Matti Harju’s debut feature Natura is a visually stunning “anti-thriller”, a mystery that defies expectations and a study of class in a digitalised capitalist society. We discussed with artist Matti Harju the making of the film, nature and the corporeality of cinema.

The lush summer Finland looks beautiful and a little creepy. A pink Monster can lies on the sun-dappled lawn. The two protagonists meet on the internet. Markus (Asko Lintunen) grabs antioxidant-rich berries and presses dips against the kitchen counter, while Kentsu (Jarmo Kämäräinen) rants about his sex experiences and suspects his partner of cheating on him. Both, however, share a kind of stagnation and perhaps what one might call a threat of exclusion. Together, they begin to plan a raid on the home of a crypto-millionaire, where they eventually march in broad daylight. Tension mounts, but as you might expect, nothing goes as expected. Both the bodies and the nature are unpredictable and uncontrollable.

There was also a lot in the process that I wanted to surprise myself as to what the film would be like.

To begin with, do you want to tell us how Natura came about? 

Matti Harju: Well, at the very beginning I had the idea of making a film about two people’s somewhat tragic journey to armed robbery. Then I started reading about cryptocurrencies and a phenomenon that is also described in Natura as a “five dollar wrench attack”. That means that cryptocurrency is looted by threatening physical violence.

Then when I found people and locations, I adapted the script accordingly. I also wanted to make the film in a certain way – for example, shooting entirely in natural light, using people who have no previous connection to acting, operating the camera itself and so on.

A lot of the process was also about wanting to surprise myself with the kind of film I wanted to make.

You’ve done video art and short films before, what was it like creating your debut feature?

MH: It was a very natural step forward. If I look at all the fiction shorts I’ve made, I see such a clear trajectory. And especially the last two (Three Days of Rain, 2022 and Ecstasy, 2023) were like training steps for this film.

I think of nature as the total system of existence of all life, which is not controlled by humankind.

There is a lot of nature in Nature that seems to defy an almost supernatural energy and vibrancy. Moreover, nature is also present at the level of the name. What is the nature of Natura?

MH: I’m glad to hear that you felt that way. Especially in the last few years, I’ve experienced a real euphoria in nature. I think of nature as the total system of existence of all life, which is not controlled by humankind.

I think that somehow most of the films are unable to approach the dilemma or the depth of how alienated people are from themselves, from each other and especially from their environment, from nature. That is why films are actually a central part of the problem, completely unable to open up any solution.

I myself can’t avoid the idea that being is quite corporeal. Then there’s the fact that the human being is often just a “screaming face” in the film, so I think we’ve already missed so many targets that hardly anyone can even find the starting point anymore.

I paid attention to the film’s depictions of embodiment. There’s the umbilical cord wrapped around the neck, a salt liquorice vomit on a plane on the way to Rhodes, defecating in the woods, measuring blood sugar levels and a panic attack. Is this a conscious choice?

MH: Yes, of course. And it’s nice to hear that a remark like this has been made.

This might be related to that earlier answer. That if you think about how complex a person’s life is, and what all the things that affect it, or what all the things that you yourself affect. So I’m fascinated by the possibility that the human being would be a more fully, also physically, part of the narrative of the film.

I myself can’t avoid the idea that being is quite corporeal. Then there’s the fact that the human being is often just a “screaming face” in the film, so I think we’ve already missed so many targets that hardly anyone can even find the starting point anymore.

There is a material feeling in the image of Natura. Interested to hear on how the film was shot, if I may ask?

MH: It was shot with a Fuji mirrorless camera that sends a signal to an external recorder on the Atomos that is about ten years old. The lens is a custom-made, Chinese anamorphic lens. So it was shot digitally.

The m/v sequence in the middle of the film was done by transferring the digital footage to 16mm film and then drawing over it with a marker and then scanning it back to digital. The rest of the sequence was shot on Super 8 on Kodak 500T.

I edited and the film and did colour grading by using a freeware program called DaVinci Resolve.

I have noticed that the word experimental evokes mixed feelings. Do you think Natura is an experimental film?

MH: Does it? Hah, I’d like to hear what kind.

Well, yes and no. I guess it depends on the viewer and the context of the viewing.

Personally, I’m very favourable to the word or the definition of experimental. To me, it speaks of a capacity for experimentation, risk-taking, curiosity, open-mindedness, discovering something new – everything I try to bring and get into my life.

Anything else you want to add?

MH: Great to have Natura on show for the first R&A Spring Break!

The R&A has been following along with my own work and its development for over 20 years after all – in the form of festival screenings, interesting introductions in catalogues and festival magazines, and also in the form of beloved VHS and DVD releases.  

 

Natura at the R&A Spring Break on Saturday 15 April at 16.00.  

 

Text: Inari Nikkanen