I watched this at the independent cinema on the 20th of December, 2023.
I think the experience was enhanced by what was going on - the shared house was empty, everyone had gone home for Christmas, and I’d worked from home, so the dry, understated tone of the film worked very well on me.
And it’s such a good film. It’s Finnish, and it’s a romcom, but with a delightfully distinct visual tone, and a style of dialogue and cinematography that’s deeply unlike anything I’ve seen recently.
The camera is stationary for most shots, and smooth and carefully choreographed for others, with most shots being long and slow. I believe it’s shot in film, and the grain adds a great texture. The dialogue is sparse, the actors are lit with a lot of contrast, and the style of lighting is deeply reminiscent of old black and white films. The acting is so wonderfully understated, their mouths barely move but the eyes are full of expression.
The old-style filming contrasted really well with the modern-day setting: the radio talks about the war in Ukraine, the cars and shops are modern, their jobs (supermarket shelving, construction sites) are modern, and yet it feels like the film has been taken from the 1920s and all these modern set dressings have been added in post.
And it’s deeply funny, with a laconic, sardonic, histrionic humour which had the entire audience laughing. It gave me the biggest smile at the end, when he rises from his coma and walks off on his crutches into the distance, accompanied by the woman and her dog.
The dog is very cute.