Cinema
Zombie and the Ghost Train
Zombie ja kummitusjuna
Mika Kaurismäki · 1991
Synopsis
Antti Autiomaa, known as Zombie, does only two things well: playing bass and drinking. After months spent in the streets of Istanbul, he returns to Helsinki, is called up for military service and sent home. He lives near his parents, gets back together with his friend Marjo, and his old comrade Harri hires him as a roadie for his band, then as a bassist. Everywhere he comes across traces of the Ghost Train, a mysterious band that no one has ever heard play.
Context
Written by Kaurismäki from a story devised with Sakke Järvenpää and Pauli Pentti, it draws on the life of a stagehand and musician of the group Sleepy Sleepers. The lead role is played by Silu Seppälä, the group's bassist and an amateur actor, opposite the singer Marjo Leinonen and Matti Pellonpää. Photographed by Olli Varja, with music by Mauri Sumén, it was released on 26 July 1991; it was also selected at the New York festival and awarded a prize by the press at the Rouen Nordic film festival.
Who it is for
Eighty-eight minutes, in Finnish, English and Turkish; a melancholy film, which advances by the road and not by plot.
Prizes and reception
Three Jussi awards, including one for direction; best actor award for Silu Seppälä at the San Sebastián festival.