Hindu (Free subscription) | 07/12/2008
MADURAI: It has been 30 years since the film appreciation club, Yadharthaa, was formed in the city. To celebrate the event, the society has planned special programmes with a sense of socially meaningful artistic expression in the next five ...
Seattle Weekly (Free subscription) | 06/25/2008
A few weeks ago, I ran into erstwhile Soundgarden bassist/Hazlewood co-proprietor Ben Shepherd outside his Ballard bar. Shepherd already cuts a rather imposing profile, but he looked extra-intimidating that night in a domed top hat similar to those worn by the dr...
MovingPictureBlog (Free subscription) | 06/20/2008
Take the Leningrad Cowboys (the tres outré Finnish rock group showcased in Aki Kaurismaki's Leningrad Cowboys Go America ). Mix with the Red Army Choir . Add the Led Zeppelin anthem. Here is the result -- which you should play very, very loud. No, seriously.
Movie City Indie (Free subscription) | 05/29/2008
Helsingin Sanomat reports on the ascension of director Aki Kaurismäki to the 8-member Finnish Academy. Reports Esa Mäkinen, "'The day that I get an invitation to the President’s Palace is when I will immediately commit suicide”, said the young film director Aki Kaurismäki [in 1984]. “I mean that I don’t want to make a contract with society that would lead to me getting invited there.” That kind of...
Drifting: A Director's Log (Free subscription) | 05/28/2008
Just when I thought I'd about run out of steam on writing reviews, I've got a new reason to keep the habit. A week or two ago, Michael Tully invited me to join the small stable of writers at the...
Variety.com (Free subscription) | 05/27/2008
Film News: Filmmaker given title of Academic of Arts -- Finnish helmer Aki Kaurismaki was awarded the honoray title of Academic of Arts by Finland's President Tarja Halonen on Friday in Helseinki.
GreenCine Daily (Free subscription) | 05/23/2008
"The 'O' stands for Odd, which is a Norwegian male first name. And, in the most affectionate sense, this film is 'odd,'" writes Duane Byrge in the Hollywood Reporter. "It's also outstanding." "Bent Hamer's unique blend of absurdist humour...
Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch (Free subscription) | 05/22/2008
Unless you count the bald-on-top and two-toned-fringe-on-the-sides wig with which Benicio del Toro, as the revolutionary called Che in Cuba, become the revolutionary called Ramon in Bolivia, laughs have been scarce at Cannes this year. So when I heard reports...
rediff Movies (Free subscription) | 05/06/2008
One of the first directors NDTV Lumiere (international cinema channel) has managed to snag is 51-year-old Finn Aki Kaurismaki, an outspoken firebrand who began his directing career with 1983's Crime And Punishment, a modern Helsinki-based adaptation of Dostoevsky's novel.
WFMU's Beware of the Blog (Free subscription) | 04/21/2008
Twenty years before Sylvester Stallone revived the Rocky franchise in 2006 for the sixth installment of the series, Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki shot a short film called "Rocky VI" . It was Kaurismäki's spoof of "Rocky IV" which had come out in 1985. In the words of the director, it was his "revenge on Mr. Stallone, who I think is an asshole". Here is the complete 8 minute thing. If...
Dissensus (Free subscription) | 04/12/2008
Maybe you've seen these, maybe not. Series of TV documentaries / interviews from the early 90s. Well worth a watch. *Alexandro Jodorowsky* http://youtube.com/watch?v=4gvKZXH48AQ http://youtube.com/watch?v=tJsYp7JAwqg http://youtube.com/watch?v=RBZmfdxwCmo http://youtube.com/watch?v=kw4FQbxIViI
Directors Notes (Free subscription) | 03/06/2008
Following an almost interview at last year’s London Film Festival I finally got a chance to see Lenny Abrahamson's second feature Garage which was the most successful film of 2007 in its native Ireland and critically well received throughout its festival run, picking up prizes along the way. Lenny joins us today to discuss [...]
Joe Reifer - Words (Free subscription) | 03/01/2008
in between — by Joe Reifer Today's digital lifestyle can place a lot of demands upon photographers. Sometimes it's a good idea to stop and ask yourself…What Would Richard Avedon Do? If you're a fan of directors Jim Jarmusch and Aki Kaurismäki, I highly recommend a film from Uruguay called Whisky. A superb, subtle, deadpan character study. Randy [...]
DVD Times (Free subscription) | 01/25/2008
DVD Video Review: Artificial Eye's fourth and final Aki Kaurismäki set collects the adventures of the director's spoof Siberian rock 'n' roll band creation across two features, a concert film and five shorts. Noel Megahey reviews.
Barista (Free subscription) | 01/13/2008
Inspired by EJ's comment in the previous post, I am liberating one of my favourite Screen Hub articles from 2007, which provides an interesting spin on the local film industry. Of course, Finland has a very useful language barrier… While the screen industry is fascinated by the WGA strike in the US, another group of doughty [...]
