War. Fashion. Love. Helsinki.

Helsinki, 10 degrees

Helsinki in 1906-1931. The first World War. Finland's civil war. The conflict between the red (social democrats led by the people's deputation of Finland) and the white (non-socialist, conservative-led senate). War. Fashion. Love. Helsinki.

This is the mood of the film "Där vi en gång gått" (Where we once walked). In the beginning of the 20th century Helsinki was divided into two worlds: one of the rich upper class and one of the poor workers'. The story takes you through different decades in Helsinki and analyzes how time, the city and society classes both bind people together and drive them away from each other.

To get you into the right atmosphere, here's the trailer.

The movie is in Swedish, my kind of Swedish, the Swedish of Swedish speaking Finns that is. It's also set in my city, dearest Helsinki. Thanks to these two facts, the movie is very close to my heart.

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For being a Finnish movie, this is incredibly beautiful. The dresses, the jewelry, the settings! Perfect! I warmly recommend the movie for everybody who understands Swedish!

The historical setting of the movie was convincing and believable that it felt like I was walking still in the movie while returning home from the cinema. It's funny how your mind can play tricks on you, it actually felt like everyone that I met participated in the movie. In the end, the city always reminds us of the past. New building might come up, but the streets sometimes feel the same as in the beginning of the 20th century, even though that was long before my time...