morrison-dylan-fan
Before watching what was expected to be a dull UK General Election,I decided to watch an easy-going movie. Taking a look at DVDs a pal recently got,I spotted a Finnish Comedy! This led to me skiing down to Lapland.The plot:Sick of seeing Janne just stay in bed, Inari gives him orders to go and buy a digital TV box. Seeing her request gets ignored again, Inari tells Janne that if he does not get a box,she will leave him. Stumbling outside,Janne gathers his mates and goes in search of the Lapland digital box.View on the film:Whilst not being set in the holiday season,director Dome Karukoski & cinematographer Pini Hellstedt still cast a Christmassy atmosphere,with the lads going in search for a digital box over tracking shots of snow covered trees and frosty breath. Keeping the Sex Comedy aspect light and playful, Karukoski reveals an eyeful of skin,but keeps it related to the lads quest. Shoving Janne off his bed to finally enter the outside world,the screenplay by Pekko Pesonen leaps between a mix of Sex Comedy and gross farce,as Janne goes on a Lapland Odyssey.
Anssi Vartiainen
One of Dome Karukoski's earlier films and certainly one of his funniest, Lapland Odyssey is essentially a catastrophe road-trip movie. A deadbeat man living in the months long night of Lapland gets an ultimatum from his wife. Either he gets her the digital television adapter he has been promising her for ages, or they're through. And he only has until the morning to do so. The only problem? It's already late evening, he has no car and the nearest all-night electronics store is hundreds of kilometers away.From that basic setting we end up getting one of the funniest Finnish films I've ever seen. And I think the reason why I found this to be so funny, when Finnish film humour usually does nothing for me, is the fact that the characters take it so seriously. For the man and his two equally deadbeat friends this is truly an odyssey. They're on a quest to save to man's marriage and they will go to extreme lengths to achieve their goal. No winking at the camera, no forced jokes, no pop culture or modern events references. Just great characters and them getting into trouble.The film is also beautifully shot, well-acted and features some stunning shots of winter Lapland. If I had to name one problem, I'd say that the Finnish stereotypes can be a bit forced from time to time. Oftentimes they're the best source of humour in the film, but from time to time they wander into groan territory. Still, a very minor problem in the grand scheme of things.Lapland Odyssey is certainly worth a watch for all fans of comedy and for all those that have liked one of Karukoski's other films.
Alison
In northern Finland in December, Inari (Pamela Tola) has had enough of her slacker husband of 9 years, Janne (Jussi Vatanen); first, she's given him 50 Euros to buy a digital recorder but he's blown the money on booze and just fooling around. So she gives him an ultimatum – bring home a digital box by 9 AM tomorrow or she's leaving. Janne and his two buddies Kapu (Jasper Paakkonen) and Tapio (Timo Lavikainen) set off in a borrowed car to the nearest big town, 200 kilometres away. Janne has no idea how he'll find the money to buy the machine, but he's sure he'll think of something. In the meantime, he doesn't know that an old flame of Inari's has decided to make moves of his own on her in Janne's absence....This is your basic winter road trip movie, Finnish-style. The men are all in their 30s and completely irresponsible; the women are all long-suffering but willing to give their guys just a little bit more time in the hopes that they'll somehow grow up. There's various high-jinks, run-ins with cops, naked men running around with paintball guns – oh, and an underwater rugby team made up entirely of gorgeous Swedish women. Your tolerance of this movie will relate directly to your tolerance for all such movies; I suspect men will find it funnier than women, overall, and women are more likely to just roll their eyes. Performances are all fine, but the plot just does not appeal.
dumsumdumfai
The Finnish mind as described by the director as such: When Newsweek published an article stating Finland is the best place to live, ppl in Finland didn't believed it and prove the stats wrong by recalculating. The new result hoisted Sweden, the Fin's neighbour and nemesis. Reminancent of Ben Hammer's explanation of Kitchen Stories.Before going into the film, I looked up that Lapland is a geographic region of northern Finland or other close-by neighbours. Apparently, unemployment is high, and as the director put it - it is not surprising to have suicide rates greater than traffic mortality rates. And given the sparse traffic - that high ratio (not necessarily #) may not be shocking. (all info by the director)This film has that in mind (also explained the director @tiff 2010) - a non-didactic look to lift Northern Finns out of their second best performances, inheritance and even mentality.The story is basically a winter road movie, and like all road movies, it is about discovery of self - but with sort of a funny twist. I like the fact that the characters are fairly real and likable, not eccentric for the "quirky need" of being eccentric at all. The 3 main friends each have their own hang-ups, and along the way finding each own solutions. The downside is - I didn't see "how" all the decision came about - as in real life - change, drastic, life altering change takes time. If only a movie can capture that. But still a good ride.** spoilers*** This is probably just me, but the funniest sequence for me is the bar fight. The fight goes outdoors, but the stationary camera is from behind the bar - focusing on a glass of beer.And on top, the quick background 5 min introduction part is priceless. But the ending is a bit too optimistic for me. But I accept it for the good intention that it means and needs to be.
AD
