The 3 Rooms of Melancholia
Encyclopedia
The 3 Rooms of Melancholia (Finnish
: Melancholian 3 huonetta) is a 2004 Finnish documentary film
written, directed and co-produced by Pirjo Honkasalo
. The film documents the devastation and ruin brought on by the Second Chechen War
, more specifically the toll that the war had taken on the children of Chechnya
and Russia
.
The film was critically acclaimed upon its release, being praised for its high artistic value and winning numerous awards in the process.
but narration and dialogue are sparse and the imagery is left to convey the largest part of the film's message.
is a Russian town on Kotlin Island
near Saint Petersburg
. A site of the infamous Kronstadt rebellion
, this is where the Armed forces of the Russian Federation
run and maintain the Kronstadt Cadet Academy, a boys' military academy
. The film documents a part of the months-long intense training program of several hundred children between the ages of nine and fourteen, most of whom are either orphaned or from very poor families. The viewers learn that many of these children are orphans because of the war in Chechnya and that some of the children will be sent to fight this very same war once their training is complete. Some of the children and their backgrounds are presented in-depth and a bleak picture emerges about their past and their possible future lives. The viewer is also led to believe that the future Russian Army will be largely composed of children such as these. The training is intense and devoid of any enjoyment for the children; the war exercises are strenuous and endless; the children don't get to play much but, even when they do, their games are also organized into war exercises; most of the television programming that the children watch is limited to news reports about wars and terrorist attacks. Bleak and somber imagery dominates throughout the first chapter, instilling images of poverty, despair and desolation affecting the children as well as their families.
and depicts the devastation in the city of Grozny
, the Chechen capital, brought on by years of endless fighting. Numerous buildings are destroyed by bombs and the city appears devoid of normal human life. As stray dogs rummage through the rubble, the only human activities within the city seem to be military movements, homeless people and beggars dying on the streets, and humanitarian workers trying to save the children. A woman is shown dying from having drunk water contaminated with oil. Hadizhat Gataeva, a Chechen woman and humanitarian worker who collects the abandoned children and those children of dead and dying parents, is shown caringly taking the woman's three young children from her in order to take them to an orphanage where they may receive the care they need after their mother dies. The children are loaded on a bus and taken on a long trip across a desolate landscape that bears constant reminders that they're still in a war zone — such as multiple military checkpoints
— until they reach an Islam
ic orphanage located in the autonomous region of Ingushetia
.
. A girl, now 19, was 12 years old when she was raped by Russian soldiers. The last few minutes of the film show a mysterious but ancient religious ceremony performed on a Muslim farm; a goat is killed — for food as well as for the ceremony — and the children have its blood smeared on their faces. All of this happens while more reminders of the war present themselves as fighter aircraft
fly overhead.
and a rating of 67/100 on Metacritic
.
In the September 2005 issue of the British Film Institute
's Sight & Sound
magazine, critic Leslie Felperin proclaimed The 3 Rooms of Melancholia to be "one of the finest documentaries of the past year". Stephen Holden
of The New York Times
called the film a "magnificent documentary" as well as proclaiming that it is "one of the saddest films ever made". About the film's imagery and intended message, Holden said that the "film mostly lets its images speak for themselves". Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com
paid tribute to Honkasalo's work by calling her "an artist with a piercing eye, tremendous patience and a rigorous formal technique" and proclaiming the film "a prodigious, almost spiritual experience". Joshua Land of The Village Voice
opines that the film was "beautifully shot" and that it is "made with undeniable intelligence" while, at the same time, calling Honkasalo's approach "high-art". Critic Noel Murray of The A.V. Club
, a publication of The Onion
, shared some of Joshua Land's sentiments with regards to the film's artistic achievement. He called The 3 Rooms Of Melancholia "a challenging and beautiful film", called Honkasalo's approach "more impressionistic than informative" and concluded that "as art, 3 Rooms is magnificent."
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
: Melancholian 3 huonetta) is a 2004 Finnish documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
written, directed and co-produced by Pirjo Honkasalo
Pirjo Honkasalo
Pirjo Honkasalo is a Finnish film-maker. Although she has written and directed over a dozen films, Honkasalo is also an accomplished cinematographer, film editor, producer and actor. For her work in the film industry, Honkasalo has been recognized by winning 19 major film awards while being...
. The film documents the devastation and ruin brought on by the Second Chechen War
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
, more specifically the toll that the war had taken on the children of Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
The film was critically acclaimed upon its release, being praised for its high artistic value and winning numerous awards in the process.
Content summary
The content of The 3 Rooms of Melancholia is divided into three chapters, each chronicling different hardships of the affected children. The film is narrated by Pirkko SaisioPirkko Saisio
Pirkko Saisio is a Finnish author, actress and director. She has also written under the pen name Jukka Larsson and Eva Wein. Saisio has a broad literary output, dealing with many kinds of texts from film screenplays all the way to librettos for the ballet...
but narration and dialogue are sparse and the imagery is left to convey the largest part of the film's message.
Chapter one: Longing
KronstadtKronstadt
Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...
is a Russian town on Kotlin Island
Kotlin Island
Kotlin is a Russian island, located near the head of the Gulf of Finland, west of Saint Petersburg in the Baltic Sea. Kotlin separates the Neva Bay from the rest of the gulf...
near Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. A site of the infamous Kronstadt rebellion
Kronstadt rebellion
The Kronstadt rebellion was one of many major unsuccessful left-wing uprisings against the Bolsheviks in the aftermath of the Russian Civil War...
, this is where the Armed forces of the Russian Federation
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are the military services of Russia, established after the break-up of the Soviet Union. On 7 May 1992 Boris Yeltsin signed a decree establishing the Russian Ministry of Defence and placing all Soviet Armed Forces troops on the territory of the RSFSR...
run and maintain the Kronstadt Cadet Academy, a boys' military academy
Military academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the army, the navy, air force or coast guard, which normally provides education in a service environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.Three...
. The film documents a part of the months-long intense training program of several hundred children between the ages of nine and fourteen, most of whom are either orphaned or from very poor families. The viewers learn that many of these children are orphans because of the war in Chechnya and that some of the children will be sent to fight this very same war once their training is complete. Some of the children and their backgrounds are presented in-depth and a bleak picture emerges about their past and their possible future lives. The viewer is also led to believe that the future Russian Army will be largely composed of children such as these. The training is intense and devoid of any enjoyment for the children; the war exercises are strenuous and endless; the children don't get to play much but, even when they do, their games are also organized into war exercises; most of the television programming that the children watch is limited to news reports about wars and terrorist attacks. Bleak and somber imagery dominates throughout the first chapter, instilling images of poverty, despair and desolation affecting the children as well as their families.
Chapter two: Breathing
The second chapter is shot in black-and-whiteBlack-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
and depicts the devastation in the city of Grozny
Grozny
Grozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
, the Chechen capital, brought on by years of endless fighting. Numerous buildings are destroyed by bombs and the city appears devoid of normal human life. As stray dogs rummage through the rubble, the only human activities within the city seem to be military movements, homeless people and beggars dying on the streets, and humanitarian workers trying to save the children. A woman is shown dying from having drunk water contaminated with oil. Hadizhat Gataeva, a Chechen woman and humanitarian worker who collects the abandoned children and those children of dead and dying parents, is shown caringly taking the woman's three young children from her in order to take them to an orphanage where they may receive the care they need after their mother dies. The children are loaded on a bus and taken on a long trip across a desolate landscape that bears constant reminders that they're still in a war zone — such as multiple military checkpoints
Civilian checkpoint
Civilian checkpoints or Security checkpoints are distinguishable from border or frontier checkpoints in that they are erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary control...
— until they reach an Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic orphanage located in the autonomous region of Ingushetia
Ingushetia
The Republic of Ingushetia is a federal subject of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. In terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except for the two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg...
.
Chapter three: Remembering
The viewers are taken to the orphanage where some of the children are profiled. An 11-year-old boy was gang-raped by Russian soldiers and was brought to the orphanage after being found in a cardboard box. Another boy was brought in after he survived a fall from a ninth-floor apartment; his mother threw him off the balcony after her husband's death in the First Chechen WarFirst Chechen War
The First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...
. A girl, now 19, was 12 years old when she was raped by Russian soldiers. The last few minutes of the film show a mysterious but ancient religious ceremony performed on a Muslim farm; a goat is killed — for food as well as for the ceremony — and the children have its blood smeared on their faces. All of this happens while more reminders of the war present themselves as fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
fly overhead.
Critical response
The film received a generally positive response from film critics being awarded favorable reviews as well as winning eleven major film awards while being nominated for four more. As of February 27, 2009, the film scored a 70% positive rating on aggregate review website Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and a rating of 67/100 on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
In the September 2005 issue of the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
's Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute .Sight & Sound was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent BFI, which still publishes the magazine today...
magazine, critic Leslie Felperin proclaimed The 3 Rooms of Melancholia to be "one of the finest documentaries of the past year". Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called the film a "magnificent documentary" as well as proclaiming that it is "one of the saddest films ever made". About the film's imagery and intended message, Holden said that the "film mostly lets its images speak for themselves". Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
paid tribute to Honkasalo's work by calling her "an artist with a piercing eye, tremendous patience and a rigorous formal technique" and proclaiming the film "a prodigious, almost spiritual experience". Joshua Land of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
opines that the film was "beautifully shot" and that it is "made with undeniable intelligence" while, at the same time, calling Honkasalo's approach "high-art". Critic Noel Murray of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
, a publication of The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
, shared some of Joshua Land's sentiments with regards to the film's artistic achievement. He called The 3 Rooms Of Melancholia "a challenging and beautiful film", called Honkasalo's approach "more impressionistic than informative" and concluded that "as art, 3 Rooms is magnificent."
Won
- International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (2004)
- Amnesty International - DOEN Award - Pirjo HonkasaloPirjo HonkasaloPirjo Honkasalo is a Finnish film-maker. Although she has written and directed over a dozen films, Honkasalo is also an accomplished cinematographer, film editor, producer and actor. For her work in the film industry, Honkasalo has been recognized by winning 19 major film awards while being...
- Full Frame Documentary Film FestivalFull Frame Documentary Film FestivalThe Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is an annual international event dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema. Each spring Full Frame welcomes filmmakers and film lovers from around the world to historic downtown Durham, North Carolina for a four-day, morning to midnight...
(2005) - Seeds of War - Pirjo HonkasaloPirjo HonkasaloPirjo Honkasalo is a Finnish film-maker. Although she has written and directed over a dozen films, Honkasalo is also an accomplished cinematographer, film editor, producer and actor. For her work in the film industry, Honkasalo has been recognized by winning 19 major film awards while being...
(Tied with Eugene JareckiEugene JareckiEugene Jarecki is an author and a dramatic and documentary filmmaker based in New York.His works include Why We Fight, which won the 2005 Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, The Trials of Henry Kissinger, Reagan, Freakonomics , Quest of the Carib Canoe, and Season of the...
and Susannah Shipman for Why We FightWhy We Fight (2005 film)Why We Fight, directed by Eugene Jarecki, is a 2006 documentary film about the military–industrial complex. The title refers to the World War II-era eponymous propaganda movies commissioned by the U.S...
)
- Jussi Awards (2005)
- Best Documentary Film - Auli Mantila
- Best Music - Sanna Salmenkallio
- Prix ItaliaPrix ItaliaThe Prix Italia is an international Italian television, radio-broadcasting and Website award. It was established in 1948 by RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana in Capri...
(2005) - TV Documentaries - Current Affairs
- Tampere Film FestivalTampere Film FestivalThe Tampere Film Festival is a short film festival held every March in the Finnish town of Tampere. It is accredited by the film producers' society FIAPF, and together with the short film festivals in Oberhausen and Clermont-Ferrand, it is among the most important European short film festivals.The...
(2005) - Main Prize, Finnish Short Film Over 30 minutes - Pirjo HonkasaloPirjo HonkasaloPirjo Honkasalo is a Finnish film-maker. Although she has written and directed over a dozen films, Honkasalo is also an accomplished cinematographer, film editor, producer and actor. For her work in the film industry, Honkasalo has been recognized by winning 19 major film awards while being...
- Thessaloniki Documentary FestivalThessaloniki Documentary FestivalThe Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – Images of the 21st Century is a film festival specialising in documentary films which takes place every March in Thessaloniki and is affiliated with the International Thessaloniki Film Festival.-History:...
(2005) - FIPRESCIFIPRESCIThe International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...
Prize - Pirjo HonkasaloPirjo HonkasaloPirjo Honkasalo is a Finnish film-maker. Although she has written and directed over a dozen films, Honkasalo is also an accomplished cinematographer, film editor, producer and actor. For her work in the film industry, Honkasalo has been recognized by winning 19 major film awards while being...
- Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
(2004) - EIUC Award - Special Mention - Pirjo HonkasaloPirjo HonkasaloPirjo Honkasalo is a Finnish film-maker. Although she has written and directed over a dozen films, Honkasalo is also an accomplished cinematographer, film editor, producer and actor. For her work in the film industry, Honkasalo has been recognized by winning 19 major film awards while being...
- Human Rights Film Network Award - Pirjo HonkasaloPirjo HonkasaloPirjo Honkasalo is a Finnish film-maker. Although she has written and directed over a dozen films, Honkasalo is also an accomplished cinematographer, film editor, producer and actor. For her work in the film industry, Honkasalo has been recognized by winning 19 major film awards while being...
- Lina Mangiacapre Award - Pirjo HonkasaloPirjo HonkasaloPirjo Honkasalo is a Finnish film-maker. Although she has written and directed over a dozen films, Honkasalo is also an accomplished cinematographer, film editor, producer and actor. For her work in the film industry, Honkasalo has been recognized by winning 19 major film awards while being...
- Yerevan International Film FestivalYerevan International Film FestivalYerevan International Film Festival "Golden Apricot" is a Yerevan-based annual film festival. The objectives of the festival are "to present new works by the film directors and producers in Armenia and foreign cinematographers of Armenian descent and to promote creativity and originality in the...
(2005) - Grand Prix - Golden Apricot, Best Documentary Film - Pirjo HonkasaloPirjo HonkasaloPirjo Honkasalo is a Finnish film-maker. Although she has written and directed over a dozen films, Honkasalo is also an accomplished cinematographer, film editor, producer and actor. For her work in the film industry, Honkasalo has been recognized by winning 19 major film awards while being...
Nominated
- Jussi Awards (2005)
- Best Cinematography - Pirjo HonkasaloPirjo HonkasaloPirjo Honkasalo is a Finnish film-maker. Although she has written and directed over a dozen films, Honkasalo is also an accomplished cinematographer, film editor, producer and actor. For her work in the film industry, Honkasalo has been recognized by winning 19 major film awards while being...
(Lost to Kari Sohlberg for Dog Nail ClipperDog Nail ClipperDog Nail Clipper is a 2004 Finnish film directed by Markku Pölönen and starring Peter Franzén and Taisto Reimaluoto. The film is an adaptation of Finnish author Veikko Huovinen's 1980 novel of the same name....
)
- Mar del Plata Film FestivalMar del Plata Film FestivalThe Mar del Plata International Film Festival is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina...
(2005) - Best Film (Lost to Le Grand VoyageLe Grand VoyageLe Grand Voyage is a 2004 film written and directed by Ismaël Ferroukhi. The film portrays the relationship between father and son as both embark on a religious pilgrimage trip by car. It was shown at the 2004 Toronto and Venice International Film Festivals.-Plot:Réda is a French-Moroccan...
)
- Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film FestivalThe Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
(2005) - Grand Jury Prize (Lost to Forty Shades of BlueForty Shades of BlueForty Shades of Blue is a 2005 independent film directed by Ira Sachs. It tells the story of Alan James , an aging music producer who lives in Memphis, Tennessee with his much younger Russian girlfriend, Laura . Their life together is complicated by the presence of Alan's adult son Michael Forty...
)