Long Good Thursday

Mielensäpahoittajan rakkaustarina

MIKA KAURISMÄKI
Finland, 2024
97 minutes, Color

We first meet Mielensäpahoittaja when his two feckless sons are trying to get him to move into a retirement home that lists "watching television" as its main feature. He storms out and ends his day, as usual, eating alone in the kitchen in front of a photo of his late wife. To say Mielen is set in his ways is an understatement. "House, car, missus" has been his philosophy for decades, until he meets artist/photographer Saimi in the grocery store. She tries to get Mielen to relax. "I haven't taken it easy since I was 9," is his shocked response. Saimi makes him risotto, a startling new dish for him. He fixes her furnace, and she takes photos of him as they begin exploring the gorgeous north Finnish countryside together. But can a relationship blossom when each person has their feet so firmly planted in different soil?—Dave Nuttycombe

In Finnish with English subtitles