Kari Väänänen Movies

A mobster and a taxi driver give a new definition to the phrase "horse race" in this low-key comedy drama. Réno (Serge Riaboukine) is a second-rate gangster whose attempted big deals haven't been especially successful lately. Réno is losing bets at a racetrack when he spies a horse named Capone, owned by some mod cronies, who looks to have the makings of a winner. Figuring the horse could earn a guy a few solid paydays, Réno commandeers a horse trailer, urges Capone inside, and then hails a cab, driven by Alex (Gérald Laroche). Réno hitches the trailer to Alex's cab and convinces him to drive the horse to Lapland, where Réno can set Capone up in a few races. The tidy and methodical Alex doesn't much case for the sloppy, chain-smoking Réno at first, but the two begin to warm to one another as the miles go by, and they find some adventure along the way as they meet up with gypsies, innkeepers, and revelers at a all-night "midnight sun" party. However, it isn't long before Réno's bosses find out what he's done, and they give chase as they try to recover Capone. Originally produced for French television, Capone received its American premiere at the 2004 Seattle Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A shocking crime forces a man to re-evaluate his life, only to find that going straight is more complicated than he imagined in this acclaimed drama from Finland. Ali (Jorma Tommila) is a low-level criminal who spends much of his spare time working out at a gym with his brother Pulu (Tommi Eronen). Ali spends most of his day stoned on marijuana, while Pulu is known to drink cleaning products when he's run out of booze. Ali has fallen in love with Inka (Maria Jarvenhelmi), a bright woman with a mind of her own, and her independent nature occasionally throws him into a fit of jealousy. One night, convinced another man is trying to seduce Inka, Ali goes berserk and shoots the man several times before beating him to death with a golf club. Ali is sent to prison for his crime, where he learns that Inka is pregnant with his child; when she sends him a videotape of their son shortly after he is born, Ali is reduced to tears, and makes a solemn pledge to lead a better life and be a fit father for his son. But when Ali is released, he finds that Inka has not waited for him, and she is now involved with Alpi (Ikki Koivula), a member of a crime syndicate who was close friends with the man Ali murdered. Bad Luck Love was the first film to be nominated in all 12 categories at the Jussis Awards, the Finnish Academy Awards. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The brutal effect of war on ordinary people is the subtext of this World War II drama from Finland. Perkola (Peter Franzen) is the leader of a small Finnish platoon sent on a mission into Russian territory in 1942. Perkola has been terribly upset since he was told that his fiancée, a nurse, was killed in battle. As the war progresses, Perkola finds that he and his men are slowly becoming capable of acts of shocking violence he would have believed unthinkable as a civilian. Rukajarven tie/Ambush received enthusiastic notices for its excellent photography and realistic battle scenes in its screenings at the 1999 Gothenburg Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Imbued with flashes of comedy amidst the suspense, this Finnish mystery follows an urban policeman assigned to oversee the police force of a tiny rural community. There, he immerses himself in solving the case of a teenage girl who was murdered 18 months before. The officer's predecessor blamed the killing on a transient, but further investigation reveals that one of the tight-lipped townsfolk may be responsible, something his or her neighbors are anxious to keep secret. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This European film, shot entirely in rural Finland, parodies American biker movies from the 1960's. It tells the strange and convoluted story of acid-head, biker Bad Trip who belonged to a motorcycle gang known as the Cannibals. Trip is on the run from his former gang after he is caught stealing gang leader Candy's bike. As he tries to escape from the vicious gang he encounters many strange characters who either help or hinder him. When Trip takes LSD, he is visited by the Silver Rider, who helps him get away by creating a decapitation trap. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Ripa (Sam Huber) is an honest con-man, if there is such a thing. He honestly wants money so that he can make the kinds of sexy and violent films he wants to make. He can't seem to get any from his ex-wife, and the state film board won't front any. He has been getting by on little loans from his ex-wife, who wants her money back. He has also been getting some loans from a friend of his who makes gay porn films. He wants repayment, too, in the form of Ripa's appearance in some of his films. Despite his precarious situation, as this comedy opens, it seems like he will somehow manage to get by, but increasingly outrageous encounters put him completely over the edge, and into a very peculiar angelic state. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This is a well-regarded contemporary dramatic retelling of the story most familiar to audiences from Puccini's great opera La Bohème and was made by the noted Finnish film director Aki Kaurismaki. Like the opera, it is based on the novel Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger. Despite their ever-present poverty, which poses a constant threat to their continued existence, the artists and their friends in this movie speak in only the most polite, elegant, and genteel manner, which only serves to underscore their desperate situation. In the story, the poet Marcel has been unable to come up with the rent for his barely tolerable room and has been evicted from it. While wandering in his neighborhood, he catches the eye of Rodolfo, an Albanian immigrant eating in a small cafe, who waves him over and invites him to share his dinner. Though they have never met, they are soon deeply involved in a discussion about art. They leave the restaurant together and, for want of a better idea, wander back to Marcel's former room. There the poet and his new friend, the painter Rodolfo, discover an equally congenial companion in the man who just rented his room, Schaumard, an Irish composer. Just one step away from starvation most of the time, these loyal friends share resources to help one another out. On one occasion, Marcel needs a suit for a job interview and is able to borrow one from one of Rodolfo's portrait sitters long enough to be interviewed and get a paid job. With his earnings from his new editing job, Marcel buys Schaumard a car he needs. On the job, Marcel meets poor provincial girl Musette, whom he falls for, and at the same time Rodolfo finds another poor provincial girl, Mimi, on his doorstep. He quickly comes to love Mimi, but circumstances constantly thwart their being together, until he at last succeeds in making a place for them and she dies in his arms. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In a Monty Python skit, Graham Chapman once donned the attire of a Swiss maiden and went about selling honey in Britain door-to-door. When asked by John Cleese whether his job wasn't a miserable, unprofitable one, Chapman answered "It is, but I'd do anything to stay out of Iceland." The country of Finland is similarly wintery and bleak, and the young man in this movie, aptly named Zombie, would like to do anything to get free of his life. Unfortunately, he hasn't sufficient zest for life even to pull off committing suicide properly. This movie was billed as a tragicomedy in Finland, but non-Finnish reviewers found it to be singularly unfunny (perhaps they never thought of the Python skit). Zombie is part of a rock n' roll group which is touring through the European continent, and he finds some surcease from the grayness of the Finnish winter with his road manager in what might seem (to the rest of us) to be a depressingly gray region of Turkey. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Finnish director Mika Kaurismaki (who also co-wrote the screenplay) made his English-language feature debut with this tale of foreigners adrift in the treacherous labyrinth of the Brazilian jungle. Kari (Kari Vaananen) is driving down the Trans-Amazonica Highway -- actually a two-lane dirt road that leads out of Rio -- with his two small daughters, Nina (Minna Sovio) and Lea (Ailo Sovio). He is fleeing the Brazilian authorities and is already on the lam from his homeland for taking his wife off life support after a car accident left her in a coma. His car eventually runs out of gas, and the family is rescued by Dan (Robert Davi), a bitter American expatriate and bush pilot who involves Kari in a scheme to use an old bulldozer he has discovered for mining purposes. Dan's plan will wreak havoc with the already devastated rainforest, however, and Kari, under the influence of a native woman (Rae Dawn Chong), starts to doubt his involvement in the project. Good performances, an important message, and excellent photography are all wasted on a story that starts out well but becomes unbalanced when one of the main characters suddenly dies, practically eliminating any conflict or confrontation toward which the plot may have been building. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

The odd comedies of Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki may be an acquired taste, but it is one which more and more people are getting. The story concerns the exploits of an extremely inept but dedicated troupe of accordian musicians, "The Leningrad Cowboys," whose sheer awfulness puts SCTV's Schmenge brothers in the shade. In fact, in order to stop having to listen to them, a local record producer advises them to go to America, and paints a glowing picture of the success they will enjoy there. These eight Finnish lads (seven living, one very frozen corpse) are dressed as they think true hipster musicians should be (ducktails, sunglasses, fur coats, pointy-toed shoes), and they head off for New York. There they encounter yet another wise guy, who sends them off to Mexico by car to play at his cousin's wedding (he apparently hates his cousin). Along the way, they get bookings wherever they can, learn American music styles, and get along fabulously (by their reckoning). ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Alex (Kari Vaananen) is a Finnish cabbie working in Berlin with plenty of problems in this comedy with film noir touches. With two dead men and a suitcase filled with hundred dollar bills, he has difficulty disposing of the bodies. He is chased by the top crime boss (Samuel Fuller) and his crony (Eddie Constantine). Alex's wife is allergic to the money, so the cabbie endures more than he can handle trying to rid himself of the cash and the corpses. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi