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30 Jan – 9 Feb 2025

Consolation Service

Lohdutusseremonia

Eija-Liisa Ahtila | Finland | 1999 | 25' | | IFFR 2007

A Finnish couple announce their decision to divorce. It is early spring in Helsinki. Narrated in a voice-over by a neighbour, the work presents three dramatic moments in this process: It begins with a session with their therapist, followed by the couple celebrating a birthday with their friends that ends with the whole group drowning in a frozen lake. The camera angle and perspective change to parallel the shift of the narrative. An underwater monologue contemplates the past and death. The film concludes in a final relinquishing of the relationship. The narrative combines documentary realism and cinematic invention and is fragmented, thus inviting us to see beyond the illusion of fiction.

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View the full programme

Film details

Country of production
Finland
Year
1999
Festival edition
IFFR 2007
Length
25"
Medium/Format
35mm

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