Sia, the rebellious forest fairy – Sihja – kapinaa ilmassa (2021)

Directed by: Marja Pyykkö | 89 minutes | family, adventure | Dutch voice cast: Lely Zeger, Kevin Hassing, Marlies Somers, Lina Roeland, Ida Verspaandonk, Tineke Blok, Milan van Weelden, Doris Baaten

In Scandinavia people have a very close relationship with Mother Nature. Whether it’s the endless forests, countless lakes and pristine islands or many other beautiful natural areas that surround them, Scandinavians have an innate respect for nature and they pass it on from generation to generation. Many Norwegians, Swedes and Finns have their own summer cottage in their own country, where they go every free weekend for pure relaxation. Some people say that’s one of the main reasons Scandinavians always score so high in happiness indices: that bond with nature that can’t be compared to anything else. Take it easy: in winter it is not only cold, but the sun only rises above the horizon for a few hours. This had to be explained somehow and so the early Scandinavian peoples invented stories depicting the vagaries of nature as gods and nature spirits. Today, that respect for nature is still ingrained.

We also see this in the youth film ‘Sia, the rebellious forest fairy’ (2021), a Finnish/Dutch/Norwegian co-production directed by Finnish filmmaker Marja Pyykkö. Here too we see a personification of natural forces, but not in the form of an angry forest troll or a fierce thunder god. No, the nature spirit in this children’s film is a little girl named Sia (Elina Patrakka) with a savage white-blonde bush with her who secretly hitches a ride in the car of an average Finnish family, who returns after a few days’ rest in the summer house on an idyllic lake. to the city. The son of the family is the dreamy Alfred (Justus Hentula), who prefers to immerse himself in the wonders of Mother Nature, such as butterflies and dragonflies, which he draws. He suddenly discovers that Sia has come to his house as a curious stowaway, but the two soon become friends. Especially when Alfred discovers that Sia has wings and he can fly anywhere with her. Sia is quite cheeky and rather maladjusted, but also charming, cheerful and inquisitive. When the birds drop dead in the street one day, the newfound friends decide to find out what’s going on, and especially the role of the factory where Alfred’s father works. The director Lisbeth (Pirjo Lonka), who hates children, has just launched a new product: a spray that makes all plants and flowers grow and kills all weeds and ugly plants.

‘Sia, the rebellious forest fairy’ fits perfectly into the list of charming, entertaining youth films that the Scandinavians are known for, although the number of ‘heavy’ subjects in this film is not too bad: Alfred’s parents are still together and nobody dies. Themes such as nature and its protection are addressed, but the ecological message that the makers propagate is organically woven into the whole. Bullying behavior between children is also very subtly touched upon; Alfred is the outsider of the class, who is very easy to put in front of the popular children. When Sia points out that he is being walked all over, he does not immediately use it to adjust his behavior. A spontaneous mud fight with the same bullies is a cheerful highlight in the film; you will want to participate yourself!

‘Sia, the rebellious forest fairy’ remains fairly superficial and is therefore easy to understand for the target group (children aged six to ten years), but the film therefore lacks the (emotional) impact that makes some other Scandinavian youth films so strong. But the story takes a slightly different path than you expect in advance, the characters are cheerful and engaging and the message is so sympathetic that we like to condone those superficialities.