A story of renowned Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck, and the love affair between her and a younger art critic Einar Reuter.
The movie, set during 1915-1923, opens with a brief prologue showing how Schjerfbeck (Laura Birn) was often underrated and overlooked at that time. We subsequently see Schjerfbeck’s daily life with her old mother in their house.
Except for the sincere support from her close friend Helena (Krista Kosonen), Schjerfbeck’s artistic career does not look that optimistic, until well-known art dealer Gösta Stenman (Jarkko Lahti) shows up with a young art critic/amateur painter (Johannes Holopainen), and they extremely impressed by Schjerfbeck’s work.
Leisurely gliding us from one small moment to another, the screenplay by director/co-producer/co-writer Antti Jokinen, who adapted the novel thoughtfully and sensitively depicts its heroine’s emotional journey, which is often accompanied with a number of gorgeous visual moments filled with authentic period atmosphere and details. The cinematography by Rauno Ronak is often stunning in its serene poetic beauty unfolded onto the screen. The film ends with examples of her work - an artist who should really be better known. (Subtitles)
Our thanks to Picture Tree International for this film.
