Helsinki’s Kaivopuisto plays role of 1980s Moscow in French spy film

French director Christian Carion shoots in Helsinki

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A light brown Lada belches exhaust into the winter air on a corner in Kaivopuisto in Helsinki. Nearby, three people wearing fur hats and woolen coasts knock their boots against each other to ward off the cold.
     Slightly further away, people in fur hats mill around someone who is selling paintings in the park.
     One might almost imagine being in the Soviet Union again.
     
From late last week shooting has been taking place for the French spy film Farewell. The Finnish capital is once again serving as a backdrop for Moscow, as it did so many times before in the Cold War years.
     The plot of the film also harkens back to the Cold War. Farewell is based on the case of KGB agent Vladimir Vetrov, who leaked documents revealing information about Soviet intelligence to the West in the 1980s. He was caught, and believed to have been executed in 1985.
     
Even in modern Russia former KGB agents have considerable power: even Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is one of them.
     “The film crew is not welcome in Moscow”, says Claes Olsson, producer of the scenes being shot in Finland.
     Director Christian Carion decided to go to Helsinki instead, where there is Russian-style architecture and cold weather. Even though the snow in Kaivopuisto had to be produced artificially, it was cold enough to see people’s breath, which added authenticity to the atmosphere.
     
On Monday, a Russian park was set up in Kaivopuisto park. On a park bench, the main characters, the KGB agent played by Serb director Emir Kusturica and a French businessman played by director-actor Guillaume Canet exchange secret papers.
     The filming in Helsinki continues through the end of the week. Scenes will also be shot in Kruunuhaka, in Hakaniemi, and next to the Hietaniemi cemetery.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  French spy movie being filmed in Finland (19.11.2008)

Links:
  Christian Carion (Internet Movie Database)
  Claes Olsson (Internet Movie Database)

Helsingin Sanomat