Many artists, painters, had a difficult life, some were able to enjoy the success of their work, others died poor and it was after their death when they were consecrated.

Art is a way of expressing some feeling, mood, idea or whatever is going on in the artist's life at that moment. It can be the greatest love of his or her life or the worst suffering.

The life of many great artists was not easy, that is the appeal of films that deal with the story of a painting artist. To know and discover an aspect of the life of the creator of paintings that today are worth millions of dollars.

It was more difficult to be a woman painter at a time when the role of women in society was to be in the background, always at the service of men, who had the most rights.

Helene is a beautiful Finnish film that narrates a period in the life of Helene Schjerfbeck, today considered Finland's greatest artist.

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Schjerfbeck was a prolific painter, who from a very young age began to paint, she studied at several art schools, always depending on scholarships that she was awarded for her talent, since her family was not rich.

One of her best paintings was painted when she was only 18 years old. The painting is called Wounded Soldier in the Snow and can be searched on the internet to see it. But it would be the self-portraits that would make up the bulk of his work.

According to wikipedia, at the age of four he had an accident at home, he fell down the stairs, which caused him a hip injury from which he would not fully recover. A trauma that could have influenced her character and style that she reflected in her paintings.

You can read all the life of this artist and see her best paintings in this wikipedia article: link

The story begins in 1915, with Helene living in Ekenäs, where she paints and takes care of her mother. Financially they are not very well off, but one day she receives a visit from art dealer Gösta Stenman, who buys several of her works and encourages her to exhibit her art in important galleries in Malmo and Stockholm. The art dealer visits her accompanied by Einar Reuter, a writer and amateur painter, 18 years younger than Helene. A friendship begins between the two of them in which they share their time with painting. Einar is the person portrayed in the work The Sailor. Einar will be Helene's great love, but happiness does not last forever. This deep love and the suffering of the artist, is what we are told in the film.

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Einar and Helene were friends for many years and wrote many letters to each other. These letters were one of the sources of inspiration for the film, which covers the happiest and at the same time saddest period of Finland's most important painter.

It was a doomed relationship from the beginning, Einar was a young man, she was already getting old, in addition to her little difficulty due to her hip injury. Together with Einar she would live a period of happiness.

The difficult relationship with her mother is also shown in the story, a woman with a strong character and raised with the customs that women should be at the service of men. It is hinted in the film that many of the paintings Helene sold, the money was to be shared with her mother and her brother Magnus, because that was the way it was established in that society.

There is an air of sadness throughout the film, even when some of the characters smile. As fate would have it, Helene had many misfortunes in her life, something that would reinforce her character as a painter, with a style that varied throughout the years she continued to paint.

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Like other films portraying the lives of painters, this film is a visual beauty. The director, Antti Jokinen, together with cinematographer Rauno Ronkainen, make every frame a work of art. It is the highlight of the film, the extraordinary photography that made me admire the life of this artist in all its splendor. Both directors have already worked together on the films Kätilö and Puhdistus.

Antti Jokinen is the Finnish filmmaker in charge of the direction, with experience in music videos for different bands in his country, in 2009 he started his film project The Resident, to be released in 2011, starring Hilary Swank and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. He then sold the Puhdistus films in 2012, being selected by Finland to participate in the pre-selection for the Oscar award. He would later shoot Kätilö in 2015 and Pahan kukat in 2016. The filmography of this director is very interesting, with powerful dramas that I recommend you to watch, when you have the opportunity. He is a great filmmaker with undisputed talent.

The music was composed by Kirka Sainio, sound designer who worked with Jokinen in his previous film Pahan kukat . some melancholic and beautiful notes, which complement the whole visual ensemble of the film.

The film is an adaptation of the novel Helene, written by Finnish author Rakel Liehu and published in 2003. This woman is a renowned writer in her country, having won the Thanks for The Book Award and been nominated for the Nordic Council Prize for Literature. The film's director, Antti Jokine, and screenwriter, Marko Leino, have written the screenplay.

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Laura Birn is the actress who gives a magnificent interpretation of Helene. She is magnificent at all times, completely transforming herself into the painter and conveying her suffering with a simple expression.

The actress is well known in her country and has a long career in film and television. She previously worked with the director, being the protagonist of the film Puhdistus, where she also gave an incredible performance, being nominated in 2012 to the Satellite Awards. She has won the Jussi Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and has participated in two American productions, A Christmas Carol and A Walk Among the Tombstones, the latter starring Liam Neeson.

The actor Johannes Holopainen, famous in Finland, plays Einar, Helene's eternal love. A very important character in which the young actor excels. When both are on screen, we can feel the pain of this impossible love. Krista Kosonen plays the other Helene, friend of the protagonist, and Pirkko Saisio plays Helene's nasty mother. Saana Koivisto plays Tyra. Eero Aho plays Magnus, Helene's brother, and finally Jarkko Lahti plays Gösta Stenman. All of them are actors that those of us living in America are totally unfamiliar with, but they are actors with solid careers in Finnish film and television.

Trailer

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