Before Martti Koskenniemi was a well-known expert in law — or even an adult — he was a film enthusiast. Koskenniemi’s father took his young son to the movies in their hometown of Turku, and during his student years the young man eased his “Sunday evening angst” by going to the cinema with his spouse.
Koskenniemi is, however, better known for his extensive career. In 2023, the emeritus professor of international law was awarded the honorary Finnish title of Academician, and internationally he is recognized as a leading scholar in the field. Koskenniemi has served as a visiting or a part-time professor at institutions including New York University, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, and Sorbonne University in Paris.
His passion for film has continued throughout his assignments abroad. Koskenniemi describes himself as a film fan — “absolutely” — although he does not consider himself to have pursued the hobby seriously. He has never kept records of the films he has seen or the feelings they stirred in him.
Still, some works have left a strong impression even without notes. For his Carte blanche series, Koskenniemi selected two films: The Conversation, Francis Ford Coppola’s paranoid classic from 1974, and The Long Day Closes, Terence Davies’ masterful family story. His reasons are clear.
“The Conversation represents the significant flourishing period of American cinema that began in the 1970s — and at the same time the stage of life when my spouse and I learned that films could be more than mere entertainment: they could be both art and political expression,” Koskenniemi says.
His reasons for choosing The Long Day Closes are more personal.
“Although the Liverpool of the early 1950s depicted in the film was very different from Turku in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the film awakened in me certain feelings and memories familiar from childhood. The portrayal of the protagonist’s world and family is subtle, and together with the background music it creates a powerful nostalgic whole.”
And just like Koskenniemi as a boy in Turku, the main character of The Long Day Closes also feeds his imagination through movies.
Kaisu Tervonen