Jasper Paakkonen Movies

What happens when two young bachelors lose the rent control on their apartment to a vile and greedy new landlord - and prices skyrocket beyond their means? That's the question posed by this zany Finnish-language farce, with satirical elements that topically recall Marco Ferreri's El Pisito and Vera Chytilova's Panelstory. Mikko Kivinen and Heiki Silvennoinen star, respectively, as kidney transplant surgeon Lauri Mustonen and entymologist Pauli Bergström, close friends and roommates who have landed the ideal residential situation: with an elderly female landlord, Lydia Molotova (Tuija Ernamo) who hasn't raised the rent for years, the two young men are living the easy life - until the landlord's conniving heir, Master Sergeant John Molotov (Heikki Hela) receives the place from her as part of an inheritance. He wastes no time in jacking the rents up to obscene levels, then forces Lydia to move in with Pauli and Lauri, which makes the living situation very tense indeed. Circumstances seem poised for improvement when Lydia suggests subletting an additional bedroom to raise extra monies, but no one can foresee the complications this will cause. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

The son of an unemployed schoolteacher turns to counterfeiting as a means of surviving on the streets of Finland in writer/director Aku Louhimies's adaptation of the Leo Tolstoy novella The False Coupon. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi