Non-degree course | July 23 – July 27, 2012
Mind and Cinema A
course on Finnish film making past and present. By examining the themes and narratives in the films of internationally well-known Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki (director of Crime and Punishment, Shadows in Paradise, The Match-Factory Girl, The Man without a Past, Lights in the Dusk, Le Havre), the course will provide a general focus on Finnish National Cinema. The course reviews the heritage of the Finnish cinematic past, starting from the silent era of cinema, and elaborating various themes and processes, demonstrating how the Finnish mind and soul are reflected in the history of Finnish national culture. Aki Kaurismäki’s films have undergone continuous scrutiny for over 20 years. Finnish landscape, urban city feelings, time, movements, and nostalgic images are bound together in his films. Kaurismäki’s background lies partly in Finnish cinema, partly in European cinema, and partly also in Hollywood cinema, because of his special relationship with film history. As Kaurismäki’s films clearly suggest, European cinema is aesthetically innovative, humanist, and socially dedicated by nature. In many of his films, images of a city life can come out as essential elements inside the narrative structure. Through Kaurismäki’s modernist approach, the true meaning is not found in the subject of the film, but in the way that cinematic elements and formal structures are themselves used. Kaurismäki avoids conventional narrative structure, preferring to replace it through a unique use of framing, editing, image, sound, and music. In his films, these formal elements come together as a highly
Course fee
200 EUR For students 160 EUR
stylized but expressive language through which he can communicate his central concerns. This course aims to give a detailed account of the development of Finnish cinematic language and narration in its many-sided and exciting forms. The emphasis lies in the very nature of narrative created by Aki Kaurismäki. The course provides students with a critical understanding of the grammar of Kaurismäki’s film language and cinematic techniques. It also provides the skills to analyze what has been seen. Learning about the language of cinema will help students to appreciate films, and to engage actively in discourses and discussions around cinematic elements. The course leader is Professor Jarmo Valkola, Tallinn University.
Contact
Birgit Kirsimägi birgitk@tlu.ee
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