Subject: history

Published: August 21, 2024

Laitakaupungin valot

In the modern industrial setting of Ruoholahti, Koistinen (Janne Hyytiäinen), a lonely man working as a night watchman, is relentlessly bullied by his coworkers. He dreams of starting his own business and shares this aspiration with Aila (Maria Heiskanen), who runs a sausage stand by the waterfront. Unbeknownst to Koistinen, Aila harbors deeper feelings for him.

One day, Koistinen meets Mirja (Maria Järvenhelmi), who is secretly working for the criminal boss Lindström (Ilkka Koivula). Mirja pretends to be infatuated with Koistinen, but at the opportune moment, she drugs him and steals his keyring to assist Lindström and his gang in robbing a diamond store. Koistinen refuses to implicate Mirja and is sentenced to two years in prison.

After his release, Koistinen tries to rebuild his life from almost nothing. By chance, he encounters Mirja and Lindström in a restaurant. Seeking revenge for the betrayal, he later attacks Lindström with a knife, but is subdued by the gangster’s henchmen. Lindström spares his life, though Koistinen is beaten nearly to death and left on the shore. Aila hears of his condition and finds him, bloodied and lying on the ground. ‘I won’t die from this,’ Koistinen promises her as their hands meet for the first time. (Text by Lauri Timonen)

Director:
Aki Kaurismäki

Starring:
Janne Hyytiäinen
Maria Järvenhelmi
Maria Heiskanen
Ilkka Koivula

The film won the 2007 Jussi Awards for Best Film, Best Cinematography, and Best Set Design.

Published: August 20, 2024

Hella W

Everyone is familiar with the characters from the Niskavuori plays, but the tempestuous life story of the playwright Hella Wuolijoki is less well known. She negotiated peace during the Winter War, was sentenced to life imprisonment for treason during the Continuation War, but was pardoned after the signing of the Armistice. The very next year, following her release, she became the director of the Finnish Broadcasting Company and later entered Parliament. Screenwriter Outi Nyytäjä and director Juha Wuolijoki’s joint exploration of Hella Wuolijoki’s past brings the story of the famous playwright, politician, and businesswoman to a wider audience.

Director:
Juha Wuolijoki

Starring:
Tiina Weckström
Hannu-Pekka Björkman
Matleena Kuusniemi

The film won the 2012 Jussi Awards for Best Set Design and Best Costume Design.

Note: No longer available in DVD or Blu-ray distribution.

Published: August 13, 2024

Kung Fu Panda 4

“Kung Fu Panda 4” is a sequel to the popular “Kung Fu Panda” film series and continues the adventures of Po, a panda who has become known as a legendary Kung Fu master.

Po faces new challenges both on a personal level and in battle. He must confront a new, powerful enemy while also finding a way to pass on his teachings and legacy to future generations. The film features familiar characters like Tigress, Monkey, and Mantis, but also introduces new allies and enemies.

The film’s themes are strongly tied to passing down traditions, finding one’s place in the world, and the importance of personal growth. It includes epic battle scenes, vibrant animation, and touching moments.

Published: August 13, 2024

Cats in the Museum

A cat named Vincent and his mouse friend Maurice escape a flood by riding in an old piano and end up in a museum. There, they encounter an elite group of cats that have been guarding valuable artworks from rodents and other pests for years. Vincent dreams of finding a real cat family for himself, but he doesn’t want to lose his friend Maurice, so he has to hide him. The situation becomes more complicated when the famous artwork Mona Lisa is brought to the museum. Vincent, Maurice, and the other museum cats don’t know that someone is planning to steal it, and now Vincent must gather his courage and wits to save the masterpiece.

Published: July 30, 2024

Presidentintekijät

Presidentintekijät (The President Makers) is a film about Sauli Niinistö’s presidential campaign. It portrays the core of the campaign team and its operations throughout the campaign until Niinistö is elected as the President of the Republic.

The team works under immense pressure. Decisions must be made constantly. Success is immediately measured in the media and polls. The task is not made easier by the fact that the candidate himself does not participate in the team’s activities or even really support it.

The film progresses from the first campaign team meeting towards the second round of the election. The team’s discussions are surprisingly open and bold. The language they use is direct and unvarnished. Director Tuukka Temonen’s access to the heart of the campaign is unique. Presidentintekijät is a film about politics at its rawest. When time is short, communication is direct. And sometimes, you just have to laugh.

The film depicts the work centered around the Secretary-General of the National Coalition Party, Taru Tujunen, Marketing Director Kirsi Piha, Niinistö’s Special Assistant Mikko Kortelainen, Fundraising Director Hjallis Harkimo, Political Advisor Jussi Kekkonen, and Jenni Haukio, who was responsible for marketing and communications at the beginning of the campaign.

Director:
Tuukka Temonen

Starring:
Sauli Niinistö
Pekka Haavisto
Jenni Haukio
Taru Tujunen

Published: June 6, 2024

Before the Flood

The documentary film follows actor Leonardo DiCaprio on his journey around the world to explore the impacts of climate change and how to combat it. The documentary is directed by Fisher Stevens, and DiCaprio serves as its narrator and guide.

In the film, DiCaprio meets scientists, activists, politicians, and local residents from various parts of the world who share their views and experiences on climate change. He visits melting glaciers, suffering rainforests, and islands threatened by rising sea levels. The documentary also addresses the use of fossil fuels, the potential of renewable energy, and the importance of political decisions in combating climate change.

Published: June 3, 2024

Meg 2: The Trench

A research team’s journey into the depths of the ocean takes a chaotic turn when a criminal mining operation threatens their mission, forcing them into a battle where life and death are at stake. Faced with colossal giant sharks and daunting environmental challenges, our heroes must be faster, smarter, and braver swimmers than their relentless adversaries as the clock ticks inexorably towards resolution.

Through us, rights are also available for the first part of the movie series, The Meg (2018).

Published: April 22, 2024

The Old Oak

According to Ken Loach, his latest film encapsulates the overarching societal themes of the award-winning director’s entire career. When Syrian refugees are housed in a former mining town in England, emotions begin to boil over at the only remaining pub in the declining village, The Old Oak. The incoming refugees fleeing from war are seen as a threat by the locals, who already have plenty of their own problems. However, young Yara, who dreams of becoming a photographer, befriends the pub’s landlord, TJ. Slowly, people from different walks of life start finding their way to the same table.

Published: April 17, 2024

Ompelijatar

The movie tells the story of how the life of a poor, semi-deaf woman leads to an inevitable conclusion in early independent Finland. She was arrested as a member of the Red Guard women’s company in 1918 and sentenced to a prison camp. Since then, she has been marked as “classified as dangerous to society.” In the 1920s, she was actively involved in leftist youth associations in Helsinki, led a literary committee, and writes for organization newsletters.

The state police have all the rights to intervene in radical activities; the unity of the nation must be ensured by any means necessary. In the early 1930s, communist activities are banned by law, and accordingly, paranoia increases. The State Police monitor and report on the lives of thousands of people. The distinction between treason and heroism becomes blurred.

Martta Koskinen never makes a fuss about herself, but she is reported several times. She meets Hertta Kuusinen in prison, which leads her to the circles of the intelligentsia. She works diligently as a seamstress, among others for the writer Hella Wuolijoki. She always helps her juniors to the best of her abilities and during the Continuation War, she assists conscientious objectors, compromising her own modest standard of living.

She becomes a messenger for the underground resistance movement, whose activities are almost non-existent, largely due to the mutual squabbling of a small circle. She hides a leading communist figure, Hertta Kuusinen’s fiancé, Yrjö Leino. When caught, she refuses to reveal anything.

Martta Koskinen is seen as a traitor, a spy, an enemy collaborator. To some, she is a prisoner of conscience, a dissident, a pacifist.

“The Seamstress” is a human rights story from 70 years ago and at the same time a story of young Finland.

Director:
Ville Suhonen

Starring:
Vera Kiiskinen
Laura Birn
Elena Leeve
Pekka Milonoff

The film was awarded the Best Documentary Film Jussi Award.

Note: Not available on DVD or Blu-ray distribution.

Published: April 16, 2024

Nimby

The events kick off when the urbanized Mervi takes her girlfriend Kati to the countryside to visit her parents for the first time. Mervi is worried that her parents will have a hard time accepting the couple – especially since Kati’s mother is Iranian and her father is German – but it turns out that Mervi herself has a lot more to digest once they arrive. The parents’ peculiar, open relationship, Mervi’s ex-boyfriend involved with neo-Nazis, her semi-religious godparents, and the conflicts arising from the refugees who have moved to the area don’t exactly make the visit easier.