march around the world 2026 | 27/30 | 🇫🇮 Finland

From director Pirjo Honkasalo (and written by her partner Pirkko Saisio), Fire-Eater follows the protagonist Helena as she wanders around both Helsinki (in black and white) and the memories of her youth (in colour). Raised by their Stalinist grandmother after their mother runs off with a German soldier, then in an orphanage after their grandmother dies, Helena and her twin sister Irene eventually reunite with their mother, who's now seeing a circus performer. So they join the circus. The film centers on the twins' turbulent childhood as well as adult Helena's fears around becoming her mother (the cycle of abuse is a hell of a thing).

This film is very much the "show, don't tell" kind, without a lot of exposition, and with Helena and Irene not speaking much (because they don't need to). I think a lot of the twins' dialogue occurred in a single scene, with the two of them re-enacting their parents' initial meeting (a cute and endearing scene, but also depressingly insightful into how they view their mother). There were some great longer shots here as well - Helena walking through the 1956 Hungarian Uprising was a stand-out, as was the carousel scene near the end. This film took a bit of time to get going, but the second half in particular was fantastic.

sports cinema challenge 2026 | 7/52 | #48: wildcard (acrobatics)

language challenge 2026 | 13/52 | Finnish