Sibelius Continuum

Aino, a pilot intern in her small plane, is assigned on a mission to locate a mysterious lost space probe that has fallen down to earth near the arctic circle. Events make an absurd, surreal, maybe a dadaist turn after which to reach her objectives, Aino and her peers are obliged to search for the answer to the mysteries of the modern human condition. Thus follows a satirical, antimodernist continuum of monologues, mixed-media footage and introductions of modern subjectivity. The film is a flight through the darker sides of fossil-fueled European rationalism, shedding light on techno-capitalist-individualist age of modern alienation, hauntological nostalgies of imagined futures, the profound problematics of translating human communication, the post-human sides of Jean Sibelius – and finally – the reindeers of the north.

Directed by Aarni Vaarnamo, Sibelius Continuum leans on a strong ensemble — Aino Johansson, Aksa Korttila, Timo Torikka — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about science fiction titles of 2019.