Lapland Odyssey (2010)

I thought it was going to be a hilarious comedy, Hangover style - with stupid, but believable characters and comprehensible plot. Instead it was a mess to watch. The actions of the morons made no sense. Their personalities were unbelievable. Maybe if they were completely stoned, but they weren't! It wouldn't have mattered much to me if the situations they found themselves in were funny, but I couldn't even laugh at them! I kept waiting and hoping for the film to get better, to resemble the trailer I saw... I should have known better.

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.

Napapiirin sankarit is an overly hyped Finnish movie that was said to portray a life of Finnish men. Well firstly the main characters in this film are hollow caricatures of the group of people they portray. They are nothing but stupid and live on welfare. That just seems boring and offensive enough and just every aspect of the plot is made clear in the beginning. I only found myself smiling a few times but that doesn't really make a good comedy because the film itself was dragging all the way.It felt like the film lacked many elements that make it watchable and smooth. Firstly the characters weren't all that interesting, they just were plain stupid. Now that isn't enough for a viewer to actually care about them. Secondly the plot seriously needed more depth to it to make it last for the 90 minutes. Thirdly it seems like the script was written in a day as it isn't that complex. Fourthly the old and used clichés should have been avoided because this film is just full of them.Lastly, all Finnish movies need some Russian character to misbehave or just remind of the second world war. It's amazing how many clichés can be packed in just one movie.Of course i understand that in farce comedies everything seems to go wrong but at least it should be funny. I don't know that would i actually need a mindset of a woman to actually find the overall silliness of the men really funny.

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.