Section: Spectrum

IHMISEN OSA

the HUMAN PART

Juha Lehtola
Finland, 2018, 108 Min

Pekka Malmikunas has lost everything: his business, wife, apartment and assets. In order not to hit rock bottom he wangles his way through life, eating at the funerals of complete strangers, telling lies both minor and major and vanishing before he can be presented with the bill. He has hardly any contact with his family and that's a good thing. All until his parents come up with the idea of visiting him, the “successful” son and entrepreneur, and his two sisters.

“Normally children visit their parents, not the other way around.” But what if you haven't shown an interest for so long that you don't know anything about each other? The dog having passed away, the Malmikunas finally want to visit their three adult children in Helsinki. The latter however have become so bogged down in their own, complicated lives that the parents' intention to visit presents itself as a challenge. Son Pekka has a particularly hard time: once a successful company boss, today he merely pretends to be so and currently sleeps in a house earmarked for destruction. Owing to a great deal of creativity he manages to conceal the truth, that is until he loses the roof over his head and optimism gives way to despair. Laughter and incredulous fright are never far apart in this tour de force from leading actor Hannu-Pekka Björkman, who explores every possible facet of impostor Pekka Malmikunas. In a narrative full of dark humour director Juha Lehtola tells of family ties and the fear of being perceived as a failure by the very people one has known the longest. RH

Filmformat
DCP | Farbe / Colour
Drehbuch
Kari Hotakainen, Juha Lehtola
Kamera
J-P Passi
Ton
KARRI NIINIVAARA
Schnitt
SAMU HEIKKILÄ
Ausstattung
OTSO LINNALAAKSO
Musik
Halfdan E
Darsteller
Hannu-Pekka Björkman, Leena Uotila, Asko Sarkola, Ria Kataja, Armi Toivanen
Produzent
Misha Jaari, Mark Lwoff
Produktion
BUFO LTD
Co-Produktion
SMILE ENTERTAINMENT
Kontakt
Film Republic
Viktorija Cook
Acquisitions & Festivals
viktorija@filmrepublic.biz

Hackney Picturehouse
270 Mare Street
London E8 1HE
United Kingdom
+44 (0) 203 287 9112
Juha Lehtola

Juha Lehtola - born in 1966 in Tampere, Finland. Scriptwriter, film and theatre director. He realised numerous television series and films, for many he wrote the screenplays. His career in theatre has been equally successful, including directing plays for the Finnish National Theatre. In 2014 he made his much-acclaimed feature film debut.

Movies
WOMAN IN THE MEADOW (2003, TV series)
HUNGER FOR LOVE (2007, TV series)
TEHDAS (2012, TV series)
BOY UPSIDE DOWN (2014)
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