Ruthless Times: Songs of Care
r. Susanna Helke
Finska / glazbeno-dokumentarni / 2022. / 92′
Film tematizira krizu u finskom sektoru skrbi za starije i nemoćne, a dokumentarni segmenti izmjenjuju se s raspjevanim tableaux vivants. Kroz mračni humor i ponekad tmurne, ponekad dirljive momente, film kritizira sustav skrbi za starije osobe u nordijskom društvu, rasvjetljavajući jaz između etičkih i ekonomskih temelja rada u sektoru skrbi.
Anonimna svjedočanstva njegovateljica ukomponirana su u zborske pjesme te otkrivaju kakva su svakodnevna iskustva na terenu. Kroz pjesmu, film daje glas onima koji se ne usuđuju progovoriti jer se boje gubitka posla. Umirovljenice i starije građanke pjevaju zajedljive pjesme poigravajući se ekonomskim žargonom našeg vremena te ukazujući na apsurdnost birokratskog jezika koji je prodro u svaki aspekt naših života.
Susanna Helke je nagrađivana filmašica čiji su filmovi (American Vagabond, 2013., Playground, 2010., Along the Road Little Child, 2005., The Idle Ones, 2001., White Sky, 1998. i Sin, 1995.) dobili brojna domaća i međunarodna priznanja i nagrade (npr. Nagrada Jussi, trostruka nagrada za najbolji nordijski dokumentarni film, posebna nagrada žirija/Q Hugo Film Award Chicago IFF) i prikazani su na mnogim međunarodnim filmskim festivalima. Helke je također teoretičarka dokumentarnog filma i radi kao profesorica na Odsjeku za film na Sveučilištu u Aaltu u Finskoj.
Documentary segments are combined with choral tableau vivant scenes, capturing the current crisis in the Finnish elderly care sector. With its dark humor, and at times grim but poignant moments, the film portrays the unravelling of the ethos behind caring for the elderly citizens of a Nordic welfare society, illuminating the mismatch between the ethical and economical foundations of care work.
The care-workers’ anonymous testimonies are composed into choral songs, depicting everyday experiences of those working in the field. Through the songs, the film gives a voice to those who don’t dare to talk for fear of losing their jobs. Retirees and elderly citizens sing impudent songs playing with the economic jargon of our time, making visible the absurdity of the bureaucratic language that has penetrated every aspect of human life.
Susanna Helke is an award-winning filmmaker whose films (American Vagabond, 2013, Playground, 2010, Along the Road Little Child, 2005, The Idle Ones, 2001, White Sky, 1998, and Sin, 1995) have received domestic and international recognition and awards (e.g. Jussi award, three times Best Nordic documentary Award, Special Jury Prize/Q Hugo Film Award Chicago IFF) and have been screened at many international film festivals. Helke is also a documentary film theorist and she works as a professor at the film department of Aalto University in Finland.
