Finnish American Lives
1982-01-01 | 47 minutes
Plot Summary
A moving portrait of traditional Finnish American culture in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, highlighting that fragile community of memory connecting ourselves with parents and grandparents. It uses the “biographical model” of folklore filmmaking to tell the story of Erikki Vourenmaa, a 92-year-old Finnish immigrant, and his family living near Ironwood, Michigan. This three-generation farm family works, celebrates, reflects, and grieves together. The film explores the meaning of family, ethnic history, aging and intergenerational bonds. It contrasts between the immigrant elder, his American-born son and the partially assimilated grandchildren to illustrate change and continuity in the "sauna belt" of the Lake Superior Region. As Dr. Sharon Sherman concluded, “Loukinen’s focus on the bonds between generations will strike emotional chords about family relationships and ethnic identity for numerous cultural groups.”
Cast
Recommendations
Similar Movies
-
Aan ons den arbeid
-
Your Day Is My Night
-
INAATE/SE/
-
Massacre River
-
The Adventure
-
Paper Dolls
-
Amazônia Indomável
-
Evaporating Borders
-
Liquor Store Dreams
-
Ice Bridge - Mackinac Island’s Hidden Season
-
Giap's Last Day At The Ironing Board Factory
-
Berlino
-
Untold: Sign Stealer
-
Spellbound
-
Purple Bells
-
Brazillians Like Me
-
Who Loves the Sun
-
Nidhal
-
Shipbuilder
-
God Grew Tired of Us