jakkiih

I was quite defensive about the trilogy until now. The Force Awakens was decently entertaining reboot. The Last Jedi, although corny, was somewhat interesting to sit through. Outside of the main saga, Rogue One, I considered to be a good movie per se. And while I never expected a masterpiece here, I hoped last episode of the 42 year old saga would at least be: entertaining.

Well, the longest episode of the saga manages to offer the least (apart from Episode II). The movie is bombarded with crammed visual topping. Literally every second of it's length is filled with a flashy action, yet none of it is memorable. The Last Jedi had memorable moments, whether you like it or not. The Rise of Skywalker simple doesn't. It has around three scenes you remember faintly when you return home.

I wouldn't want to say the movie is thoroughly bad, but it's just a pointless mess. Not only it fails to end the story in satisfying way, it doesn't offer any interesting plot patterns at any scale. The movie does however have some neat visuals, and after all, it finally ends the saga. It's watchable piece of popular culture. No more, no less. Gladly I'm not a fanboy, because then I might be mad.

Musta Jää is a dark and cold love triangle and at times quite humorous one. It makes you laugh the first moment and the second it gives you the chills. Director Petri Kotwica clearly had no rush making this, because it seem so well finished, with not much faults. The only thing that I think didn't work all the time was the score. It is a score by a talented cello player from Apocalyptica, but it was playing maybe a bit too much during the movie. It's a minor minus, but not a big one.

All the actors are just fantastic, and the characters are very interesting. Outi Mäenpää is one of the best finnish actresses and she plays Saara, who finds out her husband is cheating on her. It happens the day she turns 40. Husband Leo is played by Martti Suosalo, a very fine actor too. Leo is having an affair with his student, 29 year old Tuuli (Ria Kataja). Saara starts planning a revenge, that is megalomanic and wonderful to watch, she even creates herself a new identity for it. The plot twists are not stunning but very entertaining and well made.

Movie is good looking too, visually. I think it's not a bit lower than the European medium of cinema. In my opinion it is by far the best finnish movie made in last few years, with Kaurismäki's Laitakaupungin Valot of course. This makes Petri Kotwica one of the most interesting new finnish directors. And this proves he's a great writer too. Movie has a lot of small little things - of acting, characters, cinematography, dialog - that are just genius, not really that much seen in finnish cinema. Much of it happens in Saara's mind. Not that much that you could analyze it like Ingmar Bergman's Persona (which has some fine similarities), but still some. The whole masquerade sequence is one of the things i like a lot too.

I recommend Musta Jää to people who like a well written, well acted and well directed little dark but cleverly humorous European, almost an art film-like cinema. Not for ones who dislike semi-low tempo, and too intelligent structure.

The story in it's all simplicity: A woman is isolated in her home. She gets a gun. She has a gun. What will happen next? Will the gun make the woman go crazy? Does it start controlling her? Can she keep her mind clear?

A decent short by a Finnish guy, Jari Haanperä. It's black & white and it is visually quite effective at times. The only actor in the movie is Rea Mauranen, and she does her job well. Of course you could count the gun as an actor, because it is in the leading role with Rea.

It's worth watching if it happens to show somewhere, but there's nothing special why you should get it in you hands.

The scene with the doll's house is cool.