Kohtalon kirja
Encyclopedia
Kohtalon kirja is a Finnish
film released in 2003. The movie was a DVD release, though it premiered in a theater.
The movie is a multi-genre episode movie. It's frequently described as a "Horror/Western/War/Action/Sci-fi" movie, as it covers all of those genres in different episodes. The frequent themes are horror and fantasy, too.
The movie was conceived and directed by Tommi Lepola and Tero Molin. Many of the makers, including Lepola and the producer Ilkka Niemi, jointly made the movie as their graduation work from Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulu. The lead roles were given to freshly graduated acting students. As a graduation work, it is vastly larger than most such projects.
In addition to these, many well-known Finnish actors, such as Vesa Vierikko
, Santeri Kinnunen and Åke Lindman
came to make an appearance in the movie. Many of them found it interesting to work on a movie like this, because such movies are not typically made in Finland.
and having their own subplot.
Opening narration explains how the Book of Fate came to be. It is a book that is somehow able to change reality. Another civilization beyond the stars got it, and made a pen to control the future - by writing to the book, things could change. This led to a war, but the book vanished. It later reappeared on Earth in order to give another chance to a chosen soul.
The movie starts with a horror episode in Transylvania, where brothers, one of whom is a priest, are looking for a cross that can cure their sister who has been bitten by a vampire
. As they find the cross, the priest also finds an ancient, strange book. Then they are suddenly assaulted by vampires. Just as everything seems to be lost and the vampire is about to defeat him, the book gives the priest another chance, and the scene changes.
The next scene starts with a gunfight duel in a typical Western
setting. A lonesome bounty hunter - who quite resembles in appearance the priest - defeats a crook and finds the book again. He goes to a town to collect the money, and ends up in a gunfight where he's unable to save an innocent bystander who gets caught in crossfire. Three more crooks arrive to the town to pressure the sheriff to release their friend from the prison. The bounty hunter ends up in a massive gunfight, and it appears that he's getting killed, but once again, the book intervenes.
The next appearance of the book - and a soldier who again resembles the priest - is in the Winter War
- Battle of Kollaa
, Christmas Day 1939, to be specific. The soldier tries to sneak past a Soviet post, but gets pinned down in an enemy fire. The book intervenes just as a hand grenade is thrown at him.
The next scene opens in modern day Tampere
, in a typical action movie setting. A mad professor
has developed a virus that kills everyone once released. The special agents, led by another familiar figure, steal it and its vaccine, but end up roughed up and detained in a distant manor where one of the mad professor's underlings is studying the Book of Fate. After a heroic escape attempt, and accidentally shooting his friend who was on the line of fire with an enemy, he gets stuck in Särkänniemi
where the mad professor is about to release the virus.
The next scene, set on a space freighter, starts in virtual reality; a cyborg
, again resembling the priest of the past, is playing a video game. This time, however, the priest's spirit is able to appear in the VR projection, and tries to warn the cyborg that the book can be used to prevent the deaths of innocent people - as has happened before. The cyborg's job is to take the book to a group of aliens and he spends good time studying it as he prepares for the journey. As he goes in cryosleep, an alien lady appears in the ship, and the priest's spirit awakens the cyborg, and he is able to stop the alien lady from defacing the book. A representative of the aliens whom the book is being delivered to calls, and tells how dangerous this lady is, and the cyborg is to kill her by depressurizing the ship - sacrificing himself in the process to save millions of lives. The priest's spirit notes too late that, as the cyborg is about to die, he has made the wrong choice again. The alien representative who contacted them earlier were the true antagonists, and the book, and the pen, are about to fall in his hands. The cyborg is, however, able to write a change of reality to the book at the very last moment.
The story then unravels itself: The cyborg reunites with his long-dead wife who lives again, the special agent stops the mad professor, the soldier saves the day, the gunfight is won, and the priest is able to destroy the vampire and save his sister.
in September 2003.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
film released in 2003. The movie was a DVD release, though it premiered in a theater.
The movie is a multi-genre episode movie. It's frequently described as a "Horror/Western/War/Action/Sci-fi" movie, as it covers all of those genres in different episodes. The frequent themes are horror and fantasy, too.
The movie was conceived and directed by Tommi Lepola and Tero Molin. Many of the makers, including Lepola and the producer Ilkka Niemi, jointly made the movie as their graduation work from Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulu. The lead roles were given to freshly graduated acting students. As a graduation work, it is vastly larger than most such projects.
In addition to these, many well-known Finnish actors, such as Vesa Vierikko
Vesa Vierikko
Vesa Tapio Vierikko is a Finnish actor.Vierikko began acting in 1978 on television working consistently throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He starred in the 2003 film Sibelius working with Finnish director Timo Koivusalo and actors such as Martti Suosalo, Heikki Nousiainen and Seela Sella and Miina...
, Santeri Kinnunen and Åke Lindman
Åke Lindman
Åke Leonard Lindman , born Åke Leonard Järvinen, was a Finnish director and actor.In his youth Lindman was a football player, playing defence for the Finnish national team during the Olympics in Helsinki 1952. He represented the football club HIFK in the Finnish league. In the 1960s, the British...
came to make an appearance in the movie. Many of them found it interesting to work on a movie like this, because such movies are not typically made in Finland.
Plot
The movie is divided into five distinct episodes, each representing a different genreGenre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
and having their own subplot.
Opening narration explains how the Book of Fate came to be. It is a book that is somehow able to change reality. Another civilization beyond the stars got it, and made a pen to control the future - by writing to the book, things could change. This led to a war, but the book vanished. It later reappeared on Earth in order to give another chance to a chosen soul.
The movie starts with a horror episode in Transylvania, where brothers, one of whom is a priest, are looking for a cross that can cure their sister who has been bitten by a vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
. As they find the cross, the priest also finds an ancient, strange book. Then they are suddenly assaulted by vampires. Just as everything seems to be lost and the vampire is about to defeat him, the book gives the priest another chance, and the scene changes.
The next scene starts with a gunfight duel in a typical Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
setting. A lonesome bounty hunter - who quite resembles in appearance the priest - defeats a crook and finds the book again. He goes to a town to collect the money, and ends up in a gunfight where he's unable to save an innocent bystander who gets caught in crossfire. Three more crooks arrive to the town to pressure the sheriff to release their friend from the prison. The bounty hunter ends up in a massive gunfight, and it appears that he's getting killed, but once again, the book intervenes.
The next appearance of the book - and a soldier who again resembles the priest - is in the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
- Battle of Kollaa
Battle of Kollaa
The Battle of Kollaa was fought from December 7, 1939 - March 13, 1940 in the Ladoga's Karelia, Finland as a part of the Winter War.Despite having far fewer troops than the Soviets, the Finnish forces repelled the Red Army because the Soviets were only prepared to proceed along roads...
, Christmas Day 1939, to be specific. The soldier tries to sneak past a Soviet post, but gets pinned down in an enemy fire. The book intervenes just as a hand grenade is thrown at him.
The next scene opens in modern day Tampere
Tampere
Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
, in a typical action movie setting. A mad professor
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
has developed a virus that kills everyone once released. The special agents, led by another familiar figure, steal it and its vaccine, but end up roughed up and detained in a distant manor where one of the mad professor's underlings is studying the Book of Fate. After a heroic escape attempt, and accidentally shooting his friend who was on the line of fire with an enemy, he gets stuck in Särkänniemi
Särkänniemi
Särkänniemi is an adventure park in Tampere, Finland. The park features an aquarium, a planetarium, a children's zoo, an art museum, an observation tower , an amusement park and the world's northernmost dolphinarium. Särkänniemi is the most popular amusement park in Finland...
where the mad professor is about to release the virus.
The next scene, set on a space freighter, starts in virtual reality; a cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
, again resembling the priest of the past, is playing a video game. This time, however, the priest's spirit is able to appear in the VR projection, and tries to warn the cyborg that the book can be used to prevent the deaths of innocent people - as has happened before. The cyborg's job is to take the book to a group of aliens and he spends good time studying it as he prepares for the journey. As he goes in cryosleep, an alien lady appears in the ship, and the priest's spirit awakens the cyborg, and he is able to stop the alien lady from defacing the book. A representative of the aliens whom the book is being delivered to calls, and tells how dangerous this lady is, and the cyborg is to kill her by depressurizing the ship - sacrificing himself in the process to save millions of lives. The priest's spirit notes too late that, as the cyborg is about to die, he has made the wrong choice again. The alien representative who contacted them earlier were the true antagonists, and the book, and the pen, are about to fall in his hands. The cyborg is, however, able to write a change of reality to the book at the very last moment.
The story then unravels itself: The cyborg reunites with his long-dead wife who lives again, the special agent stops the mad professor, the soldier saves the day, the gunfight is won, and the priest is able to destroy the vampire and save his sister.
Awards
The movie won the Best International Feature Film award in the New York International Independent Film and Video FestivalNew York International Independent Film and Video Festival
New York International Independent Film and Video Festival is a film screening event in various American cities. It was founded in 1993, and its website claims it has been recognized by the film and entertainment industry as one of the leading film events on the independent festival circuit...
in September 2003.