Juha

A pleasant little trifle - a modern-day Finnish silent film, with few intertitles (but a somewhat tacky music score) about a decent cabbage farmer whose wife is lured away by a seedy underworld type. The film sketches their initial contented lifestyle with deliberate naivete ("Happy as children," says the caption), all the better to set up the ultimate tragedy. Cleanly and simply shot, the film is obviously no great shakes, but it places itself with total conviction within the silent film aesthetic - tipping us off to the villain's nastiness, for example, through an unselfconscious shot of him stepping gleefully on a butterfly; and also finding room for a classic-type shot of a dog running after the bus carrying away his master. The design of just-so-slightly exaggerated faces and postures is sustained quite well, setting up an ending that seems authentically modern and tragic for all its bogeyman-type trappings.

This was our second Kaurismaki film, and we absolutely loved it. I don't know of any actors other than Kuosmanen and Outinen who have the facial expressions to carry off this role. The sheer goodness and pain of the character of Juha are piercing, and Kati Outinen can convey a million different changing emotions just with her eyes.

We totally agree with the author who pointed out that the attention to detail is one of the things that makes this movie great. Watch Juha and Marja's wedding rings and how their position changes as the movie continues. The movie is certainly not comedy, although there is some very stark and surprising comic relief in very strange places.

Juhais a black and white film with no sound, yet it is one of the best Finnish movies this year. Director Kaurismäki has drawn great performances out of the three leads, especially Outinen, who truly knows how to act "without words". The script is reasonably short and keeps the audience content through these silent 78 minutes. So, if you can overcome your prejudices against black and white silent movies, do see this one. "Juha" really delivers!

I'm not sure if this film has been released with English subtitles, but it does not matter. The story, the classic love triangle gone bad, is easy to follow in this silent movie. Director Aki Kaurismaki appears to have had fun with his remake of the Finnish novel. During the scenes at the farm house notice the subtle changes in the kitchen appliances, including the microwave oven. Kaurismaki is the director of the Leningrad Cowboys movies. Fans of those two movies should also recognize Sakari Kuosmanen, who plays Juha. Juha's beloved wife Marja is brilliantly played by Kati Outinen. Their visual narrative is both outstanding and insightful. I saw this movie with my wife during its first week in France. Neither of us speak Finnish nor could we read the French subtitles, but again, it didn't matter (thanks jan). With running time just slightly over an hour and fifteen minutes, it was the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon in Paris.

The first reaction is: a silent movie? in black & white?? In Finnish??? Have no fear. This is a terrific movie, one of the best of the year, perhaps even Kaurismaki's best. Tremendous soundtrack, equally good acting, beautifully written. Juha brings it all together with rare power. Don't dare miss this one.