I wanted to add my tuppence worth here, even though two others have more or less set out pretty exactly what came to my mind on this 'slice of Finnish life' offering (see 'rlaine' & 'Slayerholmes'):more so in that, oddly, earlier 'reviews' alternately give this frankly undeserved (suspicious? Never!), bewilderingly high to maximum star recommendations:
For, it's tedious, dreary and depressing, offering almost nothing redeemingly worthwhile to say for itself.
Why oh why Finnish writers* (three here, including the director himself) / directors want to seem to take pride in these misery wallows, I can only guess is some form of national psychotherapy / catharsis-like malaise.
This version is made up of several locals of the title, a coastal area, rapidly upmarket gentrifying, marginalising the originally dockworking milieu 'harbour' area of the Finnish capital. All of whom share some problem / loser-liker misery: which includes even the youngsters caught up in this (several**), but one in particular WRITTEN*, as she says herself, (repeatedly), to ("I'll) do anything" to escape it. Because this actress (Amanda Piilke) portraying this character (Milla) looks so young - (although actually in her twenties), - it's tantamount to hebephila - and IS - porn after what she is 'directed' to 'do' to achieve that (course, we can all guess this obvious outcome, and to be frank, I thought what she would've inveigled into would've likely been, in 'reality', far more, er, demanding = worse: writers* there surely pulling their punches, I think!); so by which, all kudos to the actress 'persuaded' to portray this. Um, 'requirement', along with equally all condemnation to writer(s)* for wanting to so, ah, 'illustrate' this. For, course, it quite likely occurs: but because of the short time necessarily afforded to so many individual storyline vignettes set up to be shoehorned into the standard film time run, this one's denouement is a naive cop out, rendering suspect the whole exercise (by those writers*)
For the eventual 'happy' endings tacked on to presumably leaven the misery earlier on display, becomes even more glaring when one - THE youngest (great turn by Topi Tavainen) - character is left with NOTHING uplifting. Why? How mean. Is that what the writer(s)* wanted to emphasise? Misery in Finland begins young and then never relents? (If you really want to watch this ennui, it's the 'boy with the dog' segment. Saddest part, I thought.) There's even the young single (?) Mother, suffering with incurable (?) cancer diagnosis trope, but with stoic youngster daughter amusing by her Mum's side ... ahhh. But we're simply left to guess this one's future outcome after getting us, the audience, to invest our hope emotions into their brief circumstance's arc.
* Then, ok, so you might feel I'm banging (pun!) on too much of this aspect the writer(s) of these misery vignettes of Finnish life they want to present and portray (in very short doses, each): but that's because it even becomes one of them (Mikko Kouki), as having set himself up to play the inadequate Dad character, and for whom, then, includes a scene in which he's shown, after getting himself a call-girl (I believe), unable to get it up - or at least successfully manhandle himself - so she has to merely, patiently, sit idly by: ok, yah hah, so that was worth knowing of Finnish single Dad of lethargic teenager ways to deal with life; most informative. But by which, from these writers, on sex and Finn life misery (have I mentioned, this film seems to be about Finnish existence struggles?), in my knowledge of what skinhead, (proto-Fascist?) loan shark debt collectors would accept as an interim 'punishment payment' for a debt - and that racked up by a, ah, non-white, too - from your female partner, would not be what is 'merely' shown in this!*** For more frankness (from someone who lived in; ah, shady areas of UK!) your lady would suffer far, FAR, 'non-controlling' worse! This gratuitous and in effect rather naive representation of sexual tribulation even extends to the 'we're all in this together' misery of the yuppy / doing better as got an upmarket huge window seaview home, couple here, where the betrayed wife merely invites their cleaner whom the husband has dallied with, to the sauna, for the three to resolve the issues, ah, arising (or, as has not, as the case would be inferred to be!) from why the marriage has drifted.
Like the sound of these? Then there's plenty more of this twaddle, by which, do watch if you like wallowing in just seeing miserable existences so as to presumably contradict the reputation of supposedly the happiest country in the world; but if you think film should have some didactic if not entertainment purpose - like ("Using the medium for socially and environmentally constructive purposes." from director's own IMDB profile) ... avoid.
N. B. It's even got a guest call over appearance by Brit Shaun Pertwee, in an all but completely pointless role other than to amuse Finns to themselves as to how they speak appalling English (the taxi driver's drivel****) with an apparently absolutely essential aspect of his character, written, that he is vegetarian AND teetotal, but his Finn business hosts - amusingly - get him tiddly so to be conveniently victimised by - and get this (by the writers!) - yup, shock horror, none other than the NON WHITE character (Deogracias Masomi), and then he's soon out of it, no doubt handsome pay-check for trip to the capital, in hand. Really worth shoehorning him into this all.
** P. S. The youngsters are great in this (that daughter of cancer patient, and another, Eemeli Louhimies - so note, same surname as director, as bullied loner, adrift Walteri, but the 'boy with the dog' especially: how did they get him to play it so convincingly (Topi Tarvainen): all by which unlike his pet, I trust, 'no youngsters were harmed in the making of ...'!!!
*** BTW: if you like this type of Finnish misery portrayal, this would make a fabulous 'depressing' double bill with this country's latter 'Arpara' (Bastard) - reviewed hereunder, too - which coincidentally also has another completely gratuitous fellatio scene in it: I can only surmise that Finns must equate this form of sexual encounter as, well, depressing: right? (Well, it does have a reputation for strong female rights, um, 'wielded', so ... hmmm....)
**** Endpiece: hah, after all this I found on the dvd box (the only) stated in English "In Finland we love very much"; which is his line: that heavily drone accented English speaking taxi driver!right!
Why oh why Finnish writers* (three here, including the director himself) / directors want to seem to take pride in these misery wallows, I can only guess is some form of national psychotherapy / catharsis-like malaise.
This version is made up of several locals of the title, a coastal area, rapidly upmarket gentrifying, marginalising the originally dockworking milieu 'harbour' area of the Finnish capital. All of whom share some problem / loser-liker misery: which includes even the youngsters caught up in this (several**), but one in particular WRITTEN*, as she says herself, (repeatedly), to ("I'll) do anything" to escape it. Because this actress (Amanda Piilke) portraying this character (Milla) looks so young - (although actually in her twenties), - it's tantamount to hebephila - and IS - porn after what she is 'directed' to 'do' to achieve that (course, we can all guess this obvious outcome, and to be frank, I thought what she would've inveigled into would've likely been, in 'reality', far more, er, demanding = worse: writers* there surely pulling their punches, I think!); so by which, all kudos to the actress 'persuaded' to portray this. Um, 'requirement', along with equally all condemnation to writer(s)* for wanting to so, ah, 'illustrate' this. For, course, it quite likely occurs: but because of the short time necessarily afforded to so many individual storyline vignettes set up to be shoehorned into the standard film time run, this one's denouement is a naive cop out, rendering suspect the whole exercise (by those writers*)
For the eventual 'happy' endings tacked on to presumably leaven the misery earlier on display, becomes even more glaring when one - THE youngest (great turn by Topi Tavainen) - character is left with NOTHING uplifting. Why? How mean. Is that what the writer(s)* wanted to emphasise? Misery in Finland begins young and then never relents? (If you really want to watch this ennui, it's the 'boy with the dog' segment. Saddest part, I thought.) There's even the young single (?) Mother, suffering with incurable (?) cancer diagnosis trope, but with stoic youngster daughter amusing by her Mum's side ... ahhh. But we're simply left to guess this one's future outcome after getting us, the audience, to invest our hope emotions into their brief circumstance's arc.
* Then, ok, so you might feel I'm banging (pun!) on too much of this aspect the writer(s) of these misery vignettes of Finnish life they want to present and portray (in very short doses, each): but that's because it even becomes one of them (Mikko Kouki), as having set himself up to play the inadequate Dad character, and for whom, then, includes a scene in which he's shown, after getting himself a call-girl (I believe), unable to get it up - or at least successfully manhandle himself - so she has to merely, patiently, sit idly by: ok, yah hah, so that was worth knowing of Finnish single Dad of lethargic teenager ways to deal with life; most informative. But by which, from these writers, on sex and Finn life misery (have I mentioned, this film seems to be about Finnish existence struggles?), in my knowledge of what skinhead, (proto-Fascist?) loan shark debt collectors would accept as an interim 'punishment payment' for a debt - and that racked up by a, ah, non-white, too - from your female partner, would not be what is 'merely' shown in this!*** For more frankness (from someone who lived in; ah, shady areas of UK!) your lady would suffer far, FAR, 'non-controlling' worse! This gratuitous and in effect rather naive representation of sexual tribulation even extends to the 'we're all in this together' misery of the yuppy / doing better as got an upmarket huge window seaview home, couple here, where the betrayed wife merely invites their cleaner whom the husband has dallied with, to the sauna, for the three to resolve the issues, ah, arising (or, as has not, as the case would be inferred to be!) from why the marriage has drifted.
Like the sound of these? Then there's plenty more of this twaddle, by which, do watch if you like wallowing in just seeing miserable existences so as to presumably contradict the reputation of supposedly the happiest country in the world; but if you think film should have some didactic if not entertainment purpose - like ("Using the medium for socially and environmentally constructive purposes." from director's own IMDB profile) ... avoid.
N. B. It's even got a guest call over appearance by Brit Shaun Pertwee, in an all but completely pointless role other than to amuse Finns to themselves as to how they speak appalling English (the taxi driver's drivel****) with an apparently absolutely essential aspect of his character, written, that he is vegetarian AND teetotal, but his Finn business hosts - amusingly - get him tiddly so to be conveniently victimised by - and get this (by the writers!) - yup, shock horror, none other than the NON WHITE character (Deogracias Masomi), and then he's soon out of it, no doubt handsome pay-check for trip to the capital, in hand. Really worth shoehorning him into this all.
** P. S. The youngsters are great in this (that daughter of cancer patient, and another, Eemeli Louhimies - so note, same surname as director, as bullied loner, adrift Walteri, but the 'boy with the dog' especially: how did they get him to play it so convincingly (Topi Tarvainen): all by which unlike his pet, I trust, 'no youngsters were harmed in the making of ...'!!!
*** BTW: if you like this type of Finnish misery portrayal, this would make a fabulous 'depressing' double bill with this country's latter 'Arpara' (Bastard) - reviewed hereunder, too - which coincidentally also has another completely gratuitous fellatio scene in it: I can only surmise that Finns must equate this form of sexual encounter as, well, depressing: right? (Well, it does have a reputation for strong female rights, um, 'wielded', so ... hmmm....)
**** Endpiece: hah, after all this I found on the dvd box (the only) stated in English "In Finland we love very much"; which is his line: that heavily drone accented English speaking taxi driver!right!