Movie review | The documentary about a reticent father goes around the director's own navel, but in an interesting way

Document

Old Markku. Directed by Markus Toivo. 61 min. S.

★★★★

Mark decided build a house for his family because that's what he has to do. 30 years later, the house is still not finished, the family disappeared some time ago and Markku lives there with his new partner.

What happened to Markus and why is his bumpkin Markus the way he is? Markus, to whom his father hardly spoke, and whose father was not even there for a long time during his childhood.

Markku is busy with his construction projects, Markus tries to help, but he doesn't even know how to use a welding machine. Markus is an artist's soul, Markku is a practical man, having worked as a dentist, i.e. craftsman.

It is quickly revealed that two men of different generations are very close to each other under the surface.

In the second half of the film, Markus and the brothers arrive at their old home. There is such an awkward silence from these scenes that I was left thinking about the role of the camera and the film crew behind it in the silence. People who have known each other since childhood can't be this quiet with each other, can they?

Brothers are also there for such a short time that a possible breach of relations with the father that happened years ago is not properly addressed. I was left wondering if it would have been worthwhile for the film to focus only on the relationship between Markus and father Markku, when the measure is only one hour.

Within its size, the film still manages to tell a lot. In class, a gate is built that reads Wanha Markku, a reference to both father and one of his favorite poems, VA Koskenniemi Old Markku. In between, we go through the father's stages and family history. At the end of the hour, the gate is finished and installed. The gate finally opening in the dark and its iron arches glistening in the artificial light are a handsome sight.

Cameraman Joel Grandell also succeeds in other scenes and angles. I especially liked the two chairs placed on the meadow, where father and son meet without doing anything. Or well, the boy rolls cigarettes.

The camera is set far enough, the front and back are not quite in focus, but two different generations are in the middle. They do not speak very significant, rather banal, but they do speak, at least momentarily.

Last picture the tractor bucket touches. The music, on the other hand, seeks tones that are too melancholy. In the end, it's just a small style violation in an otherwise genuinely cinematic documentary that tells specifically with its pictures, not its words.

Script by Markus Toivo, producers Markus Toivo / Kalervo Aho (Kylätie) & Joki Productions, starring Markus Toivo and Markku Aho.