Acting
Pave, Hese, Timppa, and Viiksi have ended up in Hell, where the heat makes them feel as comfortable as in a sauna. The bosses there don't like this, so they send the boys on vacation to their home country, Finland. They are given a briefcase full of money to live a life of luxury. The only condition is that they are not allowed to do honest work, and to make matters worse, they are told that alcohol will not go to their heads.
Based on a novel of the same name by the Finnish author, Antti Tuuri, this delicious late-80's comedy builds its dark humour on the stereotypical mentality of the northern part of Finland. While perhaps not as entertaining to a person unfamiliar with Finnish traditions, the brilliant acting, directing, plus the warm, beautiful Finnish summer more than make up for the cultural gap.The story begins with a group of brothers with their families coming up to honour the memory of their recently deceased father. Spending time together, opening old wounds and creating new ones... it all boils down to brotherhood. No matter what happens, brothers take care of their own.
Trade counselor Lillukka leaves his entire fortune to Pekka Puupää, who, thanks to cartoons and films, has become closer to him than his immediate family, who are pursuing their own interests. Pekka starts running a toy factory and hires a freckle-faced bowling boy as the company's errand boy. Widowed trade counselor Gunilla Lillukka tries to get married to Pätkä, who has been promoted to assistant director.
Young photography model Susanna and her alienated teenage brother Veli spend the summer of 1969 travelling around Finland, mostly with another girl and her boyfriend. Sporting the latest fashions and trendy hairdos, they naĂŻvely observe and criticise the modern consumer society, advertising, fancy boats and summer cottages, country dances, barbecues, and any other phenomena that were supposed to bother angry young intellectuals in those days. The plot and the political agenda are delivered with a cheerful, tongue-in-cheek mixture of documentary observations, fake TV commercials, fake interviews, philosophical voiceovers and titles, and a jazzy soundtrack by the progressive rock group Wigwam.
