#you remember petja right

[a-drama-addict]

dwarven women mfjkdlsa

[padfootagain]

Proposed by @madamrogers :

At first, I want to thank you for hosting an event like this! It has been so interesting to read about movies from other countries and I decided to put only Finnish movies on this list. Some of these I’ve seen, some are important or have a significant meaning for our culture or were just quite popular when they came out.

Tie pohjoiseen (Eng. Road North) 2012 - Directed by Mika Kaurismäki - Starring Vesa-Matti Loiri, Samuli Edelmann

Summary: A drama, a road movie about a father who meets his son after a long time. The father wants to bond with the son after these long 30 years and they go on a long road trip to the north.

Jenna���s Note: Vesa-Matti Loiri is one of the most iconic faces of Finnish cinema (and also music, he’s a singer as well) and he really deserves all the appreciation he gets. Him and Edelmann (who is also a singer, they sing the ending song of the film together) work very well together in this one, they have chemistry and it’s visible how much they’ve enjoyed working together. This is one of my own favorites of Finnish movies.

Lupaus (Eng. Promise) 2005 - Directed by Ilkka Vanne - Starring Laura Birn, Karoliina Vanne, Hanna Lekander, Ilkka Villi

Summary: A movie about three young women who live a normal life in Finland until Winter War in 1939. All three of the women join the Lotta Svärd, a Finnish voluntary auxiliary paramilitary organisation for women. The movie follows the women from Winter War in 1939 to Continuation War in 1941 and till the year 1956.

Jenna’s Note: I’ve seen this once and I remember I liked this quite a lot. For once there’s a movie about Lotta Svärd. I’ve always respected them a lot. This has some war scenes, if I remember right, and everyone is not making it out alive but it also shows how there can be happiness in the middle of fear and death.

Poika ja ilves (Eng. Boy and Lynx) 1998 - Directed by Raimo O Niemi - Starring Konsta Hietanen and Väinö the Lynx

Summary: A movie about a friendship between a boy and a lynx.

Jenna’s Note: I loved this movie as a child. I haven’t watched it in years, but it really is a touching story. I remember how most of the girls had some sort of a crush on this boy, Konsta Hietanen, who nowadays plays music and I think has come back to acting after playing football for years.

Joulutarina (Eng. Christmas Story) 2007 - Directed by Juha Wuolijoki - Starring Hannu-Pekka Björkman, Otto Gustavsson, Kari Väänänen, Minna Haapkylä

Summary: A story about an orphaned boy called Nikolas becoming Santa Claus.

Jenna’s Note: This is the movie I watch every Christmas. I could say it’s one of my favorite Finnish movies of all time. It also makes me cry very much, which is always a good sign. It was said somewhere that “if Walt Disney would’ve been able to tell a story like this, he would have told it,” and I think it’s absolutely true!

Äideistä parhain (Eng. Mother of Mine) 2005 - Directed by Klaus Härö - Starring Topi Marjaniemi, Marjaana Maijala, Esko Salminen

Summary: The plot of the story is based on the time of the Second World War and the main character of the story is a Finnish boy (Eero Lahti). The biological father of Eero (Kari-Pekka Toivonen) is in the Finnish army. He dies in the front and Eero’s mother Kirsti falls into deep depression. As the war gets worse, Eero is sent to Sweden to a new Swedish family. In the new family, he has a father Hjalmar Jönsson, mother Signe Jönsson and a grandfather (who cannot speak but hears everything). He also meets the neighbor’s daughter Siv. And then he has to go back to Finland when the war ends.

Jenna’s Note: I saw this one for the first time when I was quite young and I remember crying so much during it. Only seeing the add or the first minutes makes me cry. It’s a sad, momentarily very unfair story but it’s still very beautiful, touching and deep.

Prinsessa (Eng. Princess) 2010 - Directed by Arto Halonen - Starring Katja Kukkola, Samuli Edelmann, Krista Kosonen, Peter Franzén

Summary: After a difficult childhood spent in foster homes, cabaret dancer Anna Lappalainen suffers from severe delusions and ends up in psychiatric care. She claims to be Princess, a member of the English royal family.

Jenna’s Note: This is a biographical film, based on a life of Anna Lappalainen, and I didn’t know this before. I like the psychology in this and it’s pretty good as a movie too, the main actress does really good job but some moments are quite disturbing. This gives me vibes of Russell Crove’s movie “A Beautiful Mind”, even though the setting is different.

Tuntematon sotilas (Eng. The Unknown Soldier) 2017 - Directed by Aku Louhimies - Starring Eero Aho, Johannes Holopainen, Jussi Vatanen, Aku Hirviniemi, Hannes Suominen, Paula Vesala, Samuli Vauramo

Summary: Based on Väinö Linna’s classic novel “The Unknown Soldier”, the part of our national legacy, the movie tells a story about a machine gun company of the Finnish Army from a frog perspective during the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944.

Jenna’s Note: This is only one of the versions; there is the first one from 1955 and the second from 1985. And because it was Finland’s 100th year of independence last year, they made the third version. I haven’t had the chance to see this one just yet, but one of the versions is on TV on the independence day, so I’m waiting for will it be this one. This has a good cast, some very popular and good Finnish actors and this is a very liked film, so I’m looking forward to finally seeing it. I’ve seen the other two versions, and I personally like the 1985 version the best.

Helmiä ja sikoja (Eng. Pearls and Pigs) 2003 - Directed by Perttu Leppä - Starring Mikko Leppilampi, Laura Birn, Amanda Pilke

Summary: When the Hirvonen brother’s (Läde, Timo, Ruho and Poju) bootlegging father ends up in jail, his sons need money to pay his debts to local crooks. The brothers suddenly get a new family member when their stepsister, Saara, moves in with them. Soon they find out Saara has an outstanding singing voice and the boys come up with an idea to send her to a child star contest. To train the girl a former child star, a current pub rose, is employed.

Jenna’s Note: The name is funny, I know. Don’t stare at it too much. In a way it suits this movie quite well. In which the girls are the pearls and the boys the pigs, haha. This is a comedy and basically only one Finnish comedy I’ve seen and liked. I also love Mikko Leppilampi, he is a good actor, but nowadays he is mainly a host in different programs.

Tom of Finland 2017 - Directed by Dome Karukoski - Starring Pekka Strang

Summary: Touko Laaksonen returns home to Finland after serving in World War II. In post-war Helsinki, he makes a name for himself with his homoerotic drawings of muscular men. Before finding fame, Laaksonen finds challenges from his sister and Finnish society due to his art.

Jenna’s Note: I haven’t personally seen this movie yet, but decided to put it on the list since it has been sold to another countries, the concept. And I think this movie was in cinema in other countries too. It’s a quite big thing in Finland, there are all kinds of stuff about it, from bed covers to everything.

Syke (Eng. Pulse) Since 2014, still ongoing - Created by Petja Peltomaa - Starring Lena Meriläinen, Tiina Lymi, Leena Pöysti, Iina Kuustonen

Summary: A show about four nurses. In every episode there are two or three patients whose lives have something to do with the nurses’ lives; they know each other or something else. It also follows the nurses private lives: love, hate and other things.

Jenna’s Note: The only tv series of the list! I’ve watched this since it began and it’s the best Finnish show I’ve ever seen. It’s interesting, something is always happening and the actors are good. It almost got cancelled but then another channel bought it and there’ll be another season later this year, it’s the fifth.

[padfootagain]

Submitted by @madamrogers :

At first, I want to thank you for hosting an event like this! It has been so interesting to read about movies from other countries and I decided to put only Finnish movies on this list. Some of these I’ve seen, some are important or have a significant meaning for our culture or were just quite popular when they came out.

Tie pohjoiseen (Eng. Road North) 2012 - Directed by Mika Kaurismäki - Starring Vesa-Matti Loiri, Samuli Edelmann

Summary: A drama, a road movie about a father who meets his son after a long time. The father wants to bond with the son after these long 30 years and they go on a long road trip to the north.

Jenna’s Note: Vesa-Matti Loiri is one of the most iconic faces of Finnish cinema (and also music, he’s a singer as well) and he really deserves all the appreciation he gets. Him and Edelmann (who is also a singer, they sing the ending song of the film together) work very well together in this one, they have chemistry and it’s visible how much they’ve enjoyed working together. This is one of my own favorites of Finnish movies.

Lupaus (Eng. Promise) 2005 - Directed by Ilkka Vanne - Starring Laura Birn, Karoliina Vanne, Hanna Lekander, Ilkka Villi

Summary: A movie about three young women who live a normal life in Finland until Winter War in 1939. All three of the women join the Lotta Svärd, a Finnish voluntary auxiliary paramilitary organisation for women. The movie follows the women from Winter War in 1939 to Continuation War in 1941 and till the year 1956.

Jenna’s Note: I’ve seen this once and I remember I liked this quite a lot. For once there’s a movie about Lotta Svärd. I’ve always respected them a lot. This has some war scenes, if I remember right, and everyone is not making it out alive but it also shows how there can be happiness in the middle of fear and death.

Poika ja ilves (Eng. Boy and Lynx) 1998 - Directed by Raimo O Niemi - Starring Konsta Hietanen and Väinö the Lynx

Summary: A movie about a friendship between a boy and a lynx.

Jenna’s Note: I loved this movie as a child. I haven’t watched it in years, but it really is a touching story. I remember how most of the girls had some sort of a crush on this boy, Konsta Hietanen, who nowadays plays music and I think has come back to acting after playing football for years.

Joulutarina (Eng. Christmas Story) 2007 - Directed by Juha Wuolijoki - Starring Hannu-Pekka Björkman, Otto Gustavsson, Kari Väänänen, Minna Haapkylä

Summary: A story about an orphaned boy called Nikolas becoming Santa Claus.

Jenna’s Note: This is the movie I watch every Christmas. I could say it’s one of my favorite Finnish movies of all time. It also makes me cry very much, which is always a good sign. It was said somewhere that “if Walt Disney would’ve been able to tell a story like this, he would have told it,” and I think it’s absolutely true!

Äideistä parhain (Eng. Mother of Mine) 2005 - Directed by Klaus Härö - Starring Topi Marjaniemi, Marjaana Maijala, Esko Salminen

Summary: The plot of the story is based on the time of the Second World War and the main character of the story is a Finnish boy (Eero Lahti). The biological father of Eero (Kari-Pekka Toivonen) is in the Finnish army. He dies in the front and Eero’s mother Kirsti falls into deep depression. As the war gets worse, Eero is sent to Sweden to a new Swedish family. In the new family, he has a father Hjalmar Jönsson, mother Signe Jönsson and a grandfather (who cannot speak but hears everything). He also meets the neighbor’s daughter Siv. And then he has to go back to Finland when the war ends.

Jenna’s Note: I saw this one for the first time when I was quite young and I remember crying so much during it. Only seeing the add or the first minutes makes me cry. It’s a sad, momentarily very unfair story but it’s still very beautiful, touching and deep.

Prinsessa (Eng. Princess) 2010 - Directed by Arto Halonen - Starring Katja Kukkola, Samuli Edelmann, Krista Kosonen, Peter Franzén

Summary: After a difficult childhood spent in foster homes, cabaret dancer Anna Lappalainen suffers from severe delusions and ends up in psychiatric care. She claims to be Princess, a member of the English royal family.

Jenna’s Note: This is a biographical film, based on a life of Anna Lappalainen, and I didn’t know this before. I like the psychology in this and it’s pretty good as a movie too, the main actress does really good job but some moments are quite disturbing. This gives me vibes of Russell Crove’s movie “A Beautiful Mind”, even though the setting is different.

Tuntematon sotilas (Eng. The Unknown Soldier) 2017 - Directed by Aku Louhimies - Starring Eero Aho, Johannes Holopainen, Jussi Vatanen, Aku Hirviniemi, Hannes Suominen, Paula Vesala, Samuli Vauramo

Summary: Based on Väinö Linna’s classic novel “The Unknown Soldier”, the part of our national legacy, the movie tells a story about a machine gun company of the Finnish Army from a frog perspective during the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944.

Jenna’s Note: This is only one of the versions; there is the first one from 1955 and the second from 1985. And because it was Finland’s 100th year of independence last year, they made the third version. I haven’t had the chance to see this one just yet, but one of the versions is on TV on the independence day, so I’m waiting for will it be this one. This has a good cast, some very popular and good Finnish actors and this is a very liked film, so I’m looking forward to finally seeing it. I’ve seen the other two versions, and I personally like the 1985 version the best.

Helmiä ja sikoja (Eng. Pearls and Pigs) 2003 - Directed by Perttu Leppä - Starring Mikko Leppilampi, Laura Birn, Amanda Pilke

Summary: When the Hirvonen brother’s (Läde, Timo, Ruho and Poju) bootlegging father ends up in jail, his sons need money to pay his debts to local crooks. The brothers suddenly get a new family member when their stepsister, Saara, moves in with them. Soon they find out Saara has an outstanding singing voice and the boys come up with an idea to send her to a child star contest. To train the girl a former child star, a current pub rose, is employed.

Jenna’s Note: The name is funny, I know. Don’t stare at it too much. In a way it suits this movie quite well. In which the girls are the pearls and the boys the pigs, haha. This is a comedy and basically only one Finnish comedy I’ve seen and liked. I also love Mikko Leppilampi, he is a good actor, but nowadays he is mainly a host in different programs.

Tom of Finland 2017 - Directed by Dome Karukoski - Starring Pekka Strang

Summary: Touko Laaksonen returns home to Finland after serving in World War II. In post-war Helsinki, he makes a name for himself with his homoerotic drawings of muscular men. Before finding fame, Laaksonen finds challenges from his sister and Finnish society due to his art.

Jenna’s Note: I haven’t personally seen this movie yet, but decided to put it on the list since it has been sold to another countries, the concept. And I think this movie was in cinema in other countries too. It’s a quite big thing in Finland, there are all kinds of stuff about it, from bed covers to everything.

Syke (Eng. Pulse) Since 2014, still ongoing - Created by Petja Peltomaa - Starring Lena Meriläinen, Tiina Lymi, Leena Pöysti, Iina Kuustonen

Summary: A show about four nurses. In every episode there are two or three patients whose lives have something to do with the nurses’ lives; they know each other or something else. It also follows the nurses private lives: love, hate and other things.

Jenna’s Note: The only tv series of the list! I’ve watched this since it began and it’s the best Finnish show I’ve ever seen. It’s interesting, something is always happening and the actors are good. It almost got cancelled but then another channel bought it and there’ll be another season later this year, it’s the fifth.

Just made the list, thank you so much for the recs, Jenna!!