While the film looks and feels more international and technically very competently made for a Finnish production, Never Alone fails to portray the large implications related to the subject matter. Schindler's List's existence obviously makes it hard not to make comparisons. And even if the budget is massive for a Finnish film (4,100,000€), Never Alone still ends up being a rather small work in general, be it its short runtime, sparse emotional moments or a lack of wider perspective. A longer runtime would most likely allow for better character arcs and demand the viewer to symphatize with them.
As a side note, I have to mention that Kari Hietalahti gives a truly great performance and one that is a stark departure from his previous, more comedic roles. The other performances are solid too but his is the definite standout.
The story looks the holocaust from an interesting angle and one that is important to be aware of, especially as a Finn. I still believe the script is unable to deliver the dramatic and harrowing moments that we've come to expect from these kinds of films. As a whole, the film has a stiff feeling to it which is at least partially due to the nature of us Finns. Unfortunately, Never Alone reminds me of why I generally don't enjoy Finnish cinema that much. Luckily, on some level it seems like the Finnish film industry is on an upwards trend which makes me hopeful of the future.
I expected Never Alone film wouldn't make me laugh considering the horrors it would portray. Unbeknownst to me the opening credits were straight up hilarious. I kid you not, there was at least ten logos shown one by one on a black backround and in complete silence of all the film institutes and such that contributed to the production, followed by exactly the same information but now in small text and after that multiple "a this and that production" texts, then the director's name popped up and the fact that the films was based on actual events was mentioned. The whole ceremony lasted over two minutes. It was rough.
While the film looks and feels more international and technically very competently made for a Finnish production, Never Alone fails to portray the large implications related to the subject matter. Schindler's List's existence obviously makes it hard not to make comparisons. And even if the budget is massive for a Finnish film (4,100,000€), Never Alone still ends up being a rather small work in general, be it its short runtime, sparse emotional moments or a lack of wider perspective. A longer runtime would most likely allow for better character arcs and demand the viewer to symphatize with them.
As a side note, I have to mention that Kari Hietalahti gives a truly great performance and one that is a stark departure from his previous, more comedic roles. The other performances are solid too but his is the definite standout.
The story looks the holocaust from an interesting angle and one that is important to be aware of, especially as a Finn. I still believe the script is unable to deliver the dramatic and harrowing moments that we've come to expect from these kinds of films. As a whole, the film has a stiff feeling to it which is at least partially due to the nature of us Finns. Unfortunately, Never Alone reminds me of why I generally don't enjoy Finnish cinema that much. Luckily, on some level it seems like the Finnish film industry is on an upwards trend which makes me hopeful of the future.
I expected Never Alone film wouldn't make me laugh considering the horrors it would portray. Unbeknownst to me the opening credits were straight up hilarious. I kid you not, there was at least ten logos shown one by one on a black backround and in complete silence of all the film institutes and such that contributed to the production, followed by exactly the same information but now in small text and after that multiple "a this and that production" texts, then the director's name popped up and the fact that the films was based on actual events was mentioned. The whole ceremony lasted over two minutes. It was rough.
