Vesa-Matti Loiri

Cheng, 45, a restaurant owner from China, has travelled with his young son halfway around the world to a remote village in Finland. His wife died recently in an accident, and Cheng wanted to have a break from everything by traveling with his son to see an old Finnish friend who lives on a farm in the countryside of Finland. It’s the most remote place Cheng can imagine with endless forests, thousands of lakes, a country with entire population of one-fifth of Cheng’s home town, Shanghai.

6.8/10

One woman’s desperate struggle to survive a horde of men with frail egos, who just want to explain everything to her. But the biggest horror may be closer to her than she thinks.

6.3/10

Tiina decides to reconnect with his aged and bohemian father living alone. With her reluctant daughter and new husband, they move in and start to renovate the old house. However, neither the renovation nor facing the past is effortless.

5.2/10

A sly riff on the Prodigal Son story, Mika Kaurismaki's latest — about a joyless workaholic concert pianist who ends up on a wild ride with his long-lost rapscallion father — is a funny and cogent analysis of machismo, abandonment issues and the value of reconnecting with one's roots. (TIFF)

6.4/10

Finnish version of The Best Singers series. Each week, one artist is chosen and the remaining artists perform covers of their songs and are judged by that artist.

6.7/10

Antero Rousku is a storeman in a paint store. His job requires raw muscle power, mixing paints and carrying house repair materials around to earn his daily bread. But the basic salary is not enough for Rousku. He also sells a lot of stuff on the side from the storeroom directly to Jylhäkorpi, a frequent visitor, bypassing company bookkeeping. Rousku's colleague in the cellar storeroom is Raninen whose life consists of work, quarreling with his wife, and lottery. Raninen wants to win the main prize but he wants to have the right numbers in exactly the order in which they appear from the lottery machine. Raninen is not the sharpest pencil in the pencil box. Rousku's freedom is threatened by his relationship to the saleswoman Karita. Rousku wants to keep a distance to the woman except in bed. Karita has decided otherwise.

5.9/10

"Vesku from Finland" is a film about Vesa-Matti Loiri alias Vesku, probably the most popular film and TV comedian in Finland. He has created a significant career also as a singer, performer, writer and as a sportsman. He has recorded several albums, from folk songs and couplets to tangos. Some of his recordings are based on the lyrics of Hermann Hesse or Eino Leino, the infamous Finnish poet. During his unique career he has played in more than 60 films and recorded 30 albums.

6.8/10

A look at the life and music of Pekka Streng who died at the age of 26 in 1975.

6.9/10

Uuno disguises as an old man and infiltrates a nursing home for rich old people, where his father-in-law also lives. The ever-hungry Uuno is seduced by the table groaning with food, but as it happens, he never manages to be there at dinnertime. Meanwhile Sörsselssön enters Uuno for a TV competition named This Is My Life, where contestants tell about their life as viewers vote them either to continue or out of the show. The nursing home elderly watch on TV as Uuno tells the show's host his life story.

5.1/10

Documentary about medium strength beer in Finland.

L. Onerva and Eino Leino - two people, two rebels, prisoners of a difficult love relationship. Along with two passionate poets, there will be a third wheel, a young and talented composer Leevi Madetoja.

5.4/10

The story bases on four Finnish brothers, nicknamed 'the Eura Daltons' who received nation-wide notoriety for tearing gas pumps apart when they needed cash. The cast is an impressive one: the brothers are portrayed by Peter Franzen, Lauri Nurkse, Niko Saarela and Jasper Pääkkönen while their really evil father is played by Vesa-Matti Loiri, one of the grand old men of Finnish cinema.

6.2/10

Finnish Road Movie

7.1/10

Two men, who both have tried to commit a suicide, decide to found a "Let's do it together"-suicide association to help the self-destructive people to succeed in their goal. Soon they have a bus load of candidates and together they start a bus tour in order to find a suitable place for the mass suicide.

5.6/10

In the House is Satan is a Finnish television film directed by Aleksi Mäkelä from 1999. The main parts of the film were played by Vesa-Matti Loiri, Juha Veijonen and Pekka Huotari. The script was created by Venla Mäkelä and was produced by Solar Films. The film was shown only once on Yle TV1.

7.5/10

Psychiatric patient Elmeri knows about the existence of a gold treasure in Finnish Lapland, hidden there by his late father who somehow managed to capture it from withdrawing German troops on the last days of WW2. His openly gay nurse helps him escape from the mental institution, and the two men slowly find their way up north to reach the gold. On their way, the odd couple meets a cavalcade of even odder characters.

7.3/10

A week-long glimpse into the wretched existence of Ripa, a long-haired, hard-drinking lug. He is also a filmmaker-wannabee, whose last two projects were condemned for their sex and violence. A Parasite Deluxe, who barely recalls his previous night, Ripa cruises the bars and meets bank-teller Tiina.

6.3/10

The story of Finnish boxer Joni, who brings up a son Simppa from his relationship with Polish girlfriend Eva. The mother left them years ago and returned to Poland. Eve is about to marry, but she still loves Joni.

5.7/10

Uuno Turhapuro becomes the President of Finland. Streets are named after him and honorary companies are arranged for him. He also tries to turn Finland into a kingdom.

5/10

OK, imagine four men in their 40s and 50s. You there? OK, now imagine them wearing suits and playing on a sandbox as characters aged 4, 5 and 6. Pasanen even has his trademark beard, for Christ's sake!

6.9/10

Uuno Turhapuro is searching for a job and takes a correspondence course in tour guiding. Eventually he gets a job in a small travel agency and takes a group of Finnish tourists to Marbella, Spain. Unfortunately Uuno's father-in-law Tuura is in the group, too, with his wife and daughter, Uuno's wife Elisabet. Tuura tries to get a signature to an important paper from a minister who's having a holiday in the area. Meanwhile, Uuno just relaxes and enjoys the sun.

6.2/10

Uuno is forced to complete his mandatory military service when it is revealed that he only spent one day in the army in his youth. As is typical of the Turhapuro series his family and friends become closely tied in with these events. His friends Härski Hartikainen and Sörsselssön return to the army for a refresher course and by chance Uuno's father-in-law, Councillor Tuura is made the Finnish Defence Minister. In one of the most memorable scenes, Uuno's wife, Elisabeth, dresses as Uuno and substitutes him for a day as Uuno has an apparently urgent meeting (at a restaurant) and while becoming lost in the woods with a malfunctioning radio, Tuura accidentally declares war on Sweden.

6.7/10

Film by Jaakko Pyhälä.

6.7/10

The main character is a miller, who sometimes acts strangely but is otherwise a goodhearted hardworking honest man. He sometimes keeps the villagers up all night by howling. Finally the villagers decide that the miller has to be committed into a mental hospital, where the hero does not have to spend too much time until he escapes. The miller takes to the woods near his home but there he is constantly harassed by the chief of the police with his posse.

6.3/10

Rauta-aika (The Age of Iron) is a dramatic four-part miniseries completed in 1982 by Finnish broadcast network Yle TV2. The production attempts to adapt the national epic of Finland, the Kalevala, for the television audience by way of humanizing the mythological characters whose thoughts and actions drive the narrative. The protagonists of Rauta-aika, Väinö, Ilmari and Lemminki, have been inspired by the tales in the Kalevala and go in search of a woman, eventually finding themselves at war with the Nordic people, and in the end pay dearly for their pursuits.

7.4/10

Two guys from Häme find out that they actually are from Karjala. At the same time Flybug bites one of the guys. That means he must learn to fly or he gonna die. Reborn Karjala-boys goes at the airport and fun begins. Soon they become acquainted with a robot that runs with booze, two scoundrels and beautiful Miss Universum.

4.1/10

Uuno's nose is proved to be so good, that he can smell behind the display window what goods are on the other side. With this fabulous smell talent Uuno is chosen to Police's police-dog school as a student among the other dogs. Meanwhile Director Tuura, Uuno's father-in-law has been chosen to a very high office and thinks that Uuno is just gaining bad reputation for him, so he decides to broake Uuno's and Elisabet's marriage.

5.6/10

Set during the Second World War in the Finnish war zone.

5.6/10

'Tup-Akka-Lakko' is sequel to 'Koeputkiaikuinen ja Simon enkelit' in witch doctor Jyrä (Hämäläinen) invented test-tube-adult (Spede) who look exactly like matematition Mutikainen. When the test-tube-adults body emerged 'cause doctors mistake, voice moved living into Mutikainens body. And that is reason for many problems what happen to people in this film.

5/10

Mathematician Mauno Mutikainen is accidentally pronounced dead as a result of an operation where a splinter is being removed from his finger (which he got by scratching his head). He is then cloned into a test-tube adult (a play on the phrase test-tube child) named Richard Ilyevitch Jyrä by his creator (father and mother) Dr. Jyrä (his name is intended to appeal to both American and Soviet sensibilities). Loiri and Ahonen play the roles of gangster attempting to kidnap Jyrä and/or Mutikainen, thinking they are the same person. Both would reprise their roles for 1980's Tup-akka-lakko. Additionally Loiri portrays a slew of characters such as a drunk hockey-fan attempting to get to Moscow and making a guest-appearance as Uuno Turhapuro at the end. Simo Salminen once more plays a character named after himself who is the head of a detective agency called Simon Enkelit (an obvious take on Charlie's Angels).

5.2/10

Uuno Turhapuro, a useless bum who has married money, creates havoc around his father-in-law's presidential campaign. He dresses up as his long-lost, wealthy brother from America, but things go awry when the real brother appears. At some point Uuno takes up a job at a hardware store, only to warm up a classic TV sketch perfected years earlier by the film's writer-producer Spede Pasanen. Written by Markku Kuoppamäki

5.8/10

Uuno moves in flight cargo to Helsinki for the search of a rich, beautiful wife. He buys elegant clothes for eight marks from an estate auction and in two weeks becomes the most pursued bachelor in town, charming all the women. He also starts as a waiter in Vaaleanpunainen sika (Pink Pig), which starts the first quarrels between him and his father-in-law.

5.9/10

It is the first anniversary of Uuno and Elisabet. Uuno has placed a bet with his friend Härski-Hartikainen a year ago, that if Uuno can take just one year of marriage with Elisabet, Hartikainen will treat him a festive dinner. However, Hartikainen buys a lottery ticket for Uuno, who agrees to deduct it from his debt – and the festive dinner is reduced to a can of milk and half a sausage. As it happens, Uuno becomes the lottery winner of 1.5 million marks, only to soon realize he doesn't own a single penny yet. Mister Tossavainen arrives and offers to finance Uuno before he actually gets the jackpot. Thus, Uuno gets to live a rich live on credit. He buys a raccoon fur, leopard swimming trunks and a couple of Mercedes-Benzes. Women begin to fancy Uuno and so does his father-in-law. As time goes by it is revealed, though, that Uuno is not actually a lottery winner, and so he has to escape the anger of others to Härski's car repair shop.

6.2/10

Krokelby in the 1920s. Sakris Kukkelman is a crippled, Nietzsche reading village idiot who believes himself to be a romantic hero.

5.3/10

Uuno is unemployed and his friends try to arrange a job for him. With his imagination, though, and the help of Härski Hartikainen (Spede Pasanen), he somehow manages to avoid all work, until he becomes what he has always dreamt of being - a film star. Uuno's father-in-law has other plans for his occupation, though: since Uuno knows the Dandelion, he has potential for a professor of botany.

5.8/10

Uuno goes with his wife to spend summer holiday to their villa in country, studies playing of the violin in a correspondence course and constructs an own violin with do-it-yourself-method, but quits his career when he perceives that takes his free time too much and comes back to live the life "in the shadow of a fridge". In the start scene of film a priest (Ere Kokkonen as voice) says in the Uuno's weddings that his complete name is Uuno Eero Turhapuro, whereas it's in the all later Uuno-films Uuno Daavid Goljat Turhapuro.

6.1/10

Finnish soft erotic movie

5.5/10

Jalmar "Jalli" Riivatsalo works in an ad agency and tries to find success both in love and business.

5/10

Two outlaws, The Lonely Rider and the Indian Tonto, have caught (at least they think they have) Speedy Gonzales, a ruthless gunfighter from the town of Njietponimaistadi. They start to travel to another town for the reward, through the desert without water and fighting against Indians. And just to find out that they have made a full circle back to origin.

6.8/10

Triangle comedy about a movie crew shooting a no-budget artsy film. Director Pohja is a clumsy beginner, cinematographer Törrönen an old pro, and the leading actors Igor and Merju first detest each other although the script is supposed to make them lovers. The two gradually grow closer even in real life, but the director too has set his eyepiece on Merju

6/10

Two Finnish toy manufacturers Jim King (Spede Pasanen) and Krakström (Juhani Kumpulainen) compete for toys. King's business is far too successful and he is trying to tax fraud with the help of his chamberlain (Vesa-Matti Loiri). Both toy manufacturers hire gangster chief Niitti (Risto Aaltonen) to handle their twilight jobs, but not everything goes according to plan.

5.3/10

When Continuation War started in Summer 1941, German soldiers arrived to Oulu. With their charm they conquered women and town boys. Finnish boys communicated with them on many levels: had trades, worked as interpreters, rotated business, spied on German love adventures and fought with each other about the favor of soldiers. In autumn 1944, the war was ending. Germans left Oulu by leaving behind fragile relationships, bastard kids and unfinished businesses. The most shocking of all was the faith of young Jake...

7.2/10