My first western ever, and I loved it!

Yesterday was once again time to best course one can think of: film course! We just listen 20 minutes, when the teacher tells us some interesting and funny facts about the night's director and then we can just watch some classic films for free. Could there be a better way of course credit?
   We have already seen Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin and North by Northwest by Alfred Hitchcock. And yesterday our teacher had picked up The Searchers by John Ford. I admit that my first thought was 'Who the heck is John Ford?' and the second one 'He directed westerns? Oh my God, no!!!!' I have never before been able to watch a whole western (I either give up or fall to sleep, depending on the time and place). I do not know why. It just happen.
   But now I can say I have experienced the change of heart (well, not exactly, but at least I am willing to watch another western, someday). Ford is genius! The Searchers tells about Ethan Edwards, who comes back to his brother's farm in Texas after fought for the Confederacy in American Civil War. But peace is broken, when Edwards homestead is burned by Comanches (Indian tribe), while Ethan and some other men are lured away to seek stolen cattle. Ethan's brother and most of his family are killed, but Chomanches have kidnapped the youngest one of the family, little 8-year-old Debbie. So Ethan starts his long and almost obsessive search of her with his brother's adoptive son Martin.
   The film deals with dark themes like revenge and racism, but Ford has also created some really humorous moments to counterbalance the grim moments. It has been a long time since I last time laught so much while watching a film, and this were not even a comedy!
   Ford has been a great inspiration for younger directors (like George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese) and without a reason. Some of them have even planted tributes to him into their productions (e.g. does the smoking remains of Edwards homestead remember a bit the remains of certain moisture farm in a desert planet in a galaxy far far away?). I can strongly recommend to everybody. If you have not seen it, you do not know what you are missing.

Mark: 9+

Good novel=good anime=good manga?

Howl's Moving Castle Film Comic, Volumes 1-4
668 pages in all
published by VIZ Media LLC in 2005

Sophie is a quiet and shy girl working in his late father's hat shop. But one day everything changes: she meet a mysterious young man, is chased by some black creatures and finally displease Witch of the Waste, who transform her into a old woman. Sophie can't stay at home any more, so she have to try her wings and venture into the big strange world. Soon she find herself in a moving castle of wizard Howl, who is rumoured to eat a hearts of the young and beautiful women. How can Sophie break the curse? And what is the secret contract between Howl and the fire demon Calcifer?

An example of mangas screens

   The story in question is the plot of Diana Wynne Jones' novel Howl's Moving Castle, which Hayao Miyazaki adapted in to an anime film, which became manga. Whereas anime take some liberties concerning the novel(not necessary bad ones), manga is almost fiercely loyal to the anime. Althought I usually like adaption that follow the original source for a certain extend, in this one I find it slightly annoying. The fault is not in the story line (which is the same as in the anime), it is more in the visual presentation: every screen is straight from the film. I have to admit it looks pretty cool, but the annoying part is that the similarities doesn't end there. Manga is clearly trying to mirror the rhythm of the film, but it ends up becoming just small screens with just slight differences in them (like characters turn or sit), which is really irritating, because all the details stuffed into them makes them seem like find-10-differences pictures. That made me skip almost whole pages, where practically nothing happened.
    Another annoying detail was imagery of sounds. I don't know is it the same in the English version (I read them in Finnish), but the translator had been lazy and left them in their original Japanese form. Nothing doesn't break your reading rhythm better than an unintelligible scribble over an otherwise beautiful picture.
    I highly recommend that if you are interested of story would rather pick up the novel or the anime. They honor the story way better.

Mark: 6

Manual of marring a Finn

 "How do you tell if a Finn is an extrovert? He looks at your shoes, not his own!"

A few years back Phil Schwarsmann's book How to Marry a Finnish Girl made a small fuss in Finnish media (practically everything conserning Finland does. We are so worried of what others might think of as :). It's a collection of Schwarsmann's experienses in the land of the thousand lake. It includes weather, Finnish mentality, winter, language and, of course, Finnish women.
   Schwarsmann also list of things to do, if you want to get an Finnish wife, which he gives an 30-Day Guarantee. This include such things as cknowledging Finnish girls superiority compared to Swedish girls, find a one and some pick-up lines, which make Finnish girls giggle, such as this to:

"Put your tongue on my flagpole and see if it sticks."

"No, that's not a Nokia Communicator in my pocket."

Schwarsmann's book is time to time hilarious. He make some clever observations about Finland, which we born-and-bred Finns don't always think about (like enormous secrety concerning baby names).
   I think for those who have not ever been in Finland or meet any Finns, the book might be a bit confusing. But for others (espesially for Finns who doesn't take them selves too seriously) the book can offer many good laughs.

Mark: 7+

New season of Doctor Who

WHOOO!!!!!!

Count and his guest

"Go home, Johann — Walpurgis nacht doesn't concern Englishmen."

- The protagonist of Dracula's Guest

There is some fascinating deatels conserning Bram Stoker's novel collection Dracula's Guest and other wierd stories. Firstly, Stoker try (in deep financial distress) even in his sickbed to collect few collections for his best novels. Unfortunately he died before they were published, so his wife finnished them as according his plan.

   Secondly it shows how Stoker master all kind of horror, not just the supernatural one. For instance in Squaw doesn't have any mysterious aspects, but is still quite crusom. It can be guessed, how the story ends, but it makes it even more horrific to read.

   Thirdly the title story of the book, Dracula's Guest, has told to be a part of Dracula, which was cut off before publishing, because of the lenght of the novel. Those, who have read Dracula, can see clear similarities with the novellette and the novel's scene, where Jonathan Harcer arrive to Transylvania. The protagonist of Dracula's Guest aren't never named, but there is all reasons to believe his Jonathan. But it's obvious the scene has been cut off at the early state of writing, because it doesn't fit to the rest of the novel.

In general, Dracula's Guest is a fine peice of Gothic horror stories and Inkeri Koskinen's great translation to Finnish make it even more enjoyable.

Mark: 8

Psychology of school shootings

School shootings have in past few decade become topical all over the world. As an example, just this spring there was a school shooting in Orivesi in Finland (luckily no one didn't get killed) althought the shooter weren't a real school shooter as doctor Peter Langman defines them. Langman's definition in his book Why Kids Kill. Inside the Minds of School Shooters contains only shooters who have a clear connection to the school they're attacking (in the real world this means they're or have studied there).

   Langman has acquainted himself to the possible school shooters in his job as a children's psychologist. He have also gotten to know the school shooters who have bring off their cruel aim. Langman has divided ten American shooter to three different category: psychopathic, psychotic and traumatized shooters. He also introduce some of the patients he has had who may would have attacted their schools.

   The topic is hot and interesting and text has been popularized. Some times maybe even a bit too much. The categorizing seems slightly artificial, especially with such complex thing as this. Langman himself admit there isn't one pattern how someone become a school shooter or an easy way to identify a possible one. That is why the society should invest in supporting youngsters.

   Peter Langman's book is for people who are interested in the subject, but don't want a too scientific description.

Mark: 7-

Nazis from the dark side of the moon

The Nazis' moon forth

Yes, that's right. It's the topic of the most expensive Finnish film ever, Iron Sky. I don't got a clue, who invented the idea, but the main plot is that Nazis escaped to the dark side of the moon in 1945, and they've been waiting there since. And now they're ready to occupy the earth.
   Visually Iron Sky is moderate. It's clear that if the film would have been founded by big Hollywood money, there would have been bigger props (for instans in the UN), but there is still some pretty cool structures, like the Nazis' forth in the moon.

Hindu swastika

   What comes to the story, it's a bit thin. The hole film is basically built on jokes. Some of them, like Vivian Wagner's, the aide of President of the USA, floods of curses are too much, but there's also some good ones.

Flag of the Finnish airforce before WWII

   The film uses many clichés of the scifi films and many references to Nazi culture. Wagner is a important part of the soundtrack and Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator get its share. And I don't know if this have been taught in other countries, but in Finland history teachers make clear swastika was originally an Asian symbol for auspiciousness and so the symbol of the Finnish airforce have nothing to do with Nazis, and the filmmaker are used this small piece of information in the one of their UN jokes. There's also some references to the politics. For instans President of the USA looks amazingly like Sarah Palin.

On the left Sarah Palin, on the right President of Iron Sky

   Iron Sky is a decent movie for those nights when you doesn't care about complicated stories or artistic visual plays. It's not a memorable one, but if you're interested in Finnish films, this is the easiest one to start.

Mark: 7