Finnish movies

The Blocks have been showing us Finnish movies this week, and I really appreciate this as normally I don't get to see any. First movie we saw was a short movie called Onnenmaa directed by Markku Pölönen. This is a sweet little summer movie with not much of a grand plot - it's about a prodical son who returns to his parents' farm from the city. The farm is now run by Tenho's younger brother and their father is bedridden and dying. But most of all it's about tango, and falling in love - about growing up. Well acted, beautiful and touching film.

Next movie was another movie directed by Markku Pölönen: Emmauksen tiellä. This is a weird movie - again it's about a man who returns from the city to his old home town on the countryside, but this time there's nothing sweet about it. Rane is not a nice man, and while walking from his mother's cottage to the bridge to catch a taxi back to Helsinki he comes face to face with lot of ghosts from the past. The movie is shot with a handheld camera and the actors talk to the camera and the audience all the time, checking details about the plot from the script. Some of it is funny, some of it less so. I know Blocks and Chu absolutely loved this movie, but for one reason or another I didn't really get it. I liked it, yes - I thought it was unconventional and well done - it's just that I didn't think it flowed very well. Some events didn't move the plot forward (like the blind man and his friend), and some scenes were maybe longer than necessary (like the meeting with the old girlfriend).

Today we saw Menolippu Mombasaan which was much lighter movie in all ways. It's a story about two boys who have cancer and escape from the hospital. Jusa is dying and has always dreamed of going to Mombasa - so the boys buy tickets with their last money and travel to north to pick up Pete's girlfriend Kata. Effectively it's a road-movie, and it becomes quite quickly clear that they will never reach Mombasa - but it's just a metaphor for dreams and things you'll never reach. The back cover described the movie as "hysterically funny" but we thought it was more of a drama. Joonas Saartamo who played Jusa was very good, but the other two young actors were a bit wooden and laconic - still, I've seen lot of worse movies than this. It was a sweet and a bit naive story about love, loyality and friendships.