Calamari Union

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Calamari Union is the second full-length film by director Aki Kaurismäki, 1984.

[edit] Plot

The movie tells a story about fifteen men, fourteen of them named Frank Armoton and one Pekka. They decide to move to Eira, from Kallio (both city parts of Helsinki, Finland). Unfortunately, they all get killed, or married, or have to work during their trip.

Finnish premiere February 8, 1985, directed by Aki Kaurismäki, screenplay Aki Kaurismäki, cinematography Timo Salminen, sound Jouko Lumme, edited by Aki Kaurismäki, Raija Talvio, music Mikko Mattila, Jone Takamäki, production Aki Kaurismäki / Villealfa Filmproductions .

Songs featured: Pahat pojat (Casablanca Vox) Stand By Me (Casablanca Vox) Maybellene (Chuck Berry) Valkovuokot (Olavi Virta).

Cast

Matti Pellonpää (Frank) Puntti Valtonen (Frank) Pirkka-Pekka Petelius (Frank) Kari Väänänen (Frank) Asmo Hurula (Frank) Pertti Sveholm (Frank) Kari Heiskanen (Frank) Martti Syrjä (Frank) Mikko Syrjä (Frank) Markku Toikka (Pekka) Timo Eränkö (Frank) Pate Mustajärvi (Frank) Saku Kuosmanen (Frank Armoton) Mato Valtonen (Frank) Sakke Järvenpää (Frank) Mikko Mattila (Frank) Hande "Tuomari" Nurmio (taxi driver, later a bum) Dave Lindholm (hobo) Aki Kaurismäki (hearse chauffeur) Pirkko Hämäläinen (secretary at airport) Heinäsirkka (lady in coiffeur salon) Mari Rantasila, Sanna Fransman, Sohvi Sirkesalo Synopsis

A group of men called Frank and one Pekka head for a perilous trip across downtown Helsinki to find more air and space in the fabled Eira district by the sea. One after each other the men meet their fate: some are killed, some just disappear. Finally none of the group reaches the original goal.

Comments

"Calamari Union" has its moments, but is really little more than an uneven collection of gags and almost-gags. When viewed today, however, the film appears to lack rhythm and the basic idea of an epic of more than a dozen is too loose and diverse to sustain. Some of the music numbers, particularly "Pahat pojat" by Casablanca Vox and a guitar-accompanied contribution by Sakari Kuosmanen as a hotel doorman, feel like plain inserts.

Once again, the cinematography by Timo Salminen is excellent.

Notes

The cast consists mostly of Finnish rock luminaries of the mid-eighties. "Calamari Union" started the co-operation between Aki Kaurismäki, Sakke Järvenpää and Mato Valtonen; Sakke and Mato would a couple of years later form The Leningrad Cowboys, a substantial component of Aki's later films.

The dialogue has been partly compiled from various literary sources, for example allusions to Jacques Prevert's La Grasse Matinée; Henri Michaux's Je Vous Ecris d'un Pays Lointains; and Charles Baudelaire's Fusées (the scene where a bunch of Franks and Pekka discuss in a bar).

The film includes a scene where two Franks visit the Orion cinema in Helsinki, where the Finnish Film Archive has its showings, to watch a Russian silent film. The excerpt seen is from Yakov Protazonov's Father Sergius (Otets Sergey, 1918), starring Ivan Mozhukhin. The scene where two Franks visit the Finnish National Gallery owes a lot to a stroll in Louvre seen in Jean-Luc Godard's Band of Outsiders (Bande à part, 1964); an excerpt of the film was incorporated as a film-in-the-film in Mika's Valehtelija. There are also dialogue references towards Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver.

The psychiatrist's den where Frank visits was filmed in the study of the prolific FInnish film writer and critic Peter von Bagh.

The director himself appears in a cameo role driving a huge Cadillac hearse. He was later quoted to say "Calamari Union was the first and last film I made either being drunk or having a hangover." [1]