One important lesson I have learned over my years running ScreenAnarchy is that when a film maker you like and respect feels the need to direct you to another film maker that you've never heard of, you'd best pay attention. And when a film maker you like and respect tells you a particular director is one of their favorites, then you'd really better pay attention. Which leads me to Aleksi Salmenperäand his new film Paha Perhe or Bad Family. Look on the left of that still. See that man? That's Ville Virtanen, one of the leads in AJ Annila's Sauna. And, yes, it was Annila who dropped the 'favorite' word and sent me to this one. Here's the official synopsis from the Finnish Film Institute:
Trust me, that does not do what follows justice. One of the great overlooked elements of Nordic film is the incredibly dry, often very dark sense of humor and the trailer / music video released by Salmenperäand for this one is absolutely, bleakly hysterical. And don't quote me on this - because he has not yet confirmed or denied - but that looks an awful lot like Annila playing the ukelele at the 37 second mark.Followed by an ugly divorce the father has been bringing up the son by himself while the mother has had the custody of the daughter. Sixteen years later the mother passes away and the brother and sister meet again. The brother has a crush on his sister and rebels against the father, who copes poorly with the situation. The father ends up alone with his dementic father.