Television Review | Juho Kuosmanen’s silent film Distant Planet rejoiced at the expense of death – Not suitable for real people

All the filmmakers are not film junkies who delve into the history of the silver screen. And you don’t have to. You can create something new without relying on the old.

The one who put Finnish cinema on the world map Juho Kuosmanen could concentrate on making a contemporary film if he wanted to, but A distant planet is already his third silent film.

The brand-new short film, about a quarter of an inch in length, had its premiere in September at Kuosmanen’s home theater, Kokkola Kinojuhl, which he has co-founded.

Distant planet begins on an island inhabited by the lighthouse keeper Marlanda (Jaana Paananen) and his brother Maximilian (Aku-Petteri Pahkamäki) with the Bulla dog (Pulla).

The siblings’ sheltered lives are turned upside down. First, Bulla disappears, triggering Maximilian’s fear of death. Maximilian dreams of a distant planet where beautiful music plays, chess is played and fine drinks are drunk after death. Everyone has their own paradise.

Then the light is taken from the lighthouse because it is not needed. Everyone navigates by GPS.

A distant planet it’s not meant to be believable. Kuosmanen uses the alienating narrative of silent films a hundred years ago as a license for poetic naivety.

Or maybe you don’t need permits for it, but it’s easier to accept the prank when everything is told in an old fashioned style.

Kuosmanen masters the silent film expression well. The earlier parts of his trilogy are Romu-Mattila and a beautiful woman (2012) and Secret liquor smokers (2017). Their and A distant planet you could almost believe it was from a hundred years ago.

Especially Secret liquor smokers it was supposed to look like that. It is based on what is known about the first Finnish feature film from 1907. The original film has been lost.

Of course, Kuosmanen hints at modern times. On a distant planet the mention of gps positioning is such an anachronism. And the end is paced by rock, which came to the world only a few decades later.

The music for all three silent shorts has been composed by the excellent Ykspihlaja Kino Orchestra, which has also performed live with them. Kuosmanen made his first mute for live performances. In the trilogy, the band is an essential part of the whole.

Staging and the intentionally jagged craftsmanship of the animation nicely creates an antique feel. In that sense, Kuosmanen’s silent films resemble another Finnish film junkie, Anssi Kasitonn, work. However, Kasitonn’s reference framework is more modern.

This time, Kuosma and Kasitonn are also united by their love of science fiction. When Marlandak longs for a distant planet and starts building a rocket, let’s get close to the Frenchman by Georges Méliès a classic A trip to the moon (1902).

A distant planet there is no big but small cinematography, and therein lies the essence of the story. Not suitable for real people.

New Kino: A Distant Planet, Yle Areena and Theme Tue 24.10. at 22:55. (K7) Theme channel’s New Finnish Film Week program.