Sota ja mielenrauha

The film explores the effect wars in Finland have had on the national mind-set. How many generations does it take for the traumas and mental wounds to heal? The soundtrack consists of recited letters and journal entries written between the front line and home. Intimate recollections of people shot in present time intersperse with never-before-seen archive footage of the 1940s. Together all these vistas reveal a people traumatised by a civil war; souls only to be broken further by yet another war. Private experiences are adeptly juxtaposed with the entire nation's history in interviews with scholars who reflect on both war and the depths of the human mind. After the wars, Finns kept shtum about their fears and traumas, and the issue has not been properly taken on since. This has been partly due to the guilt of co-belligerence with Germany which has for decades since been spoken mainly in euphemisms. War and Peace of Mind works through history and connects the real dots in our nations broken and distorted memory. It gives a voice to those who have been made to remain silent.
Ulla Simonen / Translation: Tapio Reinekoski (DocPoint)