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The most touching subjects are often found close by. Sonja Lindén’s No Man Is an Island is a poetic portrayal of the filmmaker’s father, with beautiful and carefully considered photography and music.
Old man Lindén lives alone on his home island, but each day he calls his wife at her nursing home. The old couple’s affection is transmitted across a bay and over phone lines. Always sticking to his curious sense of humor, the father is writing a book for the family to use after his demise, in which he carefully records for the next generation maintenance directions for the house and its grounds: how to prepare for the change of seasons, which spots needs reparations or regular care. One of his evening tasks is to carve a wooden casket.
At the island house, the father also keeps his cherished record collection which he advises should be treated with due respect. The rare recordings on the old open-reel tapes are meant to be listened to with concentration. Some of the soft jazz treasures are heard on the soundtrack.
The old man spends his days in the midst of nature, preparing for his twilight years with boyish humor. The idyllic scenery is like heaven on earth.
Text: Liisa Lehmusto
Awards
- Special Mention, 17th Nordic Panortama 5 Cities Film Festival, Århus, Denmark 2006
- Silver Dove, DOK Leipzig, 49th International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film, Germany 2006
- First Prize, Bologna European Festival of Film Schools, Italy 2006
- Special Mention, ZagrebDox International Documentary Film Festival, Croatia 2007
- Main Prize in category over 30 minutes Finnish films, Tampere International Film Festival, Finland
- Bloomberg Best Newcomer Award, Grierson 2007: British Documentary Awards
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