Bad Family

Colour, 35 mm
Finland, 2010, 92 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

Mikael is a respected judge. Beyond that, he is an incommunicative and authoritative father who lives in a large apartment with his invalid dad, his second wife, and his two boys. Mikael receives the news of his first wife’s death with chilling indifference. But he does not feel so calm about the arrival of Tilda, a daughter from his first marriage, who starts to display an emotional attachment to her slightly younger brother Daniel, whom she’s only recently discovered. To Mikael’s horror, the young man returns her feelings. In order to prevent a sibling love affair, their father resorts to ever more brutal methods. The tragicomic story, in which somber tones markedly predominate, is a narratively concise psychodrama investigating Judge Mikael’s reserved northern temperament. He yearns for human understanding and true communication, but hides it all behind a stony face and an obsessive desire to maintain order within his family.

About the director

Aleksi Salmenperä (b. 1973, Helsinki, Finland), screenwriter and director, is one of the best-known Finnish filmmakers of the middle generation. He came to film after initially studying architecture. His school short Ferry Go Round (2001) screened at Cannes, and his films have taken numerous awards in Finland and abroad. In 2002 he shot the successful series "Freefall” with the Stella Polaris theater troupe, and four years later the highly-prized series  "Pioneer” for YLE, Finnish public broadcasting. His features Producing Adults (2004 – Anothew View at KVIFF 2005) and A Man’s Job (2007) were sent to battle for the Oscar. His films are full of taciturn and withdrawn characters who don’t end up exactly happy. "As I know next to nothing about making films, the only responsible way for me is to make films about life. As I see it,” the director said about his work.