Tale of the Sleeping Giants

Tale of the Sleeping Giants (Finnish: Tunturin tarina) is a 2021 Finnish nature film directed by Marko Röhr. It is about the fells of Sápmi and is the standalone third entry in a series of nature films, after Tale of a Forest (2012) and Tale of a Lake (2016).

Tale of the Sleeping Giants
Film poster
Directed byMarko Röhr
Written by
Produced by
  • Hanna Kauppi
  • Marko Röhr
Narrated byPeter Franzén
CinematographyTeemu Liakka
Edited byBen Mercer
Music byPanu Aaltio
Production
company
MRP Matila Röhr Productions
Distributed byNordisk Film
Release date
  • 3 December 2021 (2021-12-03)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryFinland
LanguageFinnish

Originally set for 2020, Tale of the Sleeping Giants' release was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland. Without officially being released it topped Finland's box-office chart solely from preview screenings. The official release took place on 3 December 2021.

Synopsis

Tale of the Sleeping Giants revolves around the fells—barren mountains—of Sápmi in northern Europe. It is about the terrain, wildlife and mythology of the region.[1]

Production
The screenwriter Antti Tuuri in 2013

Tale of the Sleeping Giants is based on an idea by Antti Tuuri and the screenplay was written by Tuuri and Marko Röhr.[2] The film was produced by Hanna Kauppi and Röhr for MRP Matila Röhr Productions with support from the Finnish Film Foundation.[3] It is the standalone third film in a trilogy about nature and mythology produced by MRP Matila Röhr Productions. By having an element of dramatic storytelling, it differs from the previous films, Tale of a Forest (2012) and Tale of a Lake (2016), which are straight nature documentaries, and it received funding from the Finnish Film Foundation's drama department, not its documentary department.[1]

Filming took place over three years in northern Finland, Norway and Sweden.[1][4] Production included sustained filming in temperatures as low as minus 42 degrees Celsius. The team recorded 850 hours of footage, which were edited into the 77 minutes of the finished film.[4]

Release

Distribution in Finland is handled by Nordisk Film. The Finnish theatrical release was initially set to 25 December 2020,[2] but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland.[5] The release took place on 3 December 2021.[6]

Because of the delay, there was time to create subtitles in Northern Sami which will be used during some screenings.[5] A 53 minutes long documentary about the making of Tale of the Sleeping Giants was broadcast on Yle TV1 on 5 April 2021.[7] Without officially being released, due to restrictions imposed on cinema operators, Tale of the Sleeping Giants was able to top the Finnish box-office chart in February 2021 through preview screenings.[8] As of 1 December 2021, it had sold 18,119 tickets in Finland.[9]

Reception

Leena Virtanen of Helsingin Sanomat wrote that Tale of the Sleeping Giants follows the formula from the two previous films and it shows that the filmmakers have developed a shared vision, where Virtanen especially complimented the cinematography. She compared the narrative element where fells are portrayed as sleeping giants to Ailo's Journey, which used editing to create a dramatic story from nature footage. Virtanen described Panu Aaltio's soundtrack as powerful and effective in some scenes, but thought other scenes could have gained from not using music.[10]

References
  1. Pham, Annika (8 February 2021). "'Earth' Producer Sophisticated Films Takes 'Tale of the Sleeping Giants' to the World (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  2. Hapuli, Noora (23 September 2020). "Rakastetut luontoelokuvat saavat jatkoa – Tunturin tarinan henkeäsalpaava traileri nyt ensinäytössä IS:llä!". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  3. "Production support to 21 projects in the first decision meeting of 2019". ses.fi. Finnish Film Foundation. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  4. Parkko, Laura (13 February 2021). "Tarujen jättiläiset". Valkealan Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  5. Pirttijärvi, Ida; Wesslin, Sara (15 January 2021). "Tunturin tarina on Suomen ensimmäinen elokuvateattereissa nähtävä pitkä elokuva, joka on tekstitetty pohjoissaameksi". yle.fi (in Finnish). Yle. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  6. "Tunturin tarina". nordiskfilm.fi (in Finnish). Nordisk Film. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  7. "Näin tehtiin Tunturin tarina". yle.fi (in Finnish). Yle. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  8. Pham, Annika (18 February 2021). "Finnish Tale of the Sleeping Giants sells nearly 12,000 tickets in previews". nordiskfilmogtvfond.com. Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  9. "Kotimaisten elokuvien katsojaluvut 2021". ses.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Film Foundation. 1 December 2021. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  10. Virtanen, Leena (2 December 2021). "Tunturin tarina on Marko Röhrin luontodokumenteista ehyin kokonaisuus, mutta faktat jäävät mainitsematta". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 3 December 2021.
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