Category Archives: Finland

Ville Jankeri – Pussikaljaelokuva AKA Sixpack (2011)

By Anybody Posted in 2011-2020, Comedy, Finland, Ville Jankeri Leave a reply

pussikaljaelokuvajulist Ville Jankeri Pussikaljaelokuva AKA Sixpack (2011)

logoimdbb Ville Jankeri Pussikaljaelokuva AKA Sixpack (2011)

Pussikaljaelokuva shows us a, particularly trying, day in the life of three marginalized young men: Marsalkka (Jussi Nikkilä), Henninen (Eero Milonoff) and Lihis (Ylermi Rajamaa). They are just out to enjoy a nice summer’s day with the intention of playing yahtzee, but things don’t quite go their way. They have their run-ins with a recently deceased neighbor, uninterested under aged girls and the police. Being chronically broke, they even manage to flub a courtesy visit with the intention of loaning some drinking assets. Even their attempts at leaving Kallio prove utterly futile.
Kallio, a district of Helsinki, is the main setting of the film, and some would argue the film is a contemporary love letter to it. Finnish critics have especially praised the film’s loving depiction of Kallio.
Pussikaljaelokuva is a comedy with nary a plot, driven by characters and dialogue… And the power of friendship. Continue reading →

Petri Kotwica – Rat King (2012)

By Anybody Posted in 2011-2020, Finland, Petri Kotwica, Thriller Leave a reply

ratking Petri Kotwica Rat King (2012)

logoimdbb Petri Kotwica Rat King (2012)

Eighteen-year-old Juri spends his days absorbed in his computer gaming world, to the exclusion of school, friends, and his exasperated girlfriend. One night his Internet ally “Modred,” actually another student named Niki, turns up at his door, fearing for his life. Niki is caught in the grasp of a mysterious new online game, and Juri, warned of the dangers but with nothing to lose, eagerly follows him down the rabbit hole. Initially unimpressed with a game that seems to be nothing but a series of banal tasks, Juri soon finds himself immersed in an all-consuming race against the clock for his very life. Continue reading →

Mikko Niskanen – Käpy selän alla AKA Under Your Skin (1966)

By Anybody Posted in 1961-1970, Cult, Drama, Finland, Mikko Niskanen Leave a reply

250pxkpyselnalla Mikko Niskanen Käpy selän alla AKA Under Your Skin (1966)

logoimdbb Mikko Niskanen Käpy selän alla AKA Under Your Skin (1966)

Mikko Niskanen’s famous new wave film about the ’60s urban intellectuals who get faced in the Finnish countryside with loads of beer.

Review via Siffblog (Land of the Midnight Sauna: Part One, by Kathy Fennessy):

Quote:
In regarding the Finnish New Wave, it’s tempting to look for antecedents to Aki Kaurismäki’s pitch-black comic style. On the basis of Mikko Niskanen’s Skin, Skin (1966) and Eight Deadly Shots (1972), however—I’ve also seen Jörn Donner’s Sixtynine 69 and Anna—Kaurismäki’s miserablist masterworks, like Drifting Clouds (1996) and The Man Without a Past (2002), seem more idiosyncratic than ever.

To be sure, humor abounds in Skin to Skin, AKA Skin, Skin, but it isn’t brushed with blackness, while Eight Deadly Shots is downright Bressonian in its tragic trajectory; humor isn’t part of the equation at all. Only six years separate the two, but they couldn’t have less in common, and feel like the products of separate sensibilities. (The NWFF will also be screening Niskanen’s Song of the Scarlet Flower from 1971.) Continue reading →

Minna Virtanen – Levottomat 3 (2004)

By Anybody Posted in 2001-2010, Drama, Erotica, Finland, Minna Virtanen Leave a reply

1335744798 Minna Virtanen Levottomat 3 (2004)

logoimdbb Minna Virtanen Levottomat 3 (2004)

Plot summary from IMDB:
Thirty-something Jonna, successful ad executive with cozy architect husband Niklas and two small children, leads a double life. She is constantly on the lookout for quick casual sex. When she starts seeing handsome and rich young yacht owner Aleksi, things really start going awry in her personal and professional life. While her artist sister Sanna provides her with suitable alibis, TV sex therapist Nora tries to help her come to terms with her sex addiction. Continue reading →

Nana Dzhordzhadze – The Rainbowmaker (2008)

By Anybody Posted in 2001-2010, Drama, Fantasy, Finland, Nana Dzhordzhadze Leave a reply

rainbowmaker Nana Dzhordzhadze The Rainbowmaker (2008)

logoimdbb Nana Dzhordzhadze The Rainbowmaker (2008)

The Salzlipp twins grow up without their father. The boy and the girl are convinced he is an
important superhero secret agent. But when he eventually comes home, it turns out that he
is but a puny, insignificant meteorologist who had been innocently languishing in jail. The
children refuse to accept that this is their father. And sexy Mrs. Salzlipp has fallen in love
with another man. But Salzlipp fights back. He discovers that he can influence and indeed
manipulate the weather. He can turn summertime into deep frost. Magic! As with
Dostoyevski’s Idiot there’s more to Salzlipp than meets the eye. Maybe he can use his gift to
win back his family? An imaginative tale about love and respect in a romantic seaside setting. Continue reading →

Olli Soinio – Kuutamosonaatti AKA The Moonlight Sonata (1988)

By Anybody Posted in 1981-1990, Finland, Olli Soinio Leave a reply

mlscover Olli Soinio Kuutamosonaatti AKA The Moonlight Sonata (1988)

imdbimage Olli Soinio Kuutamosonaatti AKA The Moonlight Sonata (1988)

Plot / Synopsis

A sort of adult Home Alone, this Finnish thriller’s irresistable attraction is Anni Stark, a fashion model who is given to undressing in front of her uncurtained windows. Unfortunately for her, she has chosen the wrong place to do this: a rural region populated by unscrupulous dimwits and a pair of lustful loony-tunes brothers who are in cahoots with them. She manages to escape these no-good-niks and, with the help of her inventive brother (who has come by for a visit), keeps them at bay using a number of clever (and painful) strategems. – Allmovie.com Continue reading →

pixel Olli Soinio Kuutamosonaatti AKA The Moonlight Sonata (1988)