Hope in Action

A good source of inspiration for me is Fareed Zakaria who recently brought Sanna Marin to my attention.  Once the youngest female elected to a national leadership.  She had many accomplishments to her credit and was impressive in her speaking.

Sanna grew up in a town near Tampere and her father left.  Her mother adopted a same sex relationship and that seemed normal to Sanna.  Education was equal for all students giving her a step up.

As a young adult she moved in with her boyfriend Markus.  A bit later they had a child, Emma.  To even up child caring they had the patrimony payments equal.  Part of this time she was commuting from Helsinki, about two hours from Tampere where Markus held the fort.

She had joined the Social Democrat Party locally and gradually proved herself.  Working on committees she learned policies and connections.  When one election ended her party had done well and she was given the position of Prime Minister at the age of 34. 

Her first crisis was the Covid pandemic. The initial problem was there was very little information.  A key ingredient was trust of the people in the government.  There was some opposition to some measures, but generally the population followed the government guidance.  Under a European Union there was a protocol to equalize distribution.  Health care workers received the first vaccination during December of 2020 and she got hers on June 11, 2021.  

Another major crisis was when Russia invaded Ukraine.  Finland shares the longest border with Russia in Europe and she felt that despite a long contentious relationship they needed to join NATO.  This meant convincing the other 4 coalition parties plus some of the others outside the coalition.  They also wanted to join with Sweden who had an awkward problem with Turkey.  Some Kurdish fighters were in Sweden and Turkey wanted them back.   Finland was able to join a year ahead of Sweden.  Finland gave arms assistance to Ukraine and Sanna visited Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

Scandals seem to come with the position.  She is realistic pointing out "Politics is so much more than the issues."  There are scandals that are an abuse of power and then there are personal assaults.  Perhaps the best known one was of her dancing to a Finnish pop song and mugging.  This led while finally living that one down to another that occurred during a visit to a friends' house where two women were photographed against the words Finland.  She never apologized for the dancing video, but did take a drug test.  Newspapers found scandals good for sales and helped keep them going as long as they could.

The recent election showed a different configuration which would have left Sanna relatively powerless.  At this time her marriage ended.  She found herself tired from work and was not able to talk about a lot of it to her husband.  She noted that the two of them had watched the Danish series "Borgen" where the marriage of the female Prime Minister also broke.  The two had laughed at it on viewing it, but she came to understand the pressures were real.   see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/07/borgen.html

At this time Tony Blair offered her a position with an international organization.  After getting permission to withdraw from the Finnish Parliament she accepted.  Among other task she helped Ukraine and Moldova in their relations with the European Union.  

She writes quite a bit about the proportional representation system, a favourite topic of mine.  Her party is one of 5 parties in a coalition out of 9 total parties.  Her party the SDP got only about 20% of the voters, but the group negotiated and declared her the Prime Minister.  The parties did not all agree on every issue, and compromising was used.  Although things were slower, it was obvious a key mechanic was co-operation.  In systems where two parties dominate there is very little co-operation.  Incidentally Finland out performs most of the world in such areas as longevity and mostly sits at the top for happiness surveys.

As she moves on she feels the world has been going in the wrong direction.  Right wing leaders are wanting to carve up the world while the time for joint action is at hand.  Climate change, the AI revolution, equality all demand more attention.  

One observation she made was that after the Soviet Union breakup the European governments switched budget money from military to other concerns such as health and education.  Too bad not all the world adopted this principle.

She closes with an anecdote which I will attempt to paraphrase.  A Finnish custom is to go to a sauna and there many decisions can be thought out.  Sanna was comfortable with this which is traditionally gender segregated. A male journalist complained that he couldn't get close to the Prime Minister as female journalists could.  A female journalist pointed out that was how they were treated over time when males were in control.  

"Hope In Action" is a book good to expand your awareness of Finland and the life of a female politician.

Jacket photo by Meeri Koutaniemi

Homebound

"Homebound" (2025) was based on a New York Times article in 2020 describing a Covid convoy in India.  It got picked up by  Neerajk Ghaywan and got the attention of Martin Scorsese and has since become an Oscar nominee for best foreign film

The first half of the film is about two friends looking for a better way of life.  Shoaib is a Muslim and Chandu is a low caste Hindu.  They both think getting on the police force will give them more respect.  Chandu has a sister who wants him to get more education.  Getting into the police is very difficult because there are far more applicants than openings.  They have local jobs and have been suggested they can go to Dubai.  The two young men argue among themselves and try to motivate each other.

Shoaib and Chandu encounter prejudicial comments that they resent.  Shoaib has a sort of girl friend who encourages him and she also pushes for more education and later bends a little.

 Past the half way point we encounter a brief reference to a disease spreading.  Quickly we become aware there is a panic and Covid is identified.  People are asked to wear masks and to maintain a two meter separation from each other.  A big blow is when the mill they are working in (to save money and wait for better opportunities) shuts down for 21 days and later followed up with another shutdown.  In India it is common for rural residents to send family to work in factories and send money back home.  At this stage convoys are organized, but the demand is great.  

Chandu comes down with a serious illness.  It might be Covid, but might not and in any case it is not just Covid victims that struggle to find hospital space, it is every person in need of medical attention.  They do get onto a truck transporting workers back to their distant villages, but Chandu is so sick that the other passengers demand he get out.  Shoaib is very protective for his friend, but their bond is really tested.  To find out what happens you should see the movie.  Here in North America we didn't suffer as much as Third World countries. 

This film has been nominated and won many festival awards already.  A lot of people contributed and here are a few of them.

 Basharat Peer was an Indian journalist who attended the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.   He helped write the script for "Haider" (2014).  He wrote opinion pieces for the New York Times and one of them in 2022 was about how Covid had affected poor people in India.  It caught the attention of Neerajk Ghaywan and the notice of Martin Scorsese.  See  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/02/haider-bollywoods-version-of-shakespeare.html

Neerajk Ghaywan was the director and writer.  He was born in a Dalit  (the lowest caste, untouchables).  He got an engineering degree, but the corporate world was not what he wanted.  He became a film critic and became active in the film industry.  He helped Anurag Kashyup with "Gangs of Wassepur" (2012).  his first feature film was "Masaan" (2015).  He had filmed some shorts and won twice at Cannes Film Festival.  In 2016 he did a commercial for British Airways.  He has 9 directing credits, 5 for writing and 3 as an assistant director.

Karan Johar was a producer.  His family was well entrenched in Bollywood.  He started as a child actor.  Over time he became a major producer and director who occasionally did acting roles.  He became the host of a popular tv. show, "Koffee with Karan."  Karan played a key role with some of the most popular films and was known for launching big stars. He is credited with 79 producing credits plus 14 as director and 16 as an actor including the most popular film of all time, "Diwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" (1995), "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" (1998), "Kabhi Khushi Kabhe Gham" 2001), "My Name is Khan" (2010), "Raazi" (2018) and "Good Newz" (2020).    A bit surprise was that he was also a costume designer for my favorite star, Shah Rukh Khan.  So to get a feel for more for his films (and others) check out  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/06/shah-rukh-khan-worlds-most-famous-actor.html and http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/06/shah-rukh-khan-worlds-most-famous-actor_23.html 

Martin Scorsese took an early interest and became an executive and helping with the script.  He is well known to American viewers   His formal film education took place at New York University;s School of Film.  Later as a lecturer he taught Spike Lee and Oliver Stone.  Scorsese has been involved with restoring and finding lost films He has directed for 19 Oscar nominated performances.  He has 96 credits as a producer, 71 credits as a director, 36 credits as an actor (mostly cameos) and 16 as screenwriter.  His credits include "Taxi Driver" (1976), "Raging Bull" (1980), "After Hours" (1985), "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988), "The Aviator" (2004), "The Departed" (2006), "Hugo" (2011), "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013), "Silence" (2016), "Rolling Thunder Revue" (2019),  "The Irishman" (2019) and "Maestro" (2023).  See   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/01/killers-of-moon-flower.html

 Naren Chandavarkar was the composer collaborating with familar partner, Benedict Taylor.  He has 38 composing credits including "The Girl in the Yellow Boots" (2010), "Ship of Theseus" (2012), "Killa" (2014), "Nil Battey Sunata" (2015), "Udta Punjab" (2016), "Newton" (2016) and "Trail By Fire" (2023).  Benedict Taylor played the violin, viola, sang vocals and helped compose for the film in the link; http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2017/01/ship-of-thesus.html

Pratik Shah was the cinematographer and was American.  He has 20 cinematography credits, 9 for the camera and electrical department, 2 for writing and 1 for the color department.  Mostly filmed in Bhopal, India.

Nitan Baid was the editor.  He has 135 editorial credits, 13 for the editorial department and 1 for additional crew including  "Masaan" (2015, "Raazi" (2018), "Gully Boy" (2019) and "Chandu Champion" (2024.  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/08/chandu-champion.html

Ishaan Khatter played Shoaib.  He has played in British, American and Indian series.  One of the series, "A Suitable Boy" (2015 )had been directed by Mira Nair, the mother of the new mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani.  Ishaan has 14 acting credits including Udta Punjab" (2016), "Dhadak" (2018) and "The Perfect Couple" (2024).

Vishal Jethwan played Chandan.  He has 19 acting credits including "Hindi Medium" (2017), "Mardaani 2" (2019) and "Human" (2022). 

Janhvi Kapoor played Sudha Bharti.  The daughter of famous actress, Sridevi.  She took acting course as the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Fillm Institute in California.  She has 17 acting credits including ""Dhadak" (2018 and "Ulajh" (2024).

"Homebound" is available on Netflix subtitled.

As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.  They are not necessarily a recommendation, but generally I found them worthy of my time.  If you follow the links you should be able to determine if a particular film is worth following up.  

From the Philippines to Calgary

Hello, Love, Again" (2024) is an interesting romantic film that hit a few nerves for me (in a nice way).  

 Several years ago a friend of ours had a very positive experience when she hired a Filipino woman to look after her newborn.  She was so impressed she wanted to go into business setting up more of them in Canada.  I have since learned Filipinos are honest workers that often go beyond job requirements 

One interesting conversation I had with a store manager in a north of Toronto suburb regarding an unusual item I was trying to sell--a tooth brush for dogs.  The manager explained that some enthusiastic champions for the brush were Filipino maids.  So many of them had taken on the responsibilities of taking care of the family dog and had decided brushing teeth with my version was good for the dog's health. 

The migration of Filipinos for work is at the heart of this movie so here is a bit of an explanation:   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/07/a-good-provider-is-one-who-leaves.html

There was a prequel that I did not see, that explains how a young Filipino couple got together in Hong Kong and through Covid restrictions (plus misunderstandings) they broke up. The lead male, Alden Richards had discussed with director Cathy Garcia (who subsequently remarried after her first husband died in an auto accident) that he would be interested in a sequel and was later joined by the female lead, Kathryn Bernardo.  In flashbacks we learn Ethan had proposed to Marie-Joy, but had been prevented from actually marrying by the Covid pandemic and later during a one night stand had been caught.

A few years later pursuing a job she ends up in Calgary, Alberta working in a nursing home while his job prospects are not quite as good also ends up in Calgary.  She harbours bad feelings after their breakup.  He seems to feel guilty, but open to getting back together and willing to bend.  You know their mis-understandings will be explained and circumstances will provide opportunities to cross each other's paths.  In many ways a typical romance, but with the concept of where is "home" and how important is it.

What makes it enjoyable (definitely not just laughs) is the cast and crew.  Here are a few contributors:

Cathy Garcia-Sampana was the director.  She directed the prequel, "Hello, Love, Goodbye" (2019) in Hong Kong.  She has been key in the highest grossing Filipino films 9 times with 6 being the highest grossing ones of all time including this one.  She has 43 directing credits, 23 for assistant directing and 14 for acting including "Four Sisters and a Wedding" (2013).

 Carmi Raymundo was a key writer and supervising producer.  She has 68 credits for the script and continuity department, 55 for producing and 24 for writing including "Starting Over Again" (2014),
"Barcelona:  A Love Untold" (2016) and "Rewind" (2023).  You can learn more about two of them at: http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/10/four-filipino-movies.html

Kookai Labayen was the producer.  He has 9 writing credits, 11 for producing and 12 for additional crew including one of my favorites,  "Isa Pa with Feelings" (2019).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/12/isa-pa-with-feelings-really-helps.html

Jessie Lasaten was the composer.  He has 189 composing credits, 26 for the music department and 5 for the sound department including "Seven Sundays" (2017) and "Hello, Love, Goodbye" (2019).

Noel Ttthankee was the cinematographer.  He has 46 cinematography credits, 38 for the camera and electrical department and 2 as director including "Four Sisters and a Wedding" (2013) and "Hello, Love, Goodbye" (2019).

Marye Ignacio was the editor.  She has 202 credits as editor, 37 for the editorial department and  41 for additional crew including "Four Sisters and a Wedding: (2013),  Starting Over Again" (2014), "Everything About Her" (2016), "Barcelona:  A Love Untold" (2016), "Seven Sundays" (2017), "Love you to the Stars and Back" (2017) and "Rewind" (2024),  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/08/two-filipino-movies-with-message.html     

Kathryn Bernardo played Joy-Marie, the leading lady.  She started her film career playing the younger version of a leading lady.  Kathryn has also had a successful singing career.  She has a history of being in the highest grossing films.  She has 40 acting credits, 2 for Soundtrack including "Barcelona:  An Untold Love Story" (2016), "Three Words to Forever" (2018) and of course "Hello, Love, Goodbye" (2019).

Alden Richards played Ethan, the leading man.  He owns a restaurant chain.  Alden has been a successfull recording artist.  He has 55 acting credits, 2 for producing and 1 for additional crew including "Family of Two" (2023) and the prequel "Hello, Love, Goodbye" (2019).

Joross Gamboa played a mutual friend, Jhim.  He has 103 acting credits including "Hello, Love, Goodbye" (2019) and "Rewind" (2023).

Kevin Kreider played Joy Marie's boss at a nursing home.  He is a Korean American.  Kevin is known as a skateboarder.  He has 13 acting credits and 2 for producing.

Mostly filmed in Calgary with a slight segment in Banff.  Available subtitled (with lots of English dialogue) on Netflix.

An enjoyable romance and a little feel for the migrant life. 

As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.  Some of them are among my favorite Filipino films and a big part of my Filipino obsession.  If you follow the links you should be able to determine if any film is worth following up.