Description
Levottomat 2000
1h 51min | Drama, Romance | 26 January 2000 (Finland)
Storyline:An old dog has a hard time learning new tricks in this drama set in Turku. Ari, a paramedic, is a chronic womanizer; he makes it a point of pride to never sleep with the same woman twice, and his nights are a long series of brazen one-night stands. But when Ari meets Tiina (Laura Malmivaara), something unexpected happens – he falls in love. For the first time, Ari finds himself pursuing a long-term relationship, and he makes a genuine effort to remain faithful to her. But old habits die hard; Tiina introduces Ari to her circle of friends and temptation arises as he encounters Hanna-Riikka, a theology student, and Ilona, who is soon to be married. Despite Ari’s feelings for Tiina, he begins having affairs with both Hanna-Riikka and Ilona, leading to an unpleasant revelation on the day of Ilona’s nuptials.User review:A few weeks after this film was released, I had the opportunity to see it in Finland. Although it was subtitled and I don’t speak very fluent Finnish, my Finnish friend, Kaisa, only had to translate a few questionable parts. I was very impressed with the quality of acting, directing, and cinematography. It appeared very equivocal to our lustrious Hollywood films. As I was visiting Helsinki in March, it was thrilling to see how Finland looked in the summer.Being a typical “prude” American in regards to showing televised nudity, I was a little surprised at the extent of the sexual scenes. Luckily, I was introduced to Finland’s policy regarding nudity before I saw this film. (Ever been to a public sauna in Helsinki?)Even without the details of the dialogue, I greatly enjoyed the story. Kaisa told me that this film remains very controversial in Finland as some scenes give a poor portrayal of Finland’s modern culture. The main racey scenes included: The bar scene showing Finnish women as VERY forward, and nothing short of…well..sluts; several scenes portraying adultery as morally justified; the bachelor party that ends up an orgy with two VERY young girls (maybe 12?); and the fact that the main character ends up with a female priest that cheats on her boyfriend!! Nevertheless, I think it did a good job portraying the loneliness 20-something individuals feel, even when they are “with” others. I think Mikko Nousianinen (II), Ari, did a great job portraying the mixture of emotional feelings in his position…his several positions.In closing, I would like to say that this movie accomplished what it wanted to, and I will not hesitate to purchase a copy when it becomes available. Does anyone know when that is? Because I would really like to see this movie in an English subtitled version.
Director: Aku Louhimies
Writers: Aleksi Bardy (screenplay), Aku Louhimies (original story), Albert Camus (novel L’Étranger)
Stars: Mikko Nousiainen, Laura Malmivaara, Petteri Summanen
Country of origin: Finland
Language: Finnish
Also known as: Restless
Filming locations: Turku, Finland
IMDB Profile tt0231971
Restless (2000)
5.6
Director: Aku Louhimies
Writers: Aleksi Bardy, Aku Louhimies, Albert Camus
Stars: Mikko Nousiainen, Laura Malmivaara, Petteri Summanen
Summary: For Ari, nothing feels like anything. He doesn't do relationships, doesn't do attachments. There's only sex. That is until he meets Tiina. Together with Tiina and her closest circle of friends, this could be their last summer of freedom.
Also known as: Levottomat on DVD
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