This is a review. The author is responsible for the opinions in the text.
Action drama
“Kalevala”
Director: Antti J Jokinen.
Screenplay: Antti J Jokinen, Jorma Tommila. Cast: Elias Salonen, Eero Aho, Ilkka Koivula and more. Duration: 2 hours 23 minutes (15 years). Language: Finnish. Cinema premiere.
Say what you will about Three Suns (2004), but at least the infamous medieval turkey lives on as a constant source of joy. The “Arn” films (2007/2008) were much more complex and received better reviews, but of what use? We’re still waiting for a new wave of Swedish film heroes in a historical setting.
The self-confidence seems to be more heightened among the neighbors in Finland, where they have now dared to make a film adaptation of the national epic “Kalevala”. If, like the undersigned, you are not very familiar with heroic poetry, there is cause for confusion. Not because the story itself is particularly complicated – on the contrary, it is a classic revenge story – but because the sprawling prologue resembles a summary of a non-existent predecessor.
After a while A somewhat more sober picture of North Karelia in the 11th century is conveyed, where a village is rocked by a bloody sibling feud. At first, the apparently older one of them, Untamo (Eero Aho), seems to be the villain. He is a somewhat rigid and doomed guy who, instead of loved ones, is surrounded by dirty men, headed by an evil old wizard.
The brother Kalervo (Johannes Holopainen) is more heroic: younger and prettier, and also a family man with a beautiful wife. The son Kullervo (played as an adult by Elias Salonen) is promised a childhood full of love instead of tough bars, but the boy’s royal future inspires the father to break the previous land-sharing agreements between him and Untamo.
The outbursts come suddenly every quarter, he fights with everything and everyone, can’t follow instructions better and becomes like a wild animal…
The greed punishes himself. Blood is shed and Untamo only spares his nephew, who grows up believing that his uncle is his father. Vague fragments of memories haunt Kullervo. The outbursts come suddenly, he fights with everything and everyone, can’t follow instructions better and becomes like a wild animal when something doesn’t go as planned. At the moment, an ADHD evaluation would have been obvious, but instead he lets his non-existent impulse control run amok in the barren and dirty macho environment of the village.
The grunting monotony of the fence-building, the fights, the drunkenness and the awkward emotional expressions make the film seem like a cross between a long, boring life and a poorly run men’s camp. The identity-challenged Kullervo takes stubborn detours to get around his mental darkness, which frustrates him so much that he makes friends with the entire village, but this always fails to kill him. Whiplash, campfire, ambush – nothing seems to bite in Kullervo. After various complications he is banished, but then comes closer to the truth.
To be So rooted in wild forest life, it’s surprising how little director Antti J Jokinen pays attention to the natural beauty of the scene. Nothing particularly distinguishes the imagery, but it’s as if Jokinen just piled loose pieces of the publisher’s intrigue into a pile, asked the actors to grow facial hair, and shouted “Action!” called. But the fight scenes aren’t particularly hot either. Everything looks so boring, cheap and dreary. In the end, all I want to do is drive home and imagine the image “Mikael Persbrandt Three Suns” on Google.
See more. Sharper revenge stories in a historical setting: “Jungfrukällan” (1960), “Gladiator” (2000), “The Nordmann” (2022).
