Betoniyö

Pirjo Honkasalo:
Betoniyö (Finland, 2013)
97 min. • Finnish • English subtitles

The Finnish Oscar candidate Betoniyö (Concrete Night) is an up-to-date film version of Pirkko Saisio's novel that was first published in 1981. The director Pirjo Honkasalo has mostly directed documentaries in the past, but this leap to the side of fiction results in stunning cinematography. Betoniyö has not been praised in vain: it is a gritty depiction of a boy becoming a man, simultaneously beautiful and aching.

Set in a suburb of Helsinki, Betoniyö depicts the world of boys and men, and it is a story about a broken mind, ugly scars, and fear turning into violence. A 14-year-old Simo (Johannes Brotherus) is searching for his identity in harsh reality. His older brother Ilkka has only one day left before going to prison. Their helpless and unpredictable single-parent mother (Anneli Karppinen) spends her days accompanied by cigarettes and karaoke.

Simo and Ilkka spend the last night of Ilkka's freedom together. The last day together encompasses events that the brothers would rather pass. Unable to deal with or escape them, Simo experiences the problematic events in all of their brutality. Honkasalo manages to incorporate the savagery of the events, as well as the loss of hope and light into the film.

Aesthetically, Betoniyö is an incredibly beautiful work, and the cinematographer Peter Flinckenberg is successful in capturing the night-time Helsinki. In addition to the Oscar nomination, Betoniyö has been nominated as a candidate for the Nordic Council Film Prize as well as in the European Film Awards. And quite rightly so.

» betoniyo.fi

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Pirjo Honkasalo: Betoniyö

Screening time:
Tapio 4 • Thu 13th Nov at 8:00pm

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