We've heard of "British Reserve", but "Finnish Reserve"? Well, with Finnish documentaries STEAM OF LIFE and FREETIME MACHOS screening at Hot Docs 2010, I'm finding out that men in Finland really have a hard time expressing their feelings. STEAM LIFE directorsJoonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen think this reserve is a consequence of the war years (see interview). I'm glad that the Finnish males are breaking their silence and expressing their feelings the way women did during the Feminist revolution.With FREETIME MACHOS I expected locker room scenes, bawdy man talk, and beer, and that's half of what I got; the other half were scenes of men in various stages of life talking about parenthood and marriage, friendship, being rejected by their workplace (Nokia plays a big role here), and poetic thoughts about manhood and its frustrating, sometimes contradictory expectations (especially expectations from women). Men aren't supposed to lose at rugby and the Oulu team (the subject of the film) are are trying desperately to save face by avoiding being downgraded to a lower league. This documentary is funny, touching and rough. Stay tuned for my interview with director, Mika Ronkainen. Coming Soon!
Wednesday, May 3, 6:30pm, Cumberland 3
Saturday, May 8, 6:45pm, The Royal Cinema
www.hotdocs.ca
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