Her third feature, starring Pihla Viitala and Adam Pålsson, debuts first-look stills
Finnish director Miia Tervo didn’t have to look far for the inspiration for her third feature “You Crazy Thing,” about Aino, a mental health nurse who’s preparing a performance with her patients for a talent competition.
“My mother worked in a mental hospital for 37 years. We lived in a small village in Lapland, and there was only this hospital – and the forest. There was a joke that the only thing separating the nurses from the patients were the keys,” she told Variety.
“We live in a class-based society, and I could see that my mum wasn’t appreciated for her work. It felt like nobody could see her. But when people were in need, when they felt broken, she was there for them. That’s one of the main themes of the film. Do we actually see each other?”
Tervo added: “I wanted to give her this film because it’s crazy that they’re out there saving people while we walk red carpets. That’s why I give her all my awards, too.”
The upcoming film, which debuts its first-look stills, was produced by Marko Talli for Yellow Film & TV and co-produced by Paloma Production (Denmark) and Garagefilm International (Sweden).
Pihla Viitala, Adam Pålsson and Clara Dessau lead the cast that combines professional and amateur actors.
“I wanted to create a safe place where they could be themselves. The best thing about my work is that I can give them the space to shine,” she noted.
“[In the past] I didn’t have any dreams. I always thought I would die of alcoholism before turning 30 because that’s what happened to people in our village. But we weren’t victims, and my mother really enjoyed her work. She preferred being with the ‘crazy’ people because they didn’t play social games. They were free.”
While Tervo might be following her mother’s perspective – “She never believed in social hierarchies or norms” – hers is a fictional story. One that also sees Aino fall for one of her patients.
“I started thinking about how having or not having money, or having mental health problems in the family, affects identity. If identity is what we think about ourselves, then how does it affect love and loving? How does class affect how and who we love? Can you can suffer from feelings of worthlessness even if you are rich, and can you feel valuable even if you are poor?”
“At one point, I thought that just because I come from a poor family, I couldn’t love a rich person. That there’s a gap. It’s really about this triangle of class, identity and love,” said Tervo. And, again, about being seen.
“In this society, everyone wants to be seen. We think we need a special gift or talent, but with Aino, you can be seen in all your glory – whoever you are. You don’t need to be a magician or perform crazy stunts.”
“People who do this job have seen so much sorrow and life in all its forms. I thought: Aino actually wants to be crazy. It would liberate her, you know? When you help others, you can forget about yourself. You can escape your own issues and forget your own sadness.”
Tervo, also behind award-winning “Aurora” and “The Missile,” has always celebrated messiness in her work. Her characters misbehave and make mistakes, but she never punishes them for it.
“It’s always more interesting to see not the façade we put on but how we are in our secret lives,” she said.
“It’s not easy to talk about depression or mental health challenges, especially your own. But often, it’s precisely those vulnerable places that make people fall in love. It was always that part, the part where I’d forgotten to lock the door, that drew people in. For love to be real, you have to dare to be the mess that you actually are. Nobody wants to live with a perfect person. It’s boring.”
With “You Crazy Thing,” Tervo is no longer hiding – also when it comes to her personal struggles.
“I’m a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for many years now. I used to self-medicate my sadness and depression with alcohol. I drank because, for a while, it did what nothing else could. It put a wall between me and the reality I wanted to escape. That worked until it didn’t,” she recalled.
“Maybe this film is inviting me to dare to be seen, too. I don’t use social media, but I write about the themes of my life. One of biggest themes is wanting to live again. How do you find the will to live once you’ve lost it?”
Now, “with enough distance and therapy,” she can face all these things. Also in her films.
“Creating a dark yet warm dramedy out of painful incidents, emotions and experiences makes us wonder about the shame surrounding mental health challenges and the stigmas that come with them. Once you’ve come through something like that, you also want to feel this joie de vivre, as clichéd as it is,” she said.
“Depression can be a black sun. But, in a strange way, that black sun can also be an opportunity for change. Now, in the mornings, I sit and don’t ask for anything particular; I just give thanks.”
“For a girl who never learned how to dream, I’m now learning to appreciate this miraculous life that we have.”