Johan / Juha

The two films that make up the soundtrack for this double session are Mauritz Stiller’s Johan (1921) and Aki Kaurismäki’s Juha (1999), both adaptations of the novel Juha (1911) by Finnish writer Juhani Aho. The original story of the novel narrates the vicissitudes of the love triangle made up of Juha, a farmer, Marja, his wife, and Shemeikka, a businessman. Stiller’s and Kaurismäki’s works reflect on conjugal engagement and the conflict resulting from the differences between the rural lifestyle, represented by Juha and Marja, and the city lifestyle, represented by Shemeikka. The live sound of both films will not only be articulated as an approximation to Juhani Aho’s original story, but will also be able to establish a dialogue with the images, structures, rhythms or narrative thread of the films, beyond this common thematic axis. RAMÓN DEL BUEY