Men of Talvivaara Mine

If you think you have heard more than enough about Talvivaara then think again, because you have not SEEN it. One of the great strengths of Markku Heikkinen's The Men of Talvivaara is that it not only shows the visually breathtaking size of the mining operation, but contrasts this with the human scale of the tragedy. The result is both aesthetic and emotional. At the centre of the film are a group of men (and some women) who have the most to lose: their jobs, their health and even their lives. We see them stoically trying to maintain some remnants of order and even hope as the company is beset by one failure after another. But there is little they can do as the machinery and dikes come crumbling down around them. As the film progresses you feel as if you are following a ship's crew desperately trying to maintain basic functions even as the tanker heads for the rocks, yet for all we know there is nobody on the bridge. Heikkinen tells a story that is probably as old as human history. It is a story of hubris and short-term political goals, and the downfall of those who ignore the forces of nature. And Heikkinen doesn't let us forget that it is the innocent who pay the price.
Text: John Webster (DocPoint)