MishkaBarton

There is a lot of intelligent debate about whether this film is a masterwork or simply pretentious exploitation, but I'm leaning toward the former. What begins as an almost unwatchably bleak/brutal film slowly transforms into a sincere and deeply moving study on pain, and in so doing, it takes the viewer on a journey with the main character, slowly changing us as it changes her; leaving us as numb, exhausted, and possibly as transcended as she. As the violence intensifies over the run-time of the film, so too does our perspective and understanding.

I didn't take my eyes off the screen, but I almost don't remember the violence and torture of the third act. All I remember is....beauty....a melancholy sadness....and an almost paternal love for the main character.

It's almost as if I was subconsciously blocking out the experience of the torture and putting myself in the same brain-space as the lead female. The metaphysical questions posed by the film's ending are interesting yet unnecessary afterthoughts, because at that point in the journey you either will or won't have accepted the main impact of the film.

Overall, not an easily forgotten experience, and I might be a better person for it.

I found this film entirely by accident when I tried to download a torrent of another film with the same name.

A quick google search showed that the film is rather loosely based on the life of Finnish poet, Lauri Viita, whom I'd never heard of.

Plot is in the vein of Pollock and A Beautiful Mind, and the production values are on par with both of those films. Stunning cinematography and art direction. It took me a few minutes to realize that the lead actress was playing two roles - that of the poet's grown daughter, and that of his wife during the flashbacks. This is the first Finnish film I've seen and it's made me want to search for more.