First loves have been seen enough on the big screen. Now it’s the turn of the last love.
The scenery of Ireland shines like the main actors in the movie My beloved sea captain. Making Movies Oy
My dear sea captain
Finland, 2022
Directed by: Klaus Härö
IL rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Klaus Härön51, controls recognize.
Even though the man himself says that he tries to approach every film from an empty table, he can’t get anywhere with his style. And that’s fine.
Härö’s eighth feature film, My dear sea captaindraws from the same calm and beautiful narrative as the previous films.
By lingering on people’s faces, encounters are created with meaningful silence instead of dialogue, and the staging is feasted on rustically beautiful details.
In Härö’s films, the wooden floors creak and the laundry flutters on the line. Always. And on purpose.
The film was shot entirely in Ireland. Plenty of space has been given to rugged moorland landscapes with rocky shores and numerous sheep. Sometimes the viewer even wonders if there is no one else in the entire country besides the families of the main characters and occasional pub guests. Not even a single passenger sits on the bus.
The spaciousness of the landscape gives space to the pent-up emotions of Howard, Annie and Grace, which hang thickly over everything.
The film has two clear themes: love and the relationship between an adult child and his parents.
Especially the love scene is delightful. Härö himself says that he went to think about the film’s screenwriters Kirsi Vikmanin and Jimmy Karlsson with the point of view that if the obstacles in Romeo and Juliet’s love story were the parents, what happens when the situation is turned upside down and the children are the obstacle to the union.
A papa-aged old sea bear falling in love with his housekeeper is really welcome alongside the relationship turmoil of twenty-thirties. And best of all, the object of Howard’s love, Annie, is a widow his own age, not some slob fifty years younger.
Without spoiling any more, let’s say that the development of this love affair is something so beautiful and moving that you should reserve thick pink tissues for the movie theater.
James Cosmo and Brid Brennan are amazing in their roles. Actors, previously known for their roles as villains and comedians, have been able to present another, more dramatic, side of themselves under Härö’s guidance. They succeed brilliantly in that.
Brid Brennan and James Cosmo shine in the lead roles. Making Movies o.y
We will be seen in the important role of Grace’s daughter Catherine Walker. His role is to embody the second theme of the film, the relationship between an adult child and a parent.
In her peak years, Grace suffers not only from crises in her personal life but also from her difficult relationship with her father.
At the beginning of the film, the viewer is still confused: What is Grace’s problem? Why is he so tight-lipped? One might even ask who peed on Grace’s cereal?
As the story progresses, the tangle begins to unravel. There are reasons for sketching Grace.
Still, it is Grace who remains the most distant from the characters. Will he find peace in his life? Is it developing in any direction? Is she being unnecessarily portrayed as an angry woman who awaits a bitter end?
I’m almost hoping for a sequel to the movie about Grace.
Because of Grace’s one-off, too caricature-like role, only four stars out of five.
But this is guaranteed Härö. The viewer will not be disappointed.
My Dear Sea Captain in cinemas on Friday 30th September.