The of 3 Rooms of Melancholia
Pirjo Honkasalu’s cinematic documentary depicts in three parts the atmosphere of war of various aspects of the Chechen conflict in South-Western Russia.
During the Chechen war children are involved in every aspect of the war. They are being trained in the Russian naval academy to serve Russia against her enemies. Children run on the streets of Grozny, the capital of Chechnya brandishing toy guns, imagining how they fight against the Russians. In Ingushesiyah, near the border of Chechnya refugee children remember what has happened to them, what has hurt them in the war.
Of the ideology of war and of the realities of what could happen adults don’t tell them. Children have little idea about why they are in this conflict other that what the adults tell them.
They can only see the results.
Images speak for themselves. Pictures have integrity. The silent tone of the film contrasts with the roaring war. Colors and gamma match melancholy. Honkasalu’s observational way of filming documents the distinct atmosphere of fear that war brought to this land. Prayer and sleep are shown in all sequences. As if people didn’t see the camera they indulge in the little they have still left.
With a separate name each part becomes more significant:
Room 1 – Longing
Kronstadt, near St. Petersburg. Darkness. Boys washing. Formalistic steps. Nobody asks why does war have to destroy the innocence of children? On the contrary, it becomes clear that children are infused with small ideas of hatred right from their childhood. Because children are the future of our nation.
In the cadet academy all the boys look the same in their uniforms. Kolja – street child. Misha – grandson of a military grandfather. Popov – child of alcoholics. Sergei from Chechnya… he is treated as a stranger on both sides.
Their entire situation is reeking of irony. One moment they are singing the songs of freedom “let the horses run wild” and a minute later they are learning how to use a rifle. A boy looks out of the window thinking of raising his head high. He doesn’t.
Boys exercising, shooting targets with air guns
The string music on the background, the panning motions of the camera, and then the lone singer in high register create an uneasy feeling.
Room 2 – Breathing
Shot in black and white and with natural sound this seems very real. This is where all the action of war takes place. Terrible damage, derelict building crumbling. A mother saying goodbye to her children. Mental damage in the city. Ruins. Children playing with toy guns already infused with hatred for Russia. Already they seem to be small soldiers.
Room 3 – Remembering
Peaceful atmosphere. Longer shots. References to the first room. Children have a chance to get a new life, here they can start remembering. Calmer editing, the use of facial expressions to reveal the story of refugees. Lack of narration saves the film from bias. No conclusions are made.
Panoramas. Children are still truthful and innocent, like in Herz Frank’s 10 Minutes Older. Both Russian and Chechen troops were cruel. A vicious circle, can children have a way out?
Three Rooms of Melancholia showed the feeling of war without showing the war itself. Not many films about war make us think and feel so deeply, even after days later.
Released: 2004, Finland, Length: 104 min, Director: Pirjo Honkasalu
