Film #16: Memories of the Olympic Summer of 1952 (1953)

[StevePulaski]

Memories of the Olympic Summer of 1952 (1953)
Directed by: Holger Harrivirta

Rating: ★★★
Film #16/53; part of the Criterion Collection's "100 Years of Olympic Film" box-set

The inception of the production company Olympia-Filmi in 1952 was for one primary purpose before it dissolved into complete obscurity and that purpose was to distribute Memories of the Olympic Summer of 1952. A 50-minute short film, allegedly directed by Holger Harrivirta (this is according to a couple different web-based sources, while the paratext associated with the Criterion remastering states that a director is unknown), the film is the last of the major accounts of the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, and unlike Hannu Leminen's underwhelming two-part documentary, Harrivirta's details the surrounding atmosphere of the games in more enticing detail.

One of the primary focuses for this brief-but-pleasant-enough documentary is the somewhat disappointing turnout the town of Helsinki experienced during the games. A good part of this disappointment came on account of the city debatably overpreparing for tourism, as is noted in the short, with the town square being populated largely by tourists while residents of the beloved Finland locale stayed away from the more crowded area. Hotels and restaurants are also said to have made several accommodations that proved unnecessary given the workable turnout. All of these details provide inessential but effective context to the games.

The film is indeed in color, and while not captured with the glorious advent of Technicolor like XIVth Olympiad: The Glory of Sport a few years prior,the muted colors still pop when showing the maroon musk of the track and the deep blues of the water that make for perfect sailing. In addition, the narrator humorously sees the strangeness in the fact that in an increasingly motorized world where people are becoming "lazy behind steering wheels," a sport like cycling, which requires "good fitness and legs," is rising in popularity. Also noted are the incredible accomplishments of Emil Zátopek, who took home many medals in the track events, as well as Fortune Gordien's unimpressive discus show, which was a topic of discussion in Leminen's films as well. Memories of the Olympic Summer of 1952's brevity works in favor, sure, but it does a far better job at recognizing its intent to narrate to contextualize rather than narrate to take up air. It gives us at least one documentary of the Helsinki Olympics worth remembering.

Directed by: Holger Harrivirta.