Book report: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

I think there is not much that can be said about J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series that hasn't already been said. The worldwide phenomenon of both the books and the movies has been extraordinarily widespread. On its way to international glory the saga has broken records in the film industry and the books have become bestsellers everywhere. British to the core, the book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone could maybe be placed in the classic fantasy category. The whole Harry Potter series remains loyal to the genre's usual great themes of love and death, of good and evil. Now that I've read all of the seven books in Finnish (along with this first installment in English also) I can understand why people are so interested in them.
       Harry Potter is a shy and self-doubting boy living with his uncle, aunt and cousin. Harry lost his parents, supposedly in a car crash, when he was a baby and that was when he received the strange lightning-shaped scar across his forehead. Since then he has slept in the cupboard under the stairs at the Dursleys' house in Privet Drive. He is eagerly looking forward to starting at the local secondary school next term. Harry spends his first ten years totally unaware of his real background, and of the fact that he possesses inherent special powers. All of a sudden, a letter arrives from the Hogwart School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, telling Harry he has been accepted as a student. Harry's uncle Vernon, being a magic-hating ''muggle'' (the word muggle means that he is lacking magical abilities), intercepts and destroys the letter. For the next couple of days, many more letters arrive, this time coming in through windows, doors, and cracks. Harry eventually gets his hands on one of the letters, in a scene where a half-giant, Hagrid, is introduced. After going through a dimensional portal at a train station in London, Harry embarks on an adventure of a lifetime. This is where the whole story actually begins, but I'm not going to spoil your possible future reading pleasures entirely. So from now on, I'm going to tell you more about the book in general.
       I love the vocabulary used in the book. The perfect combination of certain English words and their rhythm is just pure splendor. I also like how some of the proper nouns are derived from Old English. Futhermore, the book's characters tend to use oldish language as well, which brings a nice addition to the story. Throughout most of the book, the characters are impressively three-dimensional and they are all interesting in their own ways. There's also a great deal of humour present.
        I recommend this book to everyone, because even though someone might say that the Harry Potter series is for children and teenagers only, I would say that adults can enjoy these books just as much. The only thing you are required to do is to plunge into the world of magic. After that is taken care of, you can just sit comfortably on your couch and continue to read the book.

Is Finland becoming a cultural melting pot?

The world is changing all the time. This planet has become a different place to live in than what it used to be a hundred years ago. Finland has also changed. You can see people from many different cultures walking on the streets in almost every single Finnish city.
       I have witnessed and heard it with my own ears, and I can say that some people in Finland still have pretty horrible prejudices. I don't mean that everyone in Finland is paranoid or intolerant towards immigrants and refugees. I merely mean that such attitudes still exist among the Finnish people.
       Considering the current state of the world and the level of globalisation, you really can't say anymore whether it is a threat to allow people from other cultures to come to Finland or not. I think it's quite inevitable nowadays. We are moving towards a more united planet, whether we want it or not. Isolation is not an option; you can follow the news and decide for yourself how well it serves the people and the society in North Korea.
       Some people, usually the extra patriotic ones, are afraid that the immigrants will eventually ''take over'' the mainstream culture, or that the main culture may just simply vanish when the number of foreign people rises to a certain level. The people saying these kinds of things are often exaggerating the matter, at least in my opinion. Cultures have been mixing with each other randomly throughout history; it is a part of life here on Earth. People may learn new things from each other and live together peacefully, although quite the opposite has happened many times, when people have started killing each other once they've met.
       Cultural differences have always been a major problem. These days people have, at least partially, learned to respect other cultures. I don't understand how someone could hate a person just because of the colour of his/her skin, for example. It seems ridiculous to me. A very significant proportion of the elderly people here in Finland are especially racist and/or intolerant.
       So, I think it's not a bad thing for a country to become a cultural ''melting pot'', if it happens naturally. People shouldn't try to speed up or slow the process, because it happens if it happens and that's all there is to it.

The fascination of reality TV

Sometimes it feels that whenever I turn on the TV, there is always a reality show running, on one channel at least. It has become increasingly difficult to avoid watching these kinds of programs nowadays. I myself watch reality shows somewhat regularly, so their growing popularity is not a problem for me; quite the contrary in fact. And I think the same thing could be said not just about me but my mom, too.

        I have heard an expert say that the fascination with reality TV could be genetic. Scientists have also noticed a possible link between voyerism and the modern boom of reality TV shows. For example, there has been speculation that being nosey would have increased the odds of survival for primitive man tens of thousands of years ago.

        In my opinion, there are some really bad reality shows but there are some quite good ones as well. Then there are the ones you start following, but after a few weeks or months the show gets so boring or repetitious you just have to stop watching it. This kind of saturation has happened, at least to me, with the competition-based shows like Survivor or Amazing Race. Contestants rivaling with one another for a cash prize and engaged in building alliances and betraying allies just tends to bore me more and more these days. There are exceptions of course, for example Gordon Ramsay's famous Hell's Kitchen, which I somehow still find interesting enough to watch quite frequently, in spite of it being a competition-based show like the two mentioned above. I also like to watch Deadliest Catch, which is shown on Discovery Channel regularly.

        One show I used to watch a few years ago was The Osbournes. Ozzy Osbourne is a famous old-school rock star, whose family life people were interested to follow. Also the events happening on the show were pretty random, and that was probably the reason the series stayed interesting and popular for such a long time.

        The current reality TV boom shows no signs of fading. I'm actually pretty sure that if TV programs are still made in the year 2050, reality TV will still be popular. It could be even more popular than what it is nowadays, who knows.

A thank you speech

First of all, I would like to say thank you to all the people who made all this possible. That includes the amazing crew involved in the making of the film, my whole family, my friends, and of course my fellow filmmakers who provided an excellent challenge for me. However, in these kinds of contests there's always only one that has to be placed above others, and I'm more than just honoured to receive this token of appreciation. To me, this golden man here symbolizes all that work and patience the making of this film required from me and my assistants.

        Filmmakers, and I mean the ones who have actually won an award of some kind, often tend to tell long, boring stories from their childhood when giving a thank you speech. I think those ''epic tales'' are a complete waste of everybody's precious time, so I shall be brief with my speech from here on.

        When I started working on this film, I knew it was going to end up being awesome. The story was just so brilliant, and the actors I managed to hire did their jobs so damn well. Some people have critized my movies and said that they are too violent and harsh. My answer to these critics is that I make movies which describe reality quite closely, and it doesn't really matter if they are fictional or not. The point is that I like things and events in movies being shown as they really are, as real things. As close to reality as possible, without crossing certain borders, of course. Possibly someone out there shares the same kind of opinions, considering the fact that you gave me this award.

        We should never forget the most important rule in filmmaking: There are no rules.

There are as many ways to make a movie as there are filmmakers.

Thank you et merci beaucoup!

Movie review: Munich (2005)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Eric Roth, Tony Kushner
Stars: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciarán Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, Geoffrey Rush
Genre: Drama
Length: 164 minutes
In cinemas: 23 December 2005
Country: USA

In 1972, during the Summer Olympics in Munich, all the 11 athletes of the Israeli Olympic Team were ambushed in the Olympic Village, taken hostage and eventually killed by the Palestinian extremist group Black September.

The film focuses on ''Operation Wrath of God'', which was Mossad's response to this horrible incident. (Mossad is one of the Israeli intelligence agencies, and probably the best-known of them all). During the operation, Palestinians suspected of involvement in the massacre were systematically sniffed out and killed by Israeli intelligence and special forces. The film opens with the epigraph: "Inspired by a true story", so it is not an accurate depiction of real events. For what I have heard, it actually has its basis on a book called Vengeance written by George Jonas.

       Avner Kaufman (Eric Bana), an Israeli man working as a security guard, is summoned to a briefing where he meets some of Mossad's leaders and the prime minister of Israel, Golda Meir. They ask him to lead an assassination group established to track down and kill the Palestinians who are suspected to have been involved in the planning of the massacre in the Olympic Village.
       Avner's team consists of five members each specialized in different things. One member makes the bombs, another one cleans up the mess they leave behind when killing people, and so on. The team has a boss, Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush), who advises (and also castigates) them at some points, when he feels it is necessary. The plot focuses on the team doing their job, usually co-working with a French contact, who plays an important role in the film.
       As the story progresses Avner begins to see the fact that the eliminated Palestinians are simply being replaced, each murder brings terrible reprisals, and Avner's dreams are haunted by the Munich massacre. At some point he realizes he cannot even be sure if his targets are really guilty or not. His mind begins to shatter and he eventually becomes paranoid about his own, and his family's, safety.

       In spite of its thriller form, Munich is a serious inquiry into the Israel-Palestine conflict. It is packed with crafty metaphors, interesting characters and beautiful lines. The actors play their parts very convincingly. I find the film occasionally heartbreaking and despairing, but sometimes funny, too. One of the most touching parts in my opinion was without a doubt the phone call between Avner and his wife, as he bursts out crying when he hears his little child talk to him on the phone. The whole film is so well made it really manages to touch your feelings very deeply at specific points. It's certainly one of the best thrillers I've ever seen and also a daring political statement. Great job, Mr. Spielberg! (once again, I'd say)