Tag: finland

Cannes 2023 Review: FALLEN LEAVES, Aki Kaurismäki's Deadpan Masterwork

Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki returns to the Cannes competition after 12 years with a superlative romantic comedy.

SISU Review: One Man, Killing Nazis

Directed by Jalmari Helander ('Rare Exports'), Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, Mimosa Willamo, and Onni Tommilastar star in the action war drama from Finland.

Toronto 2022 Review: SISU, Really Really Really Loves Blowing Up Nazis

With its wide-screen sky and endlessly empty tundra, Lapland makes a surprisingly able analogue for the American West. Finnish director Jalmari Helander is not exactly interested in making Once Upon in Time in Lapland here, but he certainly enjoys the...

Review: HATCHING, Escapist Fantasy, Mixed with Revenge Horror and Weirdness

Directed by Hanna Bergholm, the horror film from Finland stars Siiri Solalinna, Sophia Heikkilä, Jani Volanen, Oiva Ollila and Reino Nordin.

Review: In DUAL, She Must Fight For Her Life

Directed by Riley Stearns, the sci-fi thriller pits Karen Gillan against Karen Gillan in a dual to the death. Aaron Paul also stars.

Review: COMPARTMENT NO. 6, Little Human Connections

Yuriy Borisov, Seidi Haarla and Yuliya Aug star in a romantic drama from Finland, directed by Juho Kuosmanen.

Sundance 2022: Egg-cellent Trailer Laid for HATCHING

Sundance has gone totally virtual so that means the usual crop of top notch midnight films will just have to be experienced in the safe, quiet, dark, not-at-all-creepy confines of your own home. One such films is the ultra disturbing-looking...

Night Visions 2020: The New (Ab)Normal Edition Is On Its Way

Fiercely independent of its Nordic neighbors, Finland has forged a strong identity as the home to genre-loving filmmakers, festival programmers, and fans. In that spirit, Finland's Night Visions, the biggest genre festival in Scandinavia, has unleashed its plans for what...

Now Streaming: DOGS DON'T WEAR PANTS, Darkly Comic Grief

Pekka Strang stars in Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää's film, which navigates the emotional minefield of grief.

Night Visions 2019: PARASITE, FIRST LOVE, KNIVES OUT Lead Finnish Fest Lineup

The northern climes of Finland warm up considerably this time of year, at least if you're visiting Helsinki and attending the Night Visions International Film Festival.

Night Visions 2019: Springtime for Horror in Finland

Our friends in Finland have prepared a springtime feast that promises to be quite horrible. And that's a good thing! Night Visions is the name of the festival, and it describes itself as "the biggest festival in Scandinavia focusing on...

SXSW 2019 Review: AURORA, Fresh Romantic Sparks in Finland

Mimosa Willamo and Amir Escandari star in Miia Tervo's refreshing debut feature.

The Carlotta Trilogy: Watch THE CONSEQUENCE Before THE CONGREGATION Debuts

Nowadays the entertainment world is awash in sequels, prequels, reboots, and franchises in general. So what makes the so-called "Carlotta Trilogy" any different? First, the short film series by Finnish filmmaker CHRZU (Nightsatan and the Loops of Doom) stars his...

Night Visions 2018: November Edition Brings CLIMAX, KNIFE + HEART, KEEP AN EYE OUT, More

Supported by enthusiastic genre fans throughout the land, the Night Visions International Film Festival will celebrate its November 2018 edition by bringing a sizzling selection of highly-touted films to Helsinki, Finland. Gasper Noe's Climax, Yann Gonzalez's Knife + Heart, and...

Review: HEAVY TRIP, Sweet, Heavy-Metal Black Comedy

Of all the things I imagined Heavy Trip would be, "sweet" was not one of the adjectives that would've immediately jumped to mind before watching this utterly charming shaggy dog story of a band chasing a dream they never really...

Exclusive HEAVY TRIP Clip: The Seeds of Metal Stardom

How do you escape the basement to become a star? The seeds are planted in our exclusive clip from Heavy Trip.  The film, directed by Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren, follows a young man named Turo (played by Johannes Holopainen)...

Notes on Streaming: THE INNOCENTS, DEADWIND, ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE

Three new series, all of European origin, take place in very different environments, from young adult romance to harsh adult reality to brutal family dysfunction, and play out in varying lengths. All have something to recommend them.

Review: THE FENCER, History Crosses Swords at School

Endel is hiding. In The Fencer (Miekkailija), which has recently been issued as a fine-looking DVD from Music Box Films and is also available to watch via various VOD platforms, Endel Nelis (Mart Avandi) has returned to his Estonian homeland...

Night Visions: First Wave for Finland's Springtime Genre Fest Spotlights Sundance Plus Cult Classics

A cool and pleasant chill will likely be in the air in Helsinki, Finland next month. Not just in the fresh breezes that blow in off the water in April, capable of chilling visitors to the bone, however, but on...

Review: THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE, Extremely Silly and Endlessly Charming

I find it odd that no major filmmakers are tacking the Syrian refugee crisis. An estimated five million people have fled the war torn country since 2012 and the number easily doubles when you add up internally displaced refugees. I...