Hellsinki / Rperi (2009)
DVDRip | Lang: Finnish | Subs: English (srt) | AVI | 640 x 272 | XviD @ 746 Kbps | mp3 @ 128 Kbps VBR | 02:11:07 | 711 Mb
Genre: Crime, Drama | 4 wins | Finland
DVDRip | Lang: Finnish | Subs: English (srt) | AVI | 640 x 272 | XviD @ 746 Kbps | mp3 @ 128 Kbps VBR | 02:11:07 | 711 Mb
Genre: Crime, Drama | 4 wins | Finland
Though not commonly recognized in the west, Helsinki, Finland for years claimed one of the most violent and lethal urban undergrounds of any European metropolis. A Finnish-language ensemble crime drama, it intersects events from the lives of characters swept up in this maelstrom, whose outcomes differ radically: some succeed in going straight, and others find themselves sucked back into crime, while still others die violent deaths. All, however, get into crime for the same reason - to escape from destitution - and stick with it for the same reason: because they have attained an insatiable desire for money and power. Director filters it all through the eyes of Koistinen, a local cop who witnesses everything as the years unfurl.
| “ | Every country has its mainstream and underground filmmakers; in Finland the most well-known and popular modern director of all might be Aleksi Mkel. Many of his films, mostly produced by Markus Selin of Solar Films, have achieved great popularity and often feature the most famous Finnish actors in lead roles. My own favourite of Mkel's work is probably The Tough Ones (1999), but his latest crime drama Rperi is very watchable as well, an opinion shared by the common public (the film was the most watched domestic movie in its year of release). The story is loosely based on a non-fiction book about the life of a former criminal Tom Sjberg. At the beginning in 1966, Tomppa (Samuli Edelmann) and his friends Krisu and Kari (Peter Franzn and Kari Hietalahti) are getting fed up with the small scale of their illegal liquor selling business in Punavuori, Helsinki ("Rperi" of the title). With hard fists and even harder attitudes they expand their territories and make more money, but are also aware that their criminal lifestyle can only have three different outcomes: going straight, prison or death. Tomppa is the most responsible of the bunch and opens a sex shop to earn a (somewhat) honest living for himself and his wife Monika (Pihla Viitala), while Kari cannot really get a grip on life after losing his mother. Krisu, in turn, becomes involved in drug trading with devastating consequences. Markus Selin productions have always had an "international" feel to them, meaning that they have spent good money to make the films look professional and that the production values are decent. Rperi is not an exception; the Helsinki of the 1960s and 70s looks very stylish, largely thanks to the experienced cinematographer Pini Hellstedt. Especially the streets in the menacing opening scene bask in beautiful green light and many of the shady interiors are handsomely shadowy. Certain camera angles and movements are also showier than in average Finnish movies, but luckily do not cross the border into annoying, distracting trickery. The core of the film, the story, is fairly interesting too. The very spine of the plot is Tomppa's development from a street thug to an increasingly honest businessman despite personal tragedies and his feelings of responsibility regarding his wife and friends who just cannot see where their lives are heading at until it is already too late. Tomppa is very nicely portrayed by the charismatic singer-actor Samuli Edelmann, but Kari Hietalahti and Peter Franzn don't fall behind one bit in their roles of Kari and Krisu respectively – the latter's performance as the miserable junkie actually belongs among the best I have seen in any recent Finnish film. The supporting actors do good work as well, particularly Pekka Valkeejrvi as the brutal rivaling criminal Uki and Juha Veijonen as the fatherly police lieutenant Koistinen. The one exception would be the way too young-looking Jasper Pkknen in the role of the mobster Korppu: he makes without a doubt the least convincing gangster boss I have ever seen in any movie. In spite of the mostly great acting and carefully created visuals, some things hold Rperi back from being a really great film. For one thing, I feel the use of music is often too openly manipulative, even corny. The presumably exaggerated badassness of the antagonists Uki and Korppu does not always ring true and evokes feelings of style over substance at points, but on the other hand it is good that Finnish cinema is not always so afraid of stylization and flair. In any case, Tomppa's story is worth telling with or without flashiness and the movie never feels boring despite the 120+ minute runtime. The first time I saw it at the theater I didn't care for Rperi much, but after a rewatch on DVD it started seeming a lot more dramatic and interesting than before. Perhaps a less tough, more low-key approach could have improved the movie, but I like it as it is now as well. IMDB Reviewer | ” |
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