After nearly twenty years, Jukka Kärkkäinen returns to Tero, a familiar figure from his documentary The Living Room of the Nation (Kansakunnan olohuone, 2009). The little Henri has grown into Tero’s best friend; together they share a bachelor pad in the middle of a small village, go hunting, and argue in the sauna about the horsepower of cars.
A beautifully static camera captures the men’s conversations from the corner of the living room and the car bonnet. Beneath the laconic humour, a touching relationship between father and son emerges.
The ticking of a clock constantly echoes in the background as Tero worries about his son’s passage into adulthood and the health of his ageing parents.
A new era is dawning: the son will soon have a driver’s license and a girlfriend. Tero, meanwhile, sinks into despair, alcohol, and the company of evil spirits. Henri listens and tries to instil in his father at least some kind of faith in the future.
These Hamlets of Härmä ponder the meaning of existence over and over again. “So we’re back to this again: to be or not to be. Or what to do.” Beside them, the worried-looking dog Juri watches on like a faithful Horatio.
Martta Tuppurainen