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thisdarkmaterial · 7 years

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Tom of Finland Veers Vanilla

Oftentimes historical dramas have the bittersweet task of reminding us not only of the progress we’ve made, but of the distance we have yet to travel. Dome Karukoski’s biopic Tom of Finland examines the adult life of Touko Laaksonen (Pekka Strang), whose stylized erotic drawings had a significant impact on twentieth-century LGBT culture. Much of the film takes place in his native country, where homosexuality is looked down on as both a crime and a curable ailment. It is only after a visit to California, where Touko’s art has been published under the pseudonym “Tom of Finland”, that he finds any public acceptance of his true self.

There are two fascinating experiences that bookend Laaksonen’s life. As a young man he was conscripted into the Finnish army near the end of the Winter War and served through World War II. The dual stresses of a return to civilian life and concealing his sexuality combine to provide much of the drive behind his early drawings. In the last decade of his life, Laaksonen visited California at the behest of a fan who helped arrange for exhibitions of his work and later became his business partner. Los Angeles, with its thriving gay community, turned into a welcome second home after so many years of overt and covert discrimination. Regrettably, the film capitalizes on neither period and generally drifts through Laaksonen’s life without much momentum. It makes what must have been a colorful, revolutionary life feel tepid on-screen.

Despite the poor translation from flesh to celluloid, Strang does an excellent job capturing the largely wordless way Laaksonen could live and express himself. In a country where homosexual acts are outlawed, intent can only be expressed through glances, and Touko does not always interpret them correctly. Strang also excels as Laaksonen ages; the silence of Touko’s youth shifts in tone from repression to discretion once he finds the regular freedom afforded by his westward journeys. Taisto Oksanen is underutilized as a military commander who offers understanding and assistance to Touko at several times throughout his life, and Lauri Tilkanen provides emotional balance as Veli, Laaksonen’s partner of nearly 30 years.

Karukoski and cinematographer Lasse Frank make Tom of Finland a lovely film to watch. It’s disappointing that strong direction and performances don’t quite compensate for an unsuitably sedate script. With six separate contributors given writing credits, this may be a case of too many voices trying to do too much in one story. Nonetheless, if their efforts help share the story of an important artist and influencer in the LGBT community, then Tom of Finland should be counted as a success.

RATING: ★ 1/2

#2017 #tom of finland #dome karukoski #pekka strang #taisto oksanen #lauri kilkanen #movie review

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filmaffe · 7 years

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TOM OF FINNLAND (2017)

Bewegendes Queer-Drama über eine Symbolfigur: TOM OF FINNLAND. Mehr zum Film:

Kurzinhalt: Jeder kennt die ikonische, stilbildende Kunst von „Tom of Finland“, doch kaum einer die Geschichte des Mannes dahinter: Zurückgekehrt von der Front des Zweiten Weltkrieges erweist sich für Touko Laaksonen (Pekka Strang) das Leben im Frieden ebenso als Krieg. Im Finnland der 50er-Jahre kann er als Homosexueller weder lieben, wen er will, noch sich selbst verwirklichen. Immer der Gefahr…

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#Dome Karukoski #Drama #Homosexualität #Jakob Oftebro #Jessica Grabowsky #Kari Hietalahti #Kinostart 2017 #Lauri Tilkanen #MFA film & distribution #Niklas Hogner #Pekka Strang #Seumas Sargent #Taisto Oksanen #wahren Geschichte

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independentfilme-blog · 7 years

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New Post has been published on http://independentfilme.jetzt-24.de/tom-of-finland-movie-clip-world-war-ii-2017-movieclips-indie/

Tom of Finland Movie Clip - World War II (2017) | Movieclips Indie

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Tom of Finland Movie Clip – World War II (2017): Check out the new clip starring Pekka Strang and Taisto Oksanen! Be the first to watch, comment, and share … source

The channel sponsor is: https://www.facebook.com/GoMovieSpace/

#cinema #film #independent film #independent movie #indie film #indie movie #short film

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arikuosmanen · 7 years

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Joko tämä räjäyttää tuomariston huomion? – Tom of Finland tavoittelee nyt Oscar-palkintoa (Tamperelainen)

Lue alkuperäinen artikkeli tältä sivulta: this site

Dome Karukosken ohjaama Tom of Finland on valittu Suomen viralliseksi Oscar-ehdokkaaksi. Kuvataiteilija Touko Laaksosesta kertovan käsikirjoitti Aleksi Bardy.

Tom of Finlandin ovat tuottaneet Aleksi Bardy, Miia Haavisto ja Annika Sucksdorff Helsinki-filmi Oy:stä. Elokuvan Suomen ensi-ilta oli 24. helmikuuta ja sen levitti elokuvateattereihin Finnkinon Oy:n teatterilevitys.

Elokuvan nimiroolissa on Pekka Strang. Muissa rooleissa näyttelevät muiden muassa Lauri Tilkanen, Jessica Grabowsky, Taisto Oksanen, Seumas Sargent ja Jakob Oftebro.

Elokuvan muuhun taiteelliseen ryhmään kuuluvat muun muassa kuvaaja Lasse Frank, leikkaaja Harri Ylönen, äänisuunnittelijat Niklas Skarp ja Christian Holm, lavastaja Christian Olander, pukusuunnittelija Anna Vilppunen sekä maskeeraussuunniteliljat Johanna Eliason ja Lars Carsson.

Tom of Finland on rakkaustarina, joka kertoo suomalaisesta näkökulmasta kansainvälisesti merkittävän tarinan homoyhteisön historiallisesta taistelusta kohti täysiä ihmisoikeuksia.

Suomen Oscar-raati perusteli valintaansa luonnehtimalla Tom of Finland -elokuvaa komeasti toteutetuksi teokseksi yhdestä kansainvälisesti tunnetuimmasta suomalaisesta.

Elokuva on hienosti lavastettu ja kuvattu epookki. Erityisesti raati kiitti pääosanäyttelijä Pekka Strangin tulkintaa Touko Laaksosen ainutlaatuisesta elämästä.

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nofomoartworld · 7 years

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Hyperallergic: A Long Overdue Biopic Tells Tom of Finland’s Life Story

A scene from Tom of Finland (all photos courtesy of Protagonist Pictures)

The new biographical film Tom of Finland has a lot of the trappings of the art of Touko Laaksonen, better known by his nom de pencil. There are beautiful, muscle-bound men in taut uniforms and gleaming leather, secretive encounters in moonlit parks, outrageous scenes of eroticism around swimming pools and in leather clubs. But director Dome Karukoski smartly juxtaposes the drawings’ fantasy worlds of libidinous liberation with the extremely repressive world Laaksonen inhabited for much of his life. Beginning with his time fighting in the Finnish army alongside the Nazis and moving through his late-life celebrity, just as the breadth of the AIDS crisis was coming into focus, this elegant biopic frames Laaksonen’s art as a kind of coping mechanism and key to a supportive subculture in the face of pervasive discrimination.

Karukoski’s sensitive direction, which only occasionally gives way to cloying melodrama, offers a perfect platform for actor Pekka Strang to showcase his impressive range in the lead role. The film follows a chronological format speckled with sudden flashbacks and flashforwards that can be jarring at first — including repeated cuts to Laaksonen’s killing of a Soviet parachutist, which becomes a shorthand for the trauma of persecution. As the Finnish army loses ground, he finds an unlikely friend in another closeted officer, a Nazi commander (Taisto Oksanen). Years later, when Laaksonen’s homoerotic drawings land him in jail in Berlin, the former commander comes to his rescue. “It’s not just a piece of paper,” he warns the artist. “It’s an atomic bomb, a drawing like that.”

A scene from Tom of Finland (photo by Josef Persson)

The multilingual film moves between Finland and Germany and eventually to the US, which is presented as a liberated playground compared to the prejudiced Old World (a somewhat inaccurate portrayal). Laaksonen lives a quiet life in Helsinki with his partner Veli (Lauri Tilkanen) and doting sister Kaija (Jessica Grabowsky). He works at the ad agency McCann Erickson by day, attends small parties thrown surreptitiously by the local gay elite at night, and sends his refined drawings of seductive studs off for publication abroad as often as possible. Karukoski portrays this side of Laaksonen’s existence as one of under-the-radar subsistence. By contrast, Southern California — to which two fans, who promote the more widespread exhibition and publication of his art, invite him — is rendered as a kind of living Tom of Finland drawing, where bulging hot pants and ass-less leather chaps are standard features of every man’s wardrobe. Stylistically, Tom of Finland turns on this contrast between the buttoned-down Scandinavian tastefulness of Helsinki and the over-the-top aesthetics of Hollywood.

The constant in all this is Strang, who plays Laaksonen with a stoic demeanor that cracks — whether from pain or joy — during the film’s dramatic climaxes. The crushing angst of his experiences during the war and of oppression in Helsinki gives way to the powerful release of art making. In moments of inspiration, like during a motorcycle race where he photographs leather-clad mechanics tuning their bikes, Strang’s eyes scintillate. The film highlights how Laaksonen didn’t simply portray an existing subculture, but helped define and expand it by turning conventional figures of heterosexual masculine authority into empowering icons of queer sexuality. Though it may gloss over some history in favor of portraying a stark contrast between American permissiveness and European prejudice, Tom of Finland does an excellent job of illuminating one of the most influential artists of the 20th century — one whose story, until now, hasn’t been widely told.

A scene from Tom of Finland (photo by Mikko Rasila)

Tom of Finland is showing at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26 at 10:15pm and on April 29 at 9pm.

The post A Long Overdue Biopic Tells Tom of Finland’s Life Story appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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