Lasse Poysti Movies
- 2008
One of Finland's most iconic screen stars, Lasse Poysti, offers a new perspective on his talents in this powerful drama. Thomas (Poysti) is an aging man who once had a successful practice as a doctor but now spends his days in a shabby flat in Helsinki. Many of Thomas's friends are either dead or out of contact, and after the death of his brother (Mauri Heikkila) he has practically no one to talk with anymore. Thomas hasn't seen his daughter Marie (Eila Halonen) in years when he happens upon her on the street one day, and he's overjoyed to have reconnected with a familiar face. Marie, however, doesn't care to spend time with her father; years ago, when her mother had developed a serious illness, Thomas opted to remove her life support rather than prolong her life through artificial means, and she's convinced that she could have recovered if he hasn't pulled the plug. Thomas struggles to repair his relationship with a daughter who can't forgive him, while another chance encounter forces him to deal with more difficult choices from his career in medicine. Thomas was an official selection at Finland's 2008 Midnight Sun Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lasse Poysti
- 1995
According to medieval legend, the "Tears of Saint Peter" is a strange elixir said to be able to heal and restore the dead to life. Using the concoction, Carla devises an ingenious plot to rob a wealthy mayor in this Swedish comedy-drama set in the late 15th century. Disguising herself as a man, whom she calls Carlo Marcellini, Carla wants to use the potion to bring back every townsman who has died over the previous ten years. Unfortunately, she falls in love with the mayor's son who makes her promise to also resurrect his beloved, late fiancee. This is a rather randy film and features medieval orgies and full-frontal male nudity. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
This dark Swedish comedy-drama is based on director Mats Arehn's memories of his father. The story is told from Arehn's point of view when he was a child. Palle Hagmann, a 1940's Swedish vaudeville singer is popular. He would be really popular were it not for his reputation for lying and cheating. He rationalizes to his son by explaining the different kinds of lies available. He admonishes him that white lies should be saved for the self. Hagmann tells white ones frequently and with increasing regularity; they get him into trouble. Hagmann moves his family around frequently until they finally end up in the South of France attempting to manage a hotel. Despite Hagmann's largely self-created problems, he remains a devout optimist. Arehn's exploration of his father creates a tragic scenario that ultimately culminates in love and forgiveness. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
In this dark Finnish thriller, a the husband and brother of a young woman who has been raped attempt to expose the culprit. However, there are no witnesses, and since the rapist is a prominent, respectable citizen, the authorities react with disbelief. Unable to obtain justice, the two men decide to take the law into their own hands, and their actions land them in jail. The woman, who was the victim, is herself treated as a criminal, and begins to fall apart under the strain. First-time director Ville Makela and screenwriter Olli-Pekka Parvianiinen present a strong indictment of how the forces of the law deal with the crime of rape. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Taneli Makela, Kari Heiskanen, (more)
- 1989
The English translation of Ihmiselon Ihanuus Ja Kurjuus is The Glory and Misery of Human Life. The "glory" part concerns the idyllic relationship between hero Lasse Poysti and heroine Liiasmaija Laadsonenen. Separated during World War II, the lovers are reunited by chance years later. Now comes the "misery" part...but not for long. This leisurely paced effort was adapted from the autobiographical novel by F. E. Sillanpaa. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lasse Poysti, Tuula Nyman, (more)
- 1987
In this distinctly Finnish comedy, melancholy seems to be a dominant undercurrent to the mishaps which occur when a divorced mother of a toddler can't keep her (remarried) ex-husband at arm's length, but allows him back into her bed from time to time. She is also unable to take her various lovers and suitors seriously and exists in a state of perpetual indecision. Meanwhile, her father, a prominent surgeon, is dissatisfied with his life. Rather than talk about his problems to his wife of many years, he shares his concerns with a terminally ill female patient. It seems that he is about to leave his comfortable life for a charity job in Africa. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1986
This tongue-in-cheek fairytale is adapted from an opera composed by Aulis Sallinen and written by Paavo Haavikko about a whimsical, attempted voyage to Paris by the King of England, his Prime Minister and his retinue. A few women in the traveling group appear to embody specific female traits such as shyness and its opposite, and the men are either self-serving schemers or lazy. The journey is not without incident since the entourage end up at the Siege of Calais and engage the King of France in battle. Alternating between song and spoken narration, neither the characters nor their situations are meant to be taken too seriously (as when a band of medieval men push along a stalled Volkswagen). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paavo Piskonen, Susanna Haavisto, (more)
- 1986
Nadja (Lena Olin) is a television reporter who turns down an assignment in Japan to seek revenge against a philandering physician in this uneven drama. Stefan (Svante Martin) is the doctor who had been Nadja's lover 15 years ago before he left without explanation and married another woman. Nadja goes through emotional turmoil as she gathers information on the maternity ward and rekindles her affair with the dashing doctor. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lena Olin, Svante Martin, (more)
- 1985
In a fast-paced but unemotional tale of woe with an abrupt closure, a 60-year-old businessman faces first one crisis and then another, with no obvious escape hatch in sight. Gabriel Berggren (Erland Josephson) has rivals in the business world, given that he is an executive in a large company. At home, his marriage has hit the skids, and that does nothing to improve his attitude at work -- which distinctly deteriorates when the CEO dies while at Berggren's desk. That tragedy invites some nasty competition for the dead man's position, and all this pressure is not really made much easier when a charming young woman (Charlotta Larsson) starts working in the office. Berggren's troubles come to a head when he falls ill at the wedding party of one of his rivals -- and unless he is careful, he may be the next to join the CEO.
~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Erland Josephson, Charlotta Larsson, (more)
- 1985
In this subtly engaging story about two people who fall in love and try to overcome their families' criminal inclinations, the breathtaking summer scenery of Finland sets the backdrop for a personal battle between ethics on the one hand, and a life of petty crime on the other. Young Alex Sammako (Markku Halme) has seen his brothers defy the law in a series of deeds that first land them in jail, and then, after they escape and return to their rural home, land them back in the lap of their locally notorious family. Alex wants nothing to do with them. He is in love with Miriam (Minna Soisalo), whose family is not that different from the Sammakos, but who shares Alex's viewpoints and feelings. Not helping matters is a police department convinced that all Sammakos are bad, and the family itself, pressuring Alex to follow in their murky footsteps.
~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juhani Niemela
- 1964
An aging butcher marries a very young, pregnant woman in this Nordic drama. The woman really loves the baby's father, a simple farmhand, but unfortunately, he refuses to marry her. Following her wedding, a big banquet is held and much liquor is consumed. As the guests become increasingly inebriated, they begin to share their deepest secrets. Later the remorseful farmhand hangs himself. Meanwhile, the drunken groom lurches home with his bride. Unfortunately he is too drunk to consummate the union. Fortunately, his buddy is close at hand and does the job for him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jarl Kulle, Christina Schollin, (more)
