Tove

I seldom give 10's but this is a brilliant movie, wonderful ly acted and directed and cinematography just fantastic.

It touched me deeply in its rawness and honesty and though not familiar with this artist before, was taken aback by the beautiful artistic work and the main characters journey into finding her way and her identity through her work.

I stand by scandavian movies and series being the best and possibly grossly undervalued.

Tove Jansson was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author and artist born in the 1910s to an artist family. Internationally she's most well-known as the author of the Moomin books and comics strips. This film is the story of her formative years and how she came up with the Moomin characters.

Upon its release it became the second most expensive Finnish film made to that point. And it does look good, I'll give it that, although I'm still not sure just why it needed such a large budget. But the locations and costumes look good. The film is also shot, edited and acted really well, with special mention going to Alma Pöysti as the leading character.

It's also interesting to see the author behind these beloved characters and how her own life influenced the books. Jansson's own rather bohemian lifestyle is definitely reflected in the books and her various acquaintances and friends that would eventually inspire many of the Moomins are also really interesting.

That being said, the film is not as Moomin-heavy as you'd think. It's more a story about a struggling artist and her various trials and tribulations. Successes and losses in both her career and personal life. And while that is interesting enough, I confess to being somewhat disappointed that there wasn't more Moomin content in this film. Then again, Jansson herself expressed in her later years that she's a tad miffed she's only known for Moomins. So perhaps in that regard this film is more respectful to her than many other sources have been.

Nevertheless, it's a great film to look up. Technically sound, well-written and beautifully acted. Not awe-inspiring or overly emotional, but then again, it doesn't need to be.

The Finnish film Tove (2020) was directed by Zaida Bergroth. It stars Alma Pöysti as Tove Jansson, "one of the most beloved Finnish writers/cartoonists/artists," according to a knowledgeable reviewer.

Tove was the creator of the Moomins, important characters in Swedish-language books and comic strips. (Jansson was a member of the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland.) She also wrote novels and children's fiction.

Alma Pöysti is a brilliant actor, and she makes Jansson's character come alive. This is important, because Pöysti is on the screen almost all the time. The movie rises or falls based on her skills.

The movie has two major plots. One plot revolves around the fact that Jansson wanted to be a recognized artist, not a cartoonist. Another plot involves Jansson's sexuality.

We saw this film at Rochester's wonderful Dryden Theatre, presented by ImageOut, the great LGBT film festival. (Of course, all safety protocols were in place.)

Tove has an IMDb rating of 7.2. I thought it was better than that, and rated it 8.

Tove: Tove Jansson (Alma Poysti) wasn't just the creator of the Moomins, she was an artist, a writer, a playwright. Tove illustrates this as it covers her life from 1944 to the late 1950's. Her passion for people and for the Arts is vividly depicted, as is the poverty of her early days, denied grants she paid her rent with paintings. She finds her studio/apartment after Helsinki is bombed in 1944 and turns that into a work of art as well. Though the Moomins brought her financial security she felt it took away from her real work and her demanding sculptor father Viktor (Robert Enckell) criticised it as not being art. Her love life was unconventional, she had ongoing affairs with politician/philosopher Atos Wirtanen (Shanti Roney) and theatrical director Vivica Bandler (Krista Kosonen). Vivica's polyamory caused her heartbreak, she had even left Atos for her. The relationship was central to her life and work until she could finally find love elsewhere. A moving tale of Art, Love and Friendship. Directed by Zaida Bergrothy from a Screenplay by Eeva Putro and Jamo Elonen. 8/10.

The story focuses on Tove Janssons formative years as an artist, during which time she also developed her most known characters, the moomins a lot. The film is well made, acting is top notch (especially Alma Pöysti in the lead role) and left me with a warm feeling. Don't expect a dramatic epoch or an intense drama with unexpected twist and turns.