Calamari Union

This is the only film I have seen in cinema twice in three days. I really loved it, it being very absurd. 17 Finnish-speaking men all named Frank, and one English-speaking(quite poorly) man named Pekka are on their way to the other side of the town -Eira, the escape from the dirty streets of Helsinki (where the night never seems to end), a task that turns out to be harder than one should expect.

This is the only film Kaurismäki has made either drunk or having a hangover, and he is not satisfied with it, but that shouldn't be a reason not to see it. It is very funny, and you ought to look out for details if you get the chance to see it, one example being a woman walking out from an airport, coming right out on a small street in the city.

Lots of dangerous grins, dark sunglasses, and no problems remembering the characters names. Great!

Aki Kaurismäki's career began with the masterpiece Crime & Punishment. However, instead of making something similar immediately afterwards, he chose to follow it with an unconventional, black and white satire, Calamari Union.

The film begins in a bar, a pivotal place in Kaurismaki's movies. It is here we first meet our sixteen protagonists: fifteen men (including Matti Pellonpää, Kari Väänänen and Sakari Kuosmanen) all named Frank (apparently, the director was too lazy to come up with different names for everyone) and a guy named Pekka (Markku Toikka). These people represent the lowlife of Helsinki and, aware of this fact, they decide to go to Eira, the decent part of the city. The journey is described as if it were perilous, and in fact things will take unexpected turns.

Calamari Union is a strange film, as it doesn't follow the rules of conventional plotting. What we see is rather a series of separate, quite amusing incidents involving the Franks and Pekka, the dry, very Finnish humor being an anticipation of Kaurismäki's musical satire Leningrad Cowboys Go America (speaking of music, there's an interesting use of the song Stand By Me - a year ahead of Rob Reiner's eponymous movie).

This may not be the kind of movie people watch on a regular basis, but once it's been seen, it doesn't escape your memory. Perfect for a "different" cinema experience.

A homage to acclaimed 1979 Walter Hill film "The Warriors",(it even features a subway car), done in Kaurismäki peculiar, Godard inspired style, "Calamari Union" shows a group of uniformed named man, as opposed to uniforms of gang colors, fighting their way through Helsinki, trying to get to the promised neighborhood of Eira, not their native, but wishful place of living, where "there are no apartments". Along the way they meet and befall casualties to all sorts of transient enemies, asking for trouble as they go along. Their journey is futile, an attempt to overcome nonexistent and unseen boundaries, doomed from the start. Their resolve is even questionable and strong willed women are often derailing them from their unsure path, as the obstacles appear before them as a mirage.

Shot in typical Kaurismäki minimalist style, black & white photography, improvised dialog on a loosely based script, "Calamari Union", succeeds in bringing a viewer close to chaotic nature of the group's quest. This film is definitely worth repeated viewings, just for substance and style. Recommended.

Aki's second personal feature film has a prototype of the late style, but it is not particularly clear. After thinking about it, I can't find a particularly accurate language to summarize the theme of the film. It seems that it can also make a psychological interpretation. It can even be said to be a cool "Finnish version of mind agents"? Everyone's name is frank, but everyone seems not to be frank. The ideal country they are looking for seems to be illusory. Maybe a lot of music is what AKI really wants to present.

Finnish film "Calamari Union" is not at all a motion picture with a defined setting.It is more of a visual experience with surreal touches which must be seen many times to feel the plight of hapless rock musicians in an urban milieu.In "Calamari Union",there is also a minor battle of sexes to be witnessed as most of the women get their demands met by hapless,vulnerable men.Women are shown as strong willed individuals who would not stop at anything to humiliate, scorn confused men who are treated as mere caddish oafs.Rock music is also one of this film's leading element which reveals the hidden talent of some vagrant musicians.There are some mellifluous tunes which could easily be lapped up by music lovers.No talented film director in the history of modern cinema has come even remotely closer to Finnish author Aki Kaurismaki's vision of urban angst.This is a director who has made an absolutely wise use of his hometown Helsinki and its nocturnal atmosphere by shooting in pristine black and white.He shows why some people are not able to put any order in their utterly disorganized,messy lives.A unique film which is absolutely needed for those nihilists who believe that they are part of existential times.PS:A great film dedicated to Baudelaire,Michaux and Prévert who still hover on earth.Lalit Rao does not care if non Francophones are not aware of Baudelaire,Michaux and Prévert.