The Violin Player – Viulisti (2018)

Directed by: Paavo Westerberg | 124 minutes | drama, romance | Actors: Matleena Kuusniemi, Olavi Uusivirta, Kim Bodnia, Samuli Edelmann, Misa Lommi, Pyry Nikkilä, Timo Kalliokoski, Emmi Pesonen, Paavo Westerberg

Finnish Karin Nordström (Matleena Kuusniemi) is in her forties and has her affairs in order. With her successful career as a violinist, she travels all over the world, resting in the knowledge that her husband Jaakko (Samuli Edelmann) is waiting for her at home and taking care of their son Eemeli. At the beginning of the film, when she walks to her hotel after the successful tour with conductor friend Björn (Kim Bodnia), she has a horrific car accident. ‘The Violin Player’ then jumps in time and we soon see that Karin will never play the violin again.

Director Paavo Westerberg chose to develop this fact – how does an artist deal with the loss of his or her only talent when his or her life is still completely ahead of him – in a soap-like drama. Karin initially – understandably – has great difficulty accepting that she will never be on stage again. She doesn’t seem to realize that she was very lucky, that only the nerves in her hand were damaged. Her partner has long accepted the new situation and advises her to start teaching anyway. In the end Karin has to admit that there is no other option and she accepts the offer of a prestigious conservatory, where young talents are trained to become the new Karin Nordström.

Karin’s dissatisfaction with her situation soon leads to unwise choices. One of her students, Antti (Olavi Uusivirta), is always looking for contact and at a party, the spark finally flies. The two embark on a whirlwind romance, which is doomed to fail from moment one. From that point on you actually feel more for poor Antti than for the lead actress. This is reinforced when Karin puts Antti forward as a favorite for the role of soloist in Björn’s orchestra, while the conductor would rather choose Antti’s girlfriend Sofia, who is much more talented, but also more unreliable. Of course Björn chooses Antti, of course his talent is questioned and not surprisingly Björn finds a way to awaken Antti’s dormant virtuosity. At the end you wonder whether the director himself realizes that the focus is no longer on Karin’s future, but that of Antti.

Although the film usually does not avoid the clichés with these kinds of themes, ‘The Violin Player’ still looks pleasantly away. Lead actress Matleena Kuusniemi shows a range of emotions and the characters are filmed close to the skin.

‘The Violin Player’ is a relationship drama cleverly wrapped in an arthouse light jacket. A bit like the Dutch novelist Leni Saris gave you the idea that you were reading something more serious or intelligent than a bouquet series novel. Certainly not bad, but there is a good chance that you have already forgotten the film after the credits.