Frozen City
(Valkoinen kaupunki)
90 minutes, 2006
Fri. Oct 13, 6:45PM, Rafael
FROZ13R<Buy Tickets>
Sun. Oct 15, 8:45PM, Sequoia
FROZ15S<Buy Tickets>
In Finnish with English subtitles • In Finnish director Aku Louhimies' poignant follow-up to his first acclaimed feature, Frozen Land (MVFF 2005), life for cabbie Veli-Matti (Janne Virtanen) is not going well. His wife has just left him and their kids, he's having trouble paying the bills and most of his customers are unpleasant and don't tip well. In a misanthropic opening voiceover that recalls Scorsese's Taxi Driver (an obvious inspiration), Veli-Matti wishes for a blizzard that will cover up all the dross and make everything new again. Instead, his wife returns, asks for a divorce, and he is forced to move into a low-rent flat he can't afford to furnish for his kids' weekly visits. Using mostly handheld camera work and allowing his actors to improvise, Louhimies brings immediacy and verisimilitude to the events onscreen. This multiple prizewinner from the recent Karlovy Vary Film Festival offers an indelible portrait of a life (and marriage) gone awry. — R. Armstrong
Director: Aku Louhimies
Producer: Markus Selin
Cinematographer: Rauno Ronkainen
Editor: Samu Heikkilä
Cast: Janne Virtanen, Susanna Anteroinen, Aada Hämes, Santtu Nuutinen, Viivi Hämes
Print Source: The Finnish Film Foundation
Kanavakatu 12
Helsinki, FI-00160
Tel: +358 9 6220 300
