Veteran director Jouko Aaltonen’s (Revolution, 2006; Little Red Bunch, 2020) How to Fix the World tells the story of a group of activists, bookended by images of the Extinction Rebellion on Mannerheimintie in 2021.
In between fits the brief history of modern Finnish activism, from the protests in Prague in 2000 and the subsequent Gothenburg riots – where police shot an activist in the back! – to the pieing of James Wolfensohn at a press conference with then Minister of Finance Sauli Niinistö by his side, as well as the takeover of the Iraqi Embassy.
The film gives a voice to true rebels – former squatters, opponents of global capitalism, activists, environmentalists: Mikael Brunila, Markus Drake, Eetu Viren, Leona Kotilainen among others.
What makes the film so clever and strong is the well structured use of the material: the story is woven through a smooth and skilful marriage of cartoon elements with actual footage shot by the activists. There is not a single dull moment. Wagner’s sublime Valkyrie plays in the background, imposingly and awe-inspiringly as life.
Joonas Nykänen