same problem with the Chinese scenes. I liked the bird-script on the Sampo, though.

It was fun to recognize Finnish words (but then I realized the words I know are from Kalevala deciphering attempts, not from any acquaintance with Modern Finnish...)

Yeah; all the Finnish I know is mythology.

I am so very glad you liked it!

[rose-lemberg.livejournal.com]

It would be so much more fun if they were ancient Finno-Ugrians; territorially it would work better, too.

Thank you for recommending it - and please forgive my geekery...

[sovay]

Thank you for recommending it - and please forgive my geekery...

Geekery never needs to be forgiven!

The unforgiven geekery

[rose-lemberg.livejournal.com]

Geekery never needs to be forgiven!

In this case... I was really hoping the female villager with the fly would turn out to be Loviatar.

[daegaer.livejournal.com]

I'm not suer I even finished the post before I'd rushed to order the film!

[sovay]

I'm not suer I even finished the post before I'd rushed to order the film!

Antti-Jussi Annila, you owe me!

[zdenka]

That sounds kind of amazing.

[sovay]

That sounds kind of amazing.

We were not expecting the quality of film we got tonight from random Netflix. It really was.

[alankria.livejournal.com]

By now you should be able to tell whether you need to see this film

Yes, yes I do.

[alankria.livejournal.com]

I just found it in amazon UK... alongisde Gladiator Eroticus. Which leaves me slightly baffled.

[sovay]

alongisde Gladiator Eroticus. Which leaves me slightly baffled.

Whazza?

. . . seriously.

Enjoy anyway!

[anderyn.livejournal.com]

I am delighted to say that iTunes actually has this movie on it, and therefore I can get a copy immediately without even waiting. It looks to be utterly fascinating.

[sovay]

I am delighted to say that iTunes actually has this movie on it, and therefore I can get a copy immediately without even waiting.

Cool! Also, I keep forgetting iTunes has movies. I suppose I like that you can use the future to watch epics from the past.

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

Wow.

This sounds perfectly amazing.

{joins queue}

Nine

[sovay]

{joins queue}

Man, now I do feel like a cult.

[larryhammer]

You had me at "Finnish-Chinese martial arts epic".

---L.

[sovay]

You had me at "Finnish-Chinese martial arts epic".

I rather thought I might. You were the first person rushthatspeaks flashed on when I told them about this film, too.

[larryhammer]

I am flattered.

(I think.)

---L.

[sovay]

(I think.)

Nah, it's a compliment.

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

This does sound brilliant. I'll have to hold it in mind. Thank you!

[selidor]

Alas, Quikflix has no knowledge of it. I have asked our local Film Group to schedule it for next semester. Hopeful, hopeful...and then I would get to see it on a full-size theatre screen!

[sovay]

I have asked our local Film Group to schedule it for next semester. Hopeful, hopeful...and then I would get to see it on a full-size theatre screen!

I would envy you that!