MovieChat Forums > Laitakaupungin valot (2006) Discussion > The look of Helsinki.

The look of Helsinki.

posted 12 years ago by Gular-Scute
4 replies | jump to latest

Does much of the place have such a 60s/70s retro look about it or were the locations chosen meticulously to capture that aesthetic?

It looks great to me.

[–] gramscience 12 years ago

Yeah I'm curious about this as well. Finland looked like another world/time. It's partly what made the movie so interesting/hypnotic for me.

[–] psdhart 12 years ago

did you also watch it last night on tv in the uk gramscience ?

I agree it did look 70ish, but there were a few shots that looked modern (at the very beginning and there was a shot of a very modern glass building by the sea)

[–] Raindog1980 11 years ago

You would have a hard time finding Aki's Helsinki in real Helsinki. It doesn't exist.

This film is filmed in Ruoholahti, a fairly new and architecturally quite distinctive part of Finland. The main crook's office is located in a high rise building that belongs to Nokia. I think this is a message from Aki. The crook symbolizes global market economy and it's effect on the inhabitants of Finland that still live in a more traditional economic world mentally. The film has a strong allegory, and I'm surprised the critics haven't noticed it.

Anyway, this is a masterpiece that gets better on every viewing.

[–] dray45 9 years ago

I've been to Helsinki several times and it's nothing like Aki's films - I'm glad to say!