Finland is largely made up of forests and lakes. It does not seem, therefore, like the most obvious place for environmentalists to fight for forest conservation. But in this enchanting documentary we soon learn that 90 per cent of these forests are exploited for commercial gain, undermining the country’s – and therefore the world’s – biodiversity.
Ida and Minka are two young Finnish women who have turned their love of, and care for, nature into activism. They are part of Extinction Rebellion and fearlessly take on multinationals, authorities and politicians.
That said, Once Upon a Time in a Forest by no means feels like an activist documentary. What it does is mesmerise the viewer with the astonishing beauty of Finnish nature. The red birch forests rooted in blue water, through which a boat and the camera drift slowly, picking out exquisite details in image and sound. We see the crystal-clear lakes, in which the young women dive and swim, steering between fish and submerged tree trunks, and we see the snow-shrouded forests, pictures of white perfection, which seem to convey a long-lost innocence.
The images are accompanied by gently melancholic music, which reinforces the sense of loss and thus the understanding of the environmentalists’ struggle.
In the documentary, we get really close to these young women and their fellow group members through the democratic meetings they participate in, the actions they prepare and carry out, and the meetings with corporations they are invited to attend. But also the personal stuff; the at-times frustrating conversations with their families, the playful investigative excursions through the forests, the whispered outpourings in the tents where they spend their nights during actions, and the dance nights with their peers to release tension.
When talking to Business Doc Europe at Finnish Film Affair (FFA) in Helsinki, director Suutari told how she was “confident to say that Once Upon A Time In A Forest is truly a film about love and anarchy,” referencing the name of the festival that embraces FFA, “and it’s sort of a morality play where love for forests turns into beautiful action.”
But the film is not just a portrait of young environmentalists, who impress with their courage, perseverance and intelligence whilst struggling with impending ecological doom. It also shows the grim face of purely economic profit-driven corporations, who at the table with environmentalists give their slick, practised and meaningless answers to critical questions. These same industrialists remain painfully silent when Minka, with tears in her eyes, tells of her concerns, and demands to know where resides the moral compass within the mega corporation’s representatives.
Besides the economic drivers of a market-driven society, the film exposes other mechanisms, such as toxic masculinity in all structures of society, including those in the world of conservation. It shows the power relations in companies where employees have little room for personal motives, and between politics and corporations (the latter caring little for restrictions imposed from on high – ‘socialism’ is, for them, a dirty word.)
These messages are served up organically, with humour, love for the characters and the beauty of everything that lives. As you marvel at the landscapes, the determination of the young protagonists and the smart way they fight their battles, you learn about fungi, extinct species of birds and insects, the way the paper industry works and the fundamental rights of individuals. Apparently (as we are told in the film), Finnish folk have a legal obligation to protect public sites of nature from destruction – and this is exactly what these activists do, lest they be accused of wrongful acts.
At its very core, Once Upon A Time In A Forest is a lyrical plea for the protection of the planet. A more convincing argument could hardly be imagined.
Finland, 2023, 93 mins
Director Virpi Sutaari
Script Virpi Sutaari
Producers Virpi Sutaari and Martti Suosalo
Camera Teemu Liakka and Jani Kumpulainen
Editing Jussi Rautaniemi
Music Sanna Salmenkallio
Sound Design Olli Huhtanen
World Sales Autlook Film Sales
