reiher@UCLA-LOCUS.ARPA@sri-unix.UUCP (07/22/84)
From: Peter Reiher <reiher@UCLA-LOCUS.ARPA> Yet another report from Filmex. This one is on "Pessi and Illusia", a Finnish fantasy film. The story takes place during an unspecified, but, considering the weaponry, contemporary war, in Finland. A father writes home to his young daughter. In his letters, he tells her stories about a gnome named Pessi and a fairy named Illusia. Illusia has come from the kingdom of her father, the rainbow, to see what Earth is like. She meets Pessi, who immediately falls in love with her. A cruel spider cuts off Illusia's wings, leaving her unable to return to her home. When winter comes, Illusia is ill equipped to handle the cold and snow, but Pessi helps her, stealing a shovel from the humans to build a nest for her. The spider is still after Illusia, as is a ferret. Moreover, they have a rather different problem. The soldier father's story is not set in the distant past or the far away, but in the present and right where he is. In other words, the creatures have to deal with a modern war, complete with helicopters, amphibious tanks, and high explosives. The film has an unexpected message. Rather than dumping on war, it suggests that you cannot really appreciate life until things get rough. This film was obviously made for children, but not for very young children. It's particularly inappropriate for young American children, as their parents would have to read them the subtitles. Whether you, an adult, will like it depends on your tastes. Try this test: does the thought of a man, a woman, and half a dozen children dressed up as fieldmice, scampering about, make you want to retch? If so, "Pessi and Illusia" isn't for you. I have a reasonable tolerance for this sort of thing, so I enjoyed it. Actually, you probably won't have to worry about this, as I can't see anyone thinking that they're going to make much money distributing it, and it isn't good enough to attract the attention of those who care more about quality than money, and will take a chance on an interesting film. Unless someone runs a Finnish film festival near where you live, or the local revival house programmers are fond of novelties and don't mind working to get them, you probably won't get a chance to see it.