THE LIVING ROOM OF THE NATION (KANSAKUNNAN OLOHUONE)
Finland 2009 – Director: Jukka Kärkkäinen – Original language: Finnish – Subtitles: English – Length: 74 min.
To sleep in your own bed or a double bed? To be or not to be? In small filmic vignettes Kärkkäinen’s everyday heroes reflect on the constant ups and downs of their lives revealing whatever is on their minds - from the merits of buying a new bed to the infiniteness of the universe. The camera opens up a stage for the protagonists with space for show-offs as well as for misfits. Reality lies somewhere in between Aki Kausrismäki and Ulrich Seidl. This glimpse inside six Finnish living rooms reveals both small idiosyncrasies and universal themes: the joy of fatherhood, childhood memories, relationship problems, loneliness. It provides a tragicomic insight into Finnishness.
English/Original Title: The Living Room of the Nation. Writer: Jukka Kärkkäinen, Sini Liimatainen. Camera: J-P Passi, Jani Kumpulainen F.S.C., Sini Liimatainen. Sound: Tuomas Klaavo. Editing: Timo Peltola, Jukka Kärkkäinen. Production: Mouka Filmi Oy. Producer: Sami Jahnukainen. International Sales: Deckert Distribution.
