The Saimaa Gesture

The Saimaa Gesture
Original Finnish film poster
Directed by	Aki Kaurismäki, Mika Kaurismäki
Produced by	Aki Kaurismäki, Mika Kaurismäki
Starring	Juice Leskinen Martti Syrjä Ismo Alanko
Cinematography	Lasse Naukkarinen Timo Salminen Toni Sulzbeck Olli Varja
Edited by	Antti Kari
Music by	Eppu Normaali Hassisen Kone Juice Leskinen Slam
Production company	Villealfa Filmproductions
Release date	11 September 1981 (1981-09-11)
Running time	128 minutes
Country	Finland
Language	Finnish

The Saimaa Gesture (Finnish: Saimaa-ilmiö) is a 1981 film by Finnish directors Aki and Mika Kaurismäki. It is a documentary about three Finnish rock groups aboard the steamboat SS Heinävesi on their tour around Lake Saimaa.

The film

The film was shot from 31 May to 7 June on the 1981 "Tuuliajolla" tour by groups Eppu Normaali, Hassisen Kone and Juice Leskinen Slam. The Saimaa Gesture features artist interviews, more than 20 live performances and several acoustic songs filmed aboard the steamer.

The original title Saimaa-ilmiö is an adaptation of the Finnish translation of the 1979 thriller film The China Syndrome (Finnish: Kiina-ilmiö). It could have been further inspired by the Eppu Normaali song, Suomi-ilimö, which was named similarly.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album Tuuliajolla was released by Poko Rekords. It was re-released on CD in 1993 and 2007.[1]

References

1. Tuuliajolla Discogs. Retrieved 14 December 2014.

External links

• The Saimaa Gesture Aki Kaurismäki Filmography
• Unplugged song from the film YouTube
• The Saimaa Gesture at IMDb