Jorn Donner life and biography

Jörn Donner was a prolific Finland-Swedish writer, film director, actor, producer, and politician, who has also been a member of both the Finnish and the European parliament. Jörn Donner's novel Far och son (1985) won the Finlandia Award for Literature. As a film director Donner built his work on the European art film rather than the national tradition. His first four directorial efforts were made in Sweden. Several of Donner's novels deal with conflicts between different generations. Donner has been called a Finland-Swedish Balzac, referring to his skills to combine social analysis with his portrayal of middle-class life and personal and financial intrigues.

Jörn Donner was born in Helsinki to wealthy Swedish-speaking parents of German descent. His father was Karl (Kai) Reinhold Donner (1888-1935), a linguist and lecturer at the University of Helsinki, and mother Margareta (Greta) von Bonsdorff. At the Swedish Lyceum in Helsinki Donner showed his independence and received a warning due to his article which was published at the school magazine Kamraten. Rebelling against his bourgeois background, Donner coedited the radical journal Arena (1951-54) with the writer Christer Kihlman and contributed to the communist-dominated newspaper Vapaa Sana. In 1954 he married the Swedish writer Inga-Brit Wik; they divorced in 1962. Later Wik has described her marriage in the novels Ingen lycklig kärlek (1988) and Bryta upp (1996). Donner's second wife was the journalist Jeanette Bonnier; they divorced in 1988. In 1995 Donner married the journalist Bitte Westerlund; they had two children. Donner has also four children from his previous relationships.

Donner graduated in 1959 from the University of Helsinki, where he studied under Jan-Magnus Jansson and Georg Henrik von Wright. Already at that time Donner had gained reputation as a writer, journalist, and film critic. He co-founded the Finnish Film Archive in 1957 and established his own production company in the 1960. For three years he edited the literary and political periodical Arena. His friends included such older writers as Atos Wirtanen, Raoul Palmgren, Hagar Olsson, Elmer Diktonius, and Gunnar Bjärling. Donner's first book, Välsignade liv (1951), appeared when he was 18 years old. This early work from Sturm und Drang period attacked the traditions of Swedish-Finnish upper class – a theme which he took up in the opening volume of his family epic, Nu måste du (1974), a reminiscent of John Galsworthy's novel The Forsyte Saga.

In 1959 Donner began his service in hospital, assigned there as a conscientious objector, and recalled his experiences in the diary, På ett sjukhus (1960). Throughout the 1960s and also later on Donner wrote columns for the liberal Hufvudstadsbladet, Finland's largest Swedish paper. His journalistic pieces have been published in all the major newspapers and magazines, among them Helsingin Sanomat, Aamulehti, and Suomen Kuvalehti. Donner's numerous journeys in Europe produced such political travel books as Rapport från Belin (1958, Report from Berlin), Rapport från Donau (1962), Värdsboken (1968), and Sverigeboken (1973). These works combined journalism and intimate observations with sharp literary style. In West-Berlin Donner stayed at Hotel Pensionat at Kurfürstendamm. His report from Berlin was published in the United States with the foreword by Stephen Spender. While visiting Uganda in 1971, Donner photographed himself on a beach with a naked young woman. The pictures, which were published by Hymy, a sensation magazine, stirred up a lot of debate. When Donner traveled in East Africa in January 2011, he met Western development workers, businessmen and administrators, and asked the question, "Who owns Africa?"

In 1961 Donner moved to Sweden, where he became a film critic for a leading Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Following a study of the director Ingmar Bergman, Djävulens ansikte (1962, The Personal Vision of Ingmar Bergman), Donner directed his first feature film, A Sunday in September (1963), which won a special prize at the Venice Film Festival. Harriet Andersson, with whom Donner had an affair, starred in five productions. Perhaps the best of them was Täällä alkaa seikkailu (1965, Adventure Starts Here), which showed the influence of Antonioni. Harriet Andersson, also one of Ingmar Bergman's favorite actressess and his life companion for a period, played a Swedish fashion designer who has an affair with a Finnish architect (Matti Oravisto). Dubbing, by modern standards, is rather clumsy in this introvert tale, which uses much inner monologues. Helsinki is portrayed as a state of mind. Donner interprets freshly the landscape of the city, hiding the fact that Helsinki has more Eastern European flavour than other Nordic capitals.

Donner returned to Finland in 1967. In the same year he published Nya boken om vårt land, a sharp analysis of his native land, in which the title ironically referred to Zacharias Topelius's (1818-1898) popular and patriotic book Boken of vårt land (1875). This work was issued on the fiftieth anniversary of Finland's independence, and recommended a plan for a competitive and capitalistic society.

Donner's first film in Finland, Black on White (1968), was about a salesman (Jörn Donnner) and his relationship to a young girl (Kristiina Halkola). "The arena of conflict here, as in Donner's subsequent films, is the bed, whosesoever it might be. The point of departure is a family portrait: an ideal image of happiness, a miniature of affluent Finland. The protagonist borders on burnout, and the camera follows the drama of the other disintegrating characters and relationships as if in a laboratory experiment." (Peter von Bagh in Drifting Shadows, 1999) Donner parodied the sexual boldness of his films in Portraits of Women (1969), in which he played a pornofilm producer. Fuck Off!! – Images of Finland (1970) was a documentary focusing on people living on the margins of the society, poor, and politically active workers. A man cannot be raped (1978), based on Märta Tikkanen's novel, told of a woman who has been raped and who in turn makes careful plans to revenge it, turning the roles of a victim and culprit upside-down.

Donner's talents as administrator were noted when he worked as the head of the Swedish Film Institute and the Finnish Film Foundation in the 1970s and '80s. In Sweden Donner produced Ingmar Bergman's Fanny och Alexander/Fanny and Alexander (1982), receiving an Oscar for the film. Following his father's footsteps, Donner made several journeys from 2003 to Siberia. The account of his experiences, complemented by excerpts from the diaries of his father, was published in a book form under the title I min fars fotspår (2006) and made into a television documentary, broadcast in 2007.

Most of his books Donner has written in Swedish. Several of them have been translated into Finnish by the writer and lawyer Jukka Kemppinen. Nu måste du (1974), dealing with the great firm United Metals, opened Donner's series of novels about the fate of a Finland-Swedish industrial dynasty. Donner's dissection of the Swedish middle class is merciless. The saga begins from the eve of the World War II. Gabriel Berggren, the central figure, is a man of humble origins, but he gains money and power. Angelas krig (1976) and Angela och kärleken (1981) told of a woman, Angela, and her wartime affair with a German officer, who turns out to be bisexual. Other novels in this cycle include Jakob och friheten (1978), which introduced Angela's younger brother Jakob, who is involved with Soviet agents in cold-war Berlin. Gabriels dag (1982), Far och son (1985), and Frihetens fångar (1988), which revolves around the plan of Gabriel Berggren's successor to rationalize and dehumanize the old firm. Angela ja ajan tuulet (1999, Angela and the winds of time), a television series in 12 parts, was based on Donner's novels Nyt sinun täytyy, Angelan sota, Jaakob ja kylmä rauha, and Angela ja rakkaus.

Far och son is regarded as the artistic highpoint of the series. A novel manuscript, left behind by the late Jakob, is read and interpreted by the narrator, who in turn sets out in search of his own father. In Hjärtat är en svekful vän (2001), the final volume, the protagonist is a former bank director, Karl Oder, who says that he represents the generation of losers. Oder meets Werner Lindberg, an old journalist, through whom the story plunges into power struggles around President Kekkonen, and the peculiar relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union. Again Donner depicts high level intrigues, power, and politics, and his own experiences in politics gives the work much credibility. The literature critic Pekka Tarkka saw that Donner had adopted in his narrative style conventions of television series, and compared it to Balzac's romantic exaggeration, which attracted readers of serialized stories published in newspapers. "Donnerin romaanin sovinnaiset vuorosanat, merkilliset enteet ja haudantakaiset äänet noudattelevat televisioyleisön tottumuksia samaan tapaan kuin Balzacin romanttinen liioittelu houkutteli sanomalehtien jatkokertomusten lukijoita." (Helsingin Sanomat, September 13, 2001)

From the 1960s Donner has published several autobiographical books, recording his attitudes and views of the world. However, Donner has said that he never managed to create a real alter ego. "In my books I'm like a constantly changing kaleidoscope," he wrote in his book of memoir, Livsbilder (2004). In Sommar av kärlek och sorg (1971) Donner discussed his rejection of his leftist phase. Author's self-analysis, combined with explorations into current social and political issues, continued in Jag, J.J.D. (1980) and Varför finns jag till (1998). Donner has also introduced figures from political life into his narratives. In Presidenten (1986) the republic's long-time strong leader, Urho Kekkonen (1900-1986), is seen through the eyes of one of his mistresses.

Donner has translated and edited works from such authors as Paavo Haavikko (Privata angelägenheter, 1966; Tala, svara, lärä, 1975) och Elmer Diktonius (Ringar i stubben, 1954; Kirjaimia ja kirjavia, 1956). Among Donner's long-time writing projects have been a book about Middle-East and a portrait of the writer Elmer Diktonius, whom he knew in the 1950s. The biography, as well-researched as a doctoral dissertation, was finished in 2007. Other works include the long-waited and updated study of the director Ingmar Bergman, which came out in 2009.

Donner has also been active in politics. He has been representative of the middle-of-the-road Swedish People's Party (Svenska folkpartiet i Finland, SFP) in Finland's parliament. In the 1990s he served as a diplomat – Consul General – in Los Angeles and was elected to the European Parliament, representing Social Democrats. Against all expectations, Donner was not elected to the parliament in 2003, this time trying to make a comeback on the list of the SFP. The opposition Center Party was the winner and Donner joined in protest the Social Democrats. However, he sat in Parliament for a short period as a substitute for SFP's member, who was appointed OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator. At 77, Donner left the party, saying that men of his age, and with his body of work and experience, are not very sought after in the political world. Changing his mind due to rise of the populist, anti-immigrant and anti-EU party Perussuomalaiset, Donner decided run for the Parliament again in the elections of 2011, but did not win enough votes.

Selected works:

VÄLSIGNADE LIV, 1951
SLÅ DIG INTE TILL RO, 1952
BREV, 1954
JAG, ERIK ANDERS, 1955
BORDET, 1957
RAPPORT FRÅN BERLIN, 1958 - Report From Berlin (published in the US in English translation) - Berliini – arkea ja uhkaa (suom. Toivo J. Kivilahti, 1958) / Berliini raportti (suom. Toivo J. Kivilahti, 1977)
PÅ ETT SJUKHUS, 1960 - Terveenä sairaalassa: Päiväkirja aikuisille (suom. Arvo Salo, 1961) / Surun ja rakkauden vuodet: matkalla Suomeen 1959-1979 (suom. 1987)
HELSINGFORS FINLANDS ANSIKTE, 1961 - Ihmisten Helsinki (suom. Seppo Virtanen, 1961)
DJÄVULENS ANSIKTE, 1962 - The Personal Vision of Ingmar Bergman (transl. by Holger Lundberg, 1964) - Paholaisen kasvot (suom. Juha Virkkunen, 1967)
RAPPORT FRÅN DONAU, 1962 - Raportti Tonavalta (suom. Seppo Virtanen)
NYA BOKEN OM VÅRT LAND, 1967 - Uusi Maammekirja (suom. Seppo Heikinheimo, 1967)
VÄRLDSBOKEN, 1968 - Maailmankirja (suom. Jukka Kemppinen, 1968)
TAPAUS NAISENKUVIA, 1970
SOMMAR AV KÄRKEK OCH SORG, 1971 - Surun ja rakkauden kesä (suom. Jukka Kemppinen, 1971) / Surun ja rakkauden vuodet: matkalla Suomeen 1959-1979 (suom. 1987)
MARINA MARIA, 1972 - Marina Maria (suom. Jukka Kemppinen, 1974)
SVERIGEBOKEN, 1973 - Matka vieraaseen maahan (suom. Jukka Kemppinen, 1974)
foreword: Edith Södergran's Triumf att finnas till, 1974
NU MÅSTE DU, 1974 - Nyt sinun täytyy (suom. Jukka Kemppinen, 1975) / Viimeinen kesä (suom. Jukka Kemppinen, 1987)
ANGELAS KRIG, 1976 - Angela (suom. Jukka Kemppinen, 1976) / Angelan sota (suom. Jukka Kemppinen, 1984)
SAGT OCH GJORT, 1976
JAKOB OCH FRIHETEN, 1978 - Jakob ja kylmä rauha (suom. Jukka Kemppinen, 1979)
JAG, JÖRN JOHAN DONNER, FÖDD DEN 5 FEBRUARI 1933 I HELSINGFORS, 1980 - Ihmisen ääni: mietekirja aikuisille (suom. Jukka Kemppinen, 1980) / Surun ja rakkauden vuodet: matkalla Suomeen 1959-1979 (suom. 1987)

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