Concrete Night

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Concrete Night
Directed by Pirjo Honkasalo
Produced by Mark Lwoff, Misha Jaari / Bufo
Written by Pirjo Honkasalo, Pirkko Saisio
Based on Pirkko Saisio's novel Betoniyö
Starring Johannes Brotherus, Jari Virman, Anneli Karppinen, Juhan Ulfsak
Cinematography Peter Flinckenberg
Release dates
  • September 7, 2013 (2013-09-07)
Running time 93 minutes
Country Finland, Sweden, Denmark
Language Finnish

Concrete Night (Finnish: Betoniyö) is a 2013 film directed by Finnish filmmaker Pirjo Honkasalo. The film is based on a novel with the same name, written by Pirkko Saisio and published in 1981, though adapted to modern times. The story has also been adapted to theatre and has been played in Finland and in Venezuela.[1] Conrete Night had its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival in the Masters Series in September 2013. The film was shot in the Helsinki area in Finland in September and October 2012.[2] Produced by Misha Jaari and Mark Lwoff from production company Bufo and co-produced by Swedish Plattform Produktion and Danish Magic Hour Film, the film was funded by Finnish Film Foundation, Yle, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Swedish Film Institute, Danish Film Institute and Danske Radio.

Plot

Concrete Night tells about a 14-year-old boy named Simo who still lacks his own sense of self and the ability to protect himself from his surroundings. Simo and his big brother Ilkka are the sons of a helpless and unpredictable single mother. Their chaotic home is located deep in the heart of a concrete jungle in Helsinki. Ilkka has one day of freedom left before starting his prison sentence. The mother persuades Simo to spend the last night with his brother. Events heighten throughout the one day and night in Helsinki and the brothers witness incidents they would rather not see. Simo, who has no ability to distort what he sees or delude himself, sees things accurately as they are. When unfiltered, the world seems unbearable. Finally a casual encounter with a photographer, whose intentions Simo misreads, launches him into blind fear, which explodes in panic stricken violence. In this violence Simo finds his lacking identity, his true face.

Reception

On February 2, 2014, Concrete Night received six Jussi Awards, including awards for the Best Film and Best Director of 2013.[3]

References

  1. ↑ press release of Finnish Foreign Ministry (in Finnish)
  2. ↑ Article about Concerte Night on Screen Daily
  3. ↑ "Betoniyöstä vuoden elokuva". Yle. Retrieved 3 February 2014. 

External links

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