Finnish American Lives
1982-Jan-01
47m
Languages
Genres
Documentary
Overview
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.”

R

e

l

a

t

e

d

Sans Soleil
1983-Mar-02
Displaced Perssons
2013-Aug-23
Shelter
2021-Jun-03
Latvian Coyote
2019-Dec-01
La langue est donc une histoire d'amour
2019-Oct-11
God Grew Tired of Us
2006-Dec-31
Terwijl het liefde was
2021-Aug-11
In the Frozen Tomb of Mongolia
2014-Aug-30
The Sketch
2023-Apr-27
Long Story Short
2008-Mar-02
Dos Antigos aos Filhos do Amanhã
2018-May-18

R

e

v

i

e

w

s