Genre: drama

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Published:

Kyytiä Moosekselle

In the year 2000, teenagers aged 12-15 rewrote the Ten Commandments of the Bible as follows:

I am a cell phone, thou shalt have no other gods.
For fuck’s sake, thou shalt not swear.
Chill the fuck out.
Respect thy folks, if you can.
Let people live.
Thou shalt not be a revolving door.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not frame thy friend.
Is it not enough to lust after another’s room?
Open thine eyes – you have everything.
Go to the movies.

These same teenagers have created scripts for the movie “Ride for Moses”. Alongside director Kaija Juurikkala, they improvised ten different stories based on the old commandments of the Bible, which the film crew then made into a movie with them. The teenagers themselves play all the roles, for which they have also written the dialogue. An actual script was never written.

Director:
Kaija Juurikkala

Starring:
Markus Vuorinen
Joni Hovisilta
Oona Louhivaara
Vilma Vuorio

Published:

Dogs Don’t Wear Pants

“Dogs Don’t Wear Pants” is a poignant and stark love story about the encounter between Juha (Pekka Strang) and Mona (Krista Kosonen) in the world of BDSM. Visually striking, J-P Valkeapää’s direction encompasses intense emotions and unexpected, dark humor.

Single father Juha lives as if in a dream, a prisoner of his past. Everything changes when he meets a peculiar woman, dominatrix Mona. A compelling connection sparks between Mona and Juha. Beyond the mundane, they have their world where Mistress Mona brings Juha’s suppressed emotions to life with violent means. Despite the pain, Juha desires more and goes further. Will this dangerous journey lead to ruin or enlightenment?

Highly acclaimed by the international press, the film has achieved unprecedented success at festivals worldwide. Premiering at Cannes Director’s Fortnight, “Dogs Don’t Wear Pants” has been showcased at various international film festivals including Karlovy Vary, Toronto, Busan, and London. Garnering recognition with numerous awards and distributed to theaters in 25 countries, “Dogs Don’t Wear Pants” has been widely praised and acclaimed.

Director: J-P Valkeapää

Starring:
Krista Kosonen
Pekka Strang
Ilona Huhta
Jani Volanen

The film brilliantly won six Jussi Awards:
Best Actor (Pekka Strang)
Best Cinematography (Pietari Peltola)
Best Music (Michal Nejtek)
Best Sound Design (Micke Nyström)
Best Editing (Mervi Junkkonen)
Best Makeup Design (Aija Beata Rjabovska)

Published:

Veljeni vartija

Veljeni vartija tells the story of Jare and Jere Tiihonen, twin boys from a broken family where violence is a learned norm from their father. Known as tough guys in their youth in Lahti, the brothers take different paths. Jare seeks street credibility and succeeds in the Finnish rap scene, creating an alter ego – Cheek. Jere ends up behind bars for assault and promises to end the cycle of violence. Jere settles down and starts a family. As Cheek’s popularity grows, Jare experiences a tearing conflict: should he remain the streetwise and selfish artist Cheek, or become the caring boyfriend spending safe, normal life with his beloved Noora. Jare’s inner turmoil eventually finds an explanation – bipolar disorder – and the solution lies in psychiatric medication. What does it take to break all expectations or curses and take control of one’s life?

Director:
JP Siili

Starring:
Antti Holma
Armi Toivanen
Saga Sarkola
Alina Tomnikov

The film won the Audience Choice Jussi Award.

Published:

Headfirst

Essi, in her thirties, is a single mother and a cashier at a gas station café in Vantaa, who easily loses her temper. It doesn’t help that her teenage daughter, Takku, constantly gets into trouble at school and has already changed schools several times. Takku’s new school teacher, Lasse, was infatuated with Essi when he was younger. Lasse is not an exemplary teacher and projects his own traumas onto his students. Meanwhile, middle-aged alcoholic Sakke might be Essi’s father. When Takku breaks school rules again, Essi persuades Sakke to become her daughter’s classroom assistant.

Director:
Antti Heikki Pesonen

Starring:
Armi Toivanen
Mimosa Willamo
Eero Ritala
Kai Lehtinen

The film won a total of two Jussi Awards:
Best Supporting Actress (Mimosa Willamo)
Best Screenplay (Antti Heikki Pesonen)

Published:

They Have Escaped

Directed by J-P Valkeapää, “They Have Escaped” is a road movie depicting the journey of two young individuals across summertime Finland.

Raisa is the most troubled youth at a juvenile facility. Joni arrives at the institution as a civilian service worker. What unites these young people is the dream of escape, a chance to flee the violence of reality and constant despair. With the civilian serviceman possessing a master key and access to the institution’s old Volvo, the journey can begin.

The escape across summertime Finland is a wild adventure in two senses. It tells a story of fragile love and moments of insane happiness and freedom amidst a cruel world. Yet, it is also insane because the plan is fragile, and society may not let go— or will it?

Starring:
Roosa Söderholm
Teppo Manner
Petteri Pennilä
Sara Paavolainen
Pelle Heikkilä
Jari Pehkonen

The film won a total of four Jussi Awards:
Best Film (Aleksi Bardy)
Best Direction (J.-P. Valkeapää)
Best Sound Design (Micke Nyström)
Best Editing (Mervi Junkkonen)

Published:

Heart of a Lion

Dome Karukoski’s film “Heart of a Lion” is a touching and gritty tale of a small-town neo-Nazi, Teppo (played by Peter Franzén), who falls passionately in love with the fiery Sari (Laura Birn). His new girlfriend comes with a dark-skinned son, Ramu (Yusufa Sidibeh). Will Teppo outgrow his prejudices? Will love conquer or succumb to the pressure from his group of friends? And what will become of Ramu, who finds himself with a neo-Nazi stepfather figure? Behind the film’s unexpected and edgy humor lies deep emotions, and at its core beats the brave and gentle heart of a lion.

Director:
Dome Karukoski

Starring:
Peter Franzén
Yusufa Sidibeh
Jasper Pääkkönen
Laura Birn

The film won the Jussi Award for Best Supporting Actor (Jasper Pääkkönen).

Published:

Missä kuljimme kerran

Based on Kjell Westö’s Finlandia Prize-winning novel, the film explores humanity and love amidst the upheavals of the nation.

Early 20th-century Helsinki is essentially two cities: the idyllic world of the wealthy upper class and the slum quarters of the poor laborers. The story spans decades, illustrating how time, place, and social class both bring people together and drive them apart.

Independent and curious, Lucie (Jessica Grabowsky) refuses to conform to the mold of upper-class women. Her childhood friend, the photographer Eccu (Jakob Öhrman), passionately loves the wild and eccentric Lucie, but his heart belongs to Allu (Andreas af Enehielm), a young working-class football hero.

The film also features Allu’s father, Enok (Elmer Bäck), Lucie’s politically fervent brother Cedi (Oskar Pöysti), the humanist observer Ivar Grandell (Niklas Groundstroem), and other beloved characters from the novel.

Director:
Peter Lindholm

Starring:
Jakob Öhrman
Jessica Grabowsky
Andreas af Enehielm
Oskar Pöysti

Published:

Pihalla

“Pihalla” is a romantic dramedy about young adults – women and men, relationships and community, career pressures, and cultural encounters. Laura is a German housewife who moves to Finland with her husband for his job. At first, everything is difficult. Laura’s husband, Arto, is chronically busy with work, making it impossible to get to know people, and November in Tampere doesn’t show its best sides. By chance, Laura is mistaken for a single mother, she makes friends in a single-parent support group and gets to know Tero, who organizes music sessions for children in a nearby playground. As Laura’s relationship with Tero progresses, she starts to feel more comfortable in her new hometown.

Director:
Toni Laine

Starring:
Sibel Kekilli
Mikko Leppilampi
Teemu Palosaari
Sanna-June Hyde

Published:

Saving Private Ryan

The story begins on the historical “D-Day” during World War II. An American unit receives a perilous special mission after the landing. Captain John Miller is tasked with taking his men behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan, whose three brothers have already perished in battle. The men question the success of this extremely dangerous mission. Why should eight men risk their lives to save one soldier? Amid the madness of war, each of them must seek their answers—and muster the courage to confront the ruthless and demanding face of war.

The film won five Academy Awards in 1999:

Best Director: Steven Spielberg
Best Sound Editing: Gary Rydstrom and Richard Hymns
Best Sound Mixing: Gary Rydstrom and Gary Summers
Best Cinematography: Janusz Kamiński
Best Film Editing: Michael Kahn

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Kielletty hedelmä

Forbidden Fruit is a story of breaking boundaries and seeking freedom. The film tells the tale of two young girls on the threshold of adulthood who experience the adventure of their lives. Raised in the tranquility of the countryside within a religious family, the girls escape from home to the summery capital city in search of freedom and their first major experiences — to encounter a world that had previously been forbidden to them.

Starring:
Marjut Maristo
Amanda Pilke
Joel Mäkinen
Jarkko Niemi

Director:
Dome Karukoski

The film was awarded the Jussi Award for Best Supporting Actress (Amanda Pilke).