Finnish – We Are Movie Geeks

“Reindeer Mafia” TV Series Review

The title of this Finnish crime dramedy series, “Reindeer Mafia (Poromafia),” is a bit misleading. It’s not a major crime syndicate on the tundra. It’s a small club of guys wearing vests with their Wolverine logo (not the Hugh Jackman kind), hanging out in their clubhouse, and dabbling in petty crimes. The eponymous nickname is a tongue-in-cheek choice. The setting is a rural area, in which the strictly protected reindeer provide a significant part of the economic base.

The eight-episode season begins as their leader, Sameli (Samuli Edelmann) is returning from a stretch in prison for a manslaughter he may not have committed. His mother, Brita (Rea Mauranen) has just died after a long bout with cancer. She was the area’s biggest landowner, and the disposition of her estate becomes the central plot-driving element. Her assholish husband Rouku (Aake Kalliala) had big secret plans for developing the property that are frustrated when she leaves it all to her two sons and the daughter of the man who Sameli (presumably) killed, who also happened to be his fiancée Sara’s (Anna-Maija Tuokko) pappy. But the three heirs lack the big chunk of dough needed to pay the inheritance tax within a short window of time, leading to a scramble of plots and countermeasures to keep Rouku from having his way.

As one may expect from Scandinavian productions, everything is covered with snow, and mostly dark in hue and tenor. The first three episodes unfold so slowly that I considered letting it drop. But I’m glad I was patient (or stubborn) enough to persevere. Characters, backstories and plot threads start becoming clearer in the fourth, and the pace picks up for the rest of the way. It’s more of a suspenseful character drama than an action flick, but there are enough twists to keep one curious. Bad guys abound. Rouku is a stunningly loathsome figure, reeking of Machiavellian villainy. Plus, there’s a crooked cop and a sadistic drug dealer soiling the pristine landscape, along with several other questionable characters.

The comedy side of the dramedy is rather sparse until the latter half of the season. Between the plot, several quirky characters and the stark wintry environs, the production is somewhat reminiscent of our “Fargo” series, though either shorter on humor, or less amusing to a US viewer than it was to Finns. The proceedings are complex enough to make bingeing advisable, but not essential.

“Reindeer Mafia,” mostly in Finnish with English subtitles, streams on MHzChoice beginning Nov. 5, 2024.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars

*(L-R) Samuli Edelmann as Sameli and Anna-Maija Tuokko as Sara, in “Reindeer Mafia.” Courtesy of MHzChoice*

“Bordertown” Season 3 – TV Review

The first two seasons of the moody Finnish police procedural, “Bordertown” were excellent, featuring one of those troubled, eccentric, brilliant police detectives that have been so popular for many years, in many countries.

Here is the link to my laudatory review of Season 2 to bring you up to speed on characters and relevant backstories for this one: www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2024/04/bordertown-season-2-review/.

Unfortunately, Season 3 doesn’t quite live up to the first two. Again it’s 10 episodes, with each featured crime covered in two or three of them, and several subplots carried over from before and recurring throughout this one. Kari’s wife dies in the first, and the way he and daughter Janina deal with their grief is the stuff of which melodramas are made for the whole season. Many clashes and moody musings take up considerably more of the running time than before, and grow rather tedious for those who are watching for the sleuthing.

Brilliant psycho Lasse Maasalo (Sampo Sarkola) energizes many of the episodes with his devious and deadly schemes, showing the quiet cunning of villains like Cristoph Waltz’s Nazi colonel in INGLORIOUS BASTERDS. Former assistant Niko, who’s been promoted to head their Serious Crime Unit, is overwhelmed by the admin duties of the position, especially agonizing over a looming budget cut that could mean the end of its existence. Kari’s other partner, Lena, is still at odds with her less-than-stellar past and with her daughter, Katia, for reasons that become increasingly muddled.

The crime plots are again varied and intriguing, including a couple of serial killers, the patriarch of a feuding family being offed, brutality within the enclave of a demented cult leader and his flock of acolytes, and a poison or pandemic mystery threatening the whole community.

The shift of balance between criminal activity and inner workings of the principals’ minds is what made the same number of episodes seem longer. A couple of writers from the first two seasons were replaced in the third, perhaps by former psych majors feeling compelled to apply their education in this non-clinical arena. The good news is that the season – and presumably the series, since it’s been four years after the last one aired – ends with a reasonable degree of closure on all threads. For those who want more, there was a follow-up TV movie in 2021 with many of the characters returning. It’s on Netflix, but I was even more disappointed by the script for that one. It felt as if they were still pumping a dry well.

“Bordertown: Season 3,” in Finnish with English subtitles, is available streaming starting Tuesday, June 4, on MHzChoice.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars

“A Good Family” – TV Series Review

*A Good Family, season 1. Anna (Maria Sid) and Henrik (Samuli Edelmann). Courtesy of MHz Choice*

The title of the six-episode Finnish drama, “A Good Family (Musta valo),” must have been meant ironically, since the leads may try to be one but fall well short of the goal line. Anna (Maria Sid) is a top police detective; hubby Henrik (Samuli Edelmann) is a former crime novelist who turned to teaching aspiring writers. They have two sons – adult Niko (Elias Salonen), who can’t steer clear of the “friends” who’d landed him in jail; and young Mikael (Paavo Usvola), who is adorable between panic attacks. The season covers Niko’s latest misdeed and his parents’ increasingly dubious efforts to protect him in what’s meant to be a thriller.

The handful of credited writers succeed on the suspense part. We really don’t know who will live or die; get caught or go free; or even who will end up with whom. The problem is that it becomes increasingly hard to care. I’ve praised quite a few crime dramas from several Northern European countries, but couldn’t quite get on board with this one.

Anna’s actions become ever harder to justify; Henrik’s seem really clumsy for one whose career has been centered around crimes, albeit fictional. Those of us who’ve even watched a bunch of procedurals would know better ways to cover up and shift blame to shield a loved one than how this guy does it. His writer’s block apparently spills over into their actual life.

I won’t disclose more about the plot. The premise is fine, but the product disappoints. The pace is dreadfully slow and the tone is dour, even compared to other Nordic crime drama series. There’s a ridiculous subplot with a hot coed throwing herself at rotund, middle-aged Henrik, despite knowing he’s married and that the Muse that inspired his career-making novel figuratively skipped town without him several years earlier. As the couple becomes more desperate and the collateral damage they cause piles up, innocent Mikael becomes the only one to solidly root for. Not likely what the producers intended. Or what most viewers would hope for, making this somewhere between miss-able and low priority on your watch list.

“A Good Family,” in Finnish with English subtitles, streams on MHzChoice starting Tuesday, Feb. 27.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars

A Good Family, season 1, episode 6. Niko (Elias Salonen), Mikael (Paavo Usvola), Henrik (Samuli Edelmann) and Anna (Maria Sid) posing with their family in a party.

“Arctic Circle” Season 3 – TV Series Review

*Iina Kuustonen in the Finnish crime TV series “Artic Circle” (Ivalo) Season 3. Photo credit: Mitro Härkönen. Courtesy of Topic*

When I covered the previous two seasons of the Finnish police procedural “Arctic Circle,” I was down on the first for stretching 6-7 episodes worth of a season-long crime story out to 10. I accordingly praised the second for trimming its single mystery to a tight 6 episodes. They’ve kept that in mind (assuredly not due to my opinion; they surely got the same feedback from more influential sources), again presenting a worthy tale with plenty of subplots in the same number of episodes.

Since that previous review was 22 months ago, below is a link my review of the first two for a memory refresher:

Arctic Circle – TV Series Review

As Season 3 opens, we watch the jacking of a sleek experimental car with a handful of killings in the process. Cut to Nina (Iina Kuustonen), who is on the verge of promotion to police chief due to her boss’ imminent retirement. Shortly after this opening crime, and seemingly unrelated, a local pharmacist is found fatally shot in an apparent robbery of his cash and street-valued drugs. Nina senses a connection, but no one up the ladder agrees.

The stolen car belonged to a nearby cutting-edge car manufacturer, Pharada, with a huge test facility with plenty of armed security forces, and political clout to cover up their actions and obstruct any investigations. They can’t let anyone know their electric, self-driving game-changer is missing just before its scheduled roll-out, relying on their own personnel to track it down before a public embarrassment that would cause its stock value to plummet.

Pharada is also planning a major expansion of the premises that will create many jobs but requires approval by the town council. Of course, there’s controversy because of its environmental impact – especially affecting the reindeer that are important to the community. An imminent vote will decide that hot-button issue, generating machinations of all sorts.

Besides the main plot, Nina is having relationship problems, trying to dump her beau Toni (Mikko Mousiainen) because he wants kids and she doesn’t. That’s partly due to the demands of her job, but also influenced by fears that her teenage daughter’s Downs Syndrome will recur in any other progeny. A number of other character arcs and plot-lines are adroitly woven into the main thread, creating a slew of suspense elements. Bingeing is advisable.

Compared to the prior seasons, personal issues take up a higher percentage of the running time even as the action scenes are ramped up. Some of the supporting roles add considerably to the suspense elements and our emotional investments in their characters. Several are from the U.S., so more of the dialog is in English than before. That should appeal to subtitle-averse fans of imported crime dramas. And for those of us who crave closure, the season ends without cliffhangers, so viewers can feel satisfied if it’s not renewed, while leaving the door left ajar for a fourth season.

“Arctic Circle: Season 3,” mostly in Finnish with English subtitles, is available streaming starting Thursday, Jan. 11, on Topic.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars

FALLEN LEAVES – Review

FALLEN LEAVES is a romantic comedy from Finland, with the driest of humor. Bone-dry does not cover it; this is a Sahara Desert of dry humor. No one cracks a smile and no one winks at the audience as they deadpan their satiric comedy lines. This is also the bad-luck couple of the year, who can’t seem to catch a break, except through the most absurd of coincidence. FALLEN LEAVES is undeniably funny, in it deadpan Nordic way but you have to meet the humor on its own terms. It is not there to help you.

If all that sounds good to you, dive in. Personally I like Nordic humor and I appreciate the film’s touches of social commentary in its absurdist humor, but it is not for everyone.

In Helsinki, two lonely people meet by chance. Ansa (Alma Pöysti) lives alone and works in a supermarket, where her job is to pull expired items off the shelf and throw them in the trash. Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) is a metal worker who has a drinking problem and thinks he’s just fine living alone. Holappa’s co-worker Huotari (Janne Hyytiainen), a middle-aged guy still hoping to find love, talks the taciturn industrial worker into going to a karaoke bar. There Holappa spots blonde pretty Ansa, who is there with some of her co-workers, and changes his mind about being OK with a lonely life. Ansa and Holappa exchange looks but not words, and certainly not names, even when Holappa’s pal tries to strike up a conversation with one of her co-workers after his karaoke song.

Holappa is a man of few words and Ansa is a woman of few words, but their co-workers pepper the air with satiric remarks and dry-humor social commentary. After Holappa’s co-worker sings his romantic karaoke ballad, he starts talking about being “discovered,” waiting for a record contract, and how amazing his singing was – all with such determined deadpan that we’re not even sure he’s joking.

It’s typical of the humor in FALLEN LEAVES, whose title translates literally as “dead leaves.” Another bit of absurdist humor happens at Ansa’s job, when she is fired for “theft” after the store manager discovers an expired-product cookie in her purse. Ansa objects, rationally, that the item is being thrown away anyway but the store manager counters that if it doesn’t go in the trash, it’s stealing. Two of Ansa’s co-workers, who have been watching this exchange, then pull out expired items from their purses, and quit in protest over her firing, even though the manager, absurdly, tells them they can stay because they surrender the items voluntarily.

Of course, this creates a problem for the budding romance, when Holappa goes to the grocery store to look for Ansa – the only think he learned about her at the bar the night before – only to discover she doesn’t work there any more. It’s the first of the comedy’s many missed-connections routines. Of course, chance then intervenes to put them back together again, before it tears them apart again. And again and again. This road never did run smooth, you know.

This Finnish-German comedy-drama is the fourth in a series from writer/director Aki Kaurismäki. The previous films in his “Proletariat” series on ordinary working people are SHADOWS IN PARADISE (1986), ARIEL (1988), and THE MATCH FACTORY GIRL (1990).

The time period of this romantic comedy-drama is deliberately unclear – there are items from earlier decades, like a vintage radio, retro furniture and dated clothing, but the radio broadcasts are from 2022 or 2019 (with Russia invading Ukraine). The couple go to a movie theater and see a 2019 horror-comedy (Jim Jarmusch’s THE DEAD DON’T DIE) – but all the movie poster outside are for films from a range of eras. A calendar in another scene says that it is 2024, so who knows. Obviously, we’re not supposed to.

FALLEN LEAVES is full of satiric and absurdist humor, often delivered by passers-by or minor characters, and in off-hand manner. The two leads, Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen, actually do a good job in their challenging roles, touchingly conveying damped-down feelings between two people who seem incapable of expressing feelings, which is kind of sweet. However, while this dry-humor film certainly has its comic moments, this romance between two nearly-silent people may not be one that lingers in memory.

FALLEN LEAVES, in Finnish with English subtitles, opens in theaters on Friday, Dec. 1.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

COMPARTMENT NO. 6 – Review

*Seidi Haarla as Laura in the Finnish drama COMPARTMENT NO. 6. Photo credit Sami Kuokkanen/Aamu Film Company. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics*

Two strangers on a train, a young Finnish woman (Seidi Haarla) and a rough Russian miner (Yuriy Borisov), share a compartment on a two-day trip north from Moscow to the Arctic coast, in the surprising COMPARTMENT NO. 6. The trip is more than a physical journey, and this strangers on a train Finnish drama has won multiple well-deserved accolades since its release and is a leading contender for the Best International Film Oscar.

The film is set in Russia not long after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and although it is primarily drama, it has elements of humor and romance too. It actually starts, not on a train but at a party, in a spacious Moscow apartment, where a glittering mix of intellectuals and artsy types have gathered in bohemian hipness, led by charismatic hostess Irina (Dinara Drukarova), an academic at the Moscow university where Finnish student Laura (Seidi Haarla) is studying anthropology. Irina is also Laura’s lover, and the pair were supposed to embark on a trip to the Arctic together the next day, to see some ancient petroglyphs that Irina had been gushing about to Laura. At the last minute, something comes up and Irina can’t go, but she insists that Laura still go, alone.

COMPARTMENT NO. 6 is directed by Juho Kuosmanen, whose previous film THE HAPPIEST DAY IN THE LIFE OF OLLI MAKI blended drama, self-discovery, humor and romance is a decidedly unique but deeply human way. Some of those same elements are here as well, taking this new film to a deeper, more profound level than we at first expect.

The two-day train trip is more than a physical journey, but a kind of journey of self-discovery for the characters. Without Irina, Laura feels untethered from her life in Moscow and is forced to reflect on her life’s direction and choices, who she is and what she wants. But those contemplations are interrupted by the obnoxious person assigned to the same compartment, a talkative young miner who is also traveling to the Arctic coast for work.

Ljoha (Yuriy Borisov) is rude and crude, and starts off with asking Laura if she is a prostitute. Clueless about her revulsion and unapologetic, he proceeds to hit on her while calling her Estonian instead of Finnish. Laura rebuffs him sharply, and with confident style, but she still retreats to the dining car for the rest of the day. When she asks the woman in charge of the train compartments to move her to another berth, the conductor refuses, claiming there is no room and cooling saying, with perfect Soviet bureaucratic indifference, “what did you expect.” Well, not that.

Laura is sharp-witted and able to stand up for herself but it hardly makes for pleasant traveling. She is relieved when a woman with a baby is also assigned to the compartment and later a young Finnish musician but neither stay long. Meanwhile, Ljoha keeps up his attempts to win over Laura, efforts that begin to hint at something more beneath the crude surface.

Over the course of the journey, both actors peel away layers of their characters. Although the whole story takes place on this journey, we are not always on the train and Laura has a surprising number of adventures and revelations along the way.

During the course of the trip, it becomes clear that Irina was more sending Laura away than it had seemed at first to the Finnish student, and Laura has to process that fact. Laura is completely enamored of Irina’s sparkling intellectual life, a life she really wants to possess. She wants to be Irina as much or more than she wants her as a lover.

The writing and acting are superb, with plentiful twists and nice performances by Seidi Haarla and Yuriy Borisov, as their characters travel on their differing internal journeys and shared train-bound one. Creative photography by Jani-Petteri Passi, who also shot the fine multi-part HBO historical drama “Chernobyl” as well as the director’s previous film, brings a touch of mystery and the magical to the train trip, and provides support for the strong script and performances. The trip finds the travelers in an unexpected place in life when they arrive at their Arctic destination, and the film wrapped up in a poignant yet satisfying place for audiences.

COMPARTMENT NO. 6, in Russian and Finnish with English subtitles, opens Friday, March 18, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

Arctic Circle – TV Series Review

The first season of the Finnish crime procedural “Arctic Circle” (original title: “Ivalo”) has been streaming in the U.S. for a while, but I just watched it now as prep for covering Season Two. That’s fortunate. The first year introduced us to a fine protagonist in small-town cop Nina (Lina Kuustonen) who finds the remains of a hooker in her snow-covered Lapland area near Finland’s Russian border. The murder victim’s body leads to discovery of a sex trafficking ring, further complicated by a lethal, sexually-transmitted virus that threatens to spread to pandemic level. Many elements of intrigue ebb and flow for 10 episodes, embracing a number of issues that will seem even more relevant post-Covid than when originally aired in 2018, including an all-too-analogous conflict between governmental and medical priorities.

The execution of that debut year, alas, is not as compelling as this recap reads. The entire plot, including all needed personal relationship arcs, could have made a taut, suspenseful binge, if trimmed to six or seven installments. Despite Nina’s evoking all the empathy one hopes to develop with any protagonist, it felt like a slog to follow her through all 10. But since a number of the cast and story arcs carry over into the vastly superior second season, the time turned out to be justified. Season One was helpful, though perhaps not essential, to full engagement in Nina’s newly-released Round Two. This season is shortened to six more tightly-scripted episodes for a much better viewing experience.

Again, the season covers one major crime. Nina has been promoted to a higher-level police unit, more befitting her previously-underutilized skills. This one starts with an old, high-profile murder that resurfaces in the public eye, leading to a much broader criminal enterprise, again spanning both sides of the Finnish-Russian border. That premise allows for considerably more action and suspense than contained in the first. In both seasons, Nina’s complicated relationships with her mother, daughter and sister (plus a few others) deepen the viewers’ emotional connection to the proceedings. Surprisingly, and commendably, they manage to deliver more depth with those characters – especially her daughter (Venla Ronkainen) – in fewer episodes, while also featuring a more intense main plot line.

Those who have already seen Season One, and found it similarly tedious, shouldn’t assume more of the same lies ahead. Your patience will be rewarded by this tighter, more satisfying journey with Officer Nina that bodes well for the possibility of further outings to come.

“Arctic Circle,” in mostly Finnish with English subtitles, is available streaming on Topic starting on Mar. 17.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

“Piece Of My Heart” (“Pala Sydamesta”) – TV Series Review

The title “Piece Of My Heart” (“Pala Sydamesta” in Finnish) looks like it belongs on the poster for a romantic tear-jerker. Regular readers of my reviews will know it couldn’t possibly be one of those, simply because I’m the one writing this review. “Piece Of My Heart” is an eight-episode Finnish TV miniseries dramatizing the work of child welfare workers in Helsinki, delivering far more suspense than sobbing.

Rita (Lotta Lehtikari), the veteran of a two-woman team, is severely traumatized and disgraced from a recent high-profile failure. A young girl under her supervision disappeared under circumstances that raise questions of Rita’s misconduct. She’d always been something of a rogue in the department, but her handling of this family may have gone tragically over the line. As the season begins, Rita is returning to duty, but finding herself replaced as head of the unit. Her new supervisor (Martin Bahne) is something of a prig with a grudge, adding another dimension of challenges to serving the beleaguered families on her turf.

Enter Laura (Niina Koponen) as Rita’s partner. Laura is a young mother, new to the agency, and soon overwhelmed by the severity and urgency of their clients’ needs. In the early episodes, we meet a swirl of children and teens with a full spectrum of personal and familial issues. We watch the women do their best to respond, despite limited resources, lack of essential police support, Rita’s actions being overly scrutinized by that new boss in the wake of her recent episode, and overriding political pressures on them all, arising from the city’s push for funding of a large new facility and expanded agency for housing and healing troubled minors.

The series covers a lot of emotional and cultural ground in just over six suspenseful hours. The individuals’ arcs overlap, with those we meet early on continuing for much of the season. Besides displaying an array of troubled families, the series explores the toll this work takes on case workers and their own families, including factors from their past that pointed them towards such a demanding and draining career choice.

We particularly see how hard it is for them to make “non-work” plans, since crises requiring immediate response pose a 24/7 cancellation threat. The residual damage to our protagonists is highlighted by barrages of flashbacks and nagging dreams – especially Rita’s. The mystery of what happened to that girl before the series opens weaves through its entirety, impacting much of how they can handle their current clientele.

The series is ideal for a binge, since several cases progress within each episode, alternating among the victims, their families, the workers and high-level political machinations concerning approval and control over the Big Project. The crushing burdens of responsibility the job forces upon the social workers and their own families is also presented compellingly, without descending into soap opera.

The first three episodes begin streaming on Topic on Feb. 17, with the rest issued weekly thereafter. Those who start immediately should not be put off by the slow pace and possibly confusing mix of flashbacks and nightmares in the early going. All the elements come together over time, and progress in a relatively realistic, emotionally engaging manner towards a believable, lifelike set of outcomes.

The problems their young clients face may be hard for some to watch, but the presentation seems about as honest (i.e. free of cinematic hyperbole) as such dramas can get. Unlike many domestic analogs, these protagonists are relatable humans, flaws and all, trying their best without martial arts skills or other extraordinary resources. Viewers are not spoon-fed tidy Hollywood endings for all parties but should be satisfied when the dust settles.

“Piece Of My Heart,” in Finnish with English subtitles, begins streaming on Topic with episodes 1-3 on Feb. 17, and additional episodes 4-8 following weekly.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: