‘Tove’ Review: An Engaging Biopic on Moomins Creator Tove Jansson
The Moomins, with their hippo-like silhouettes, are beloved cartoon characters familiar to readers around the globe. But less is known about their creator, the bisexual, Swedish-speaking, Finnish visual artist and author Tove Jansson and her surprisingly unconventional life. The engaging biopic “Tove,” from Finnish helmer Zaida Bergroth, goes a long way toward remedying that knowledge gap. Featuring a mesmerizing lead performance by Alma Pöysti, the sensuously textured film, shot on 16mm, concentrates on a formative decade in Tove’s life (from the mid-1940s to mid-’50s) and explores her artistic and personal passions, and the challenges they entail. With multiple hooks, sales and festival interest should be strong.
According to the pre-war artistic ideals of her father, her drawings are unworthy of her talent. He advises her to concentrate on painting instead. But her paintings fail to earn grants and attract few sales whereas she is able to generate a needed income through her graphic work. Among other well-observed details, Bergroth and Putro credibly depict Tove’s loving, but semi-competitive, often needling relationship with the senior artist in the family.
A firm believer that “life is a wonderful adventure and one should explore all its twists and turns,” Tove boldly launches a long-term affair with the married socialist politician Atos Wirtanen (Shanti Roney, sympathetic). While they both voice a firm belief in keeping their individual freedom and not letting emotions lead them astray, they each later find that is easier said than done.
In Tove’s case, she is unexpectedly swept off her feet by theater director Vivica Bandler (Krista Kosonen, the star of Bergroth’s “Miami”), a seductive, upper-class woman who uses her wealth and a marriage of convenience to indulge her private passions. Soon, the two collaborate on a successful theater adaptation of Tove’s book “Comet In Moominland.” While their romance doesn’t last, their relationship inspires Tove to create the inseparable characters Thingumy and Bob and their secret language.
Although unhappy that Vivica is unable to fully reciprocate her love, Tove also realizes that it would be unfair to marry Atos, who finds himself more emotionally invested in Tove than he planned. The narrative treats their relationship with a believable poignancy that allows viewers to understand how Tove and Atos could remain lifelong friends.
As the film ends, we see Tove form a relationship with Tuulikki Pietillä, the woman who was to be her partner until her death. Remarkable 8mm footage of the real-life Tove dancing merrily on the secluded island where the pair spent their summers appears under the end credits.
Marking her fifth feature, Bergroth flexes her considerable cinematic powers, conjuring vibrantly expressive visuals and confident performances from her talented cast, especially the petite theater thesp Pöysti, who excels in her first leading film role and strongly resembles the real Tove. Her connection with the character is all the deeper for having previously portrayed her on stage. Read the entire Variety review here.