This is not only my first encounter with Finnish director Kauriskmaki but also the very first film I've ever watched coming out of Finland. Still, I was aware of his work not least from the admiration heaped upon him by a Venetian friend of mine (who also happens to be something of an authority on Jesus Franco)!! Now that I've watched this one, I can certainly see why this director is held in high esteem by critics and adventurous film buffs alike.
While the film's narrative is perhaps too slight and its treatment too low-key for mainstream audiences, I found it to be a delightful little movie full of a remarkable humanity and a quirky sense of irony, which occasionally provides some very funny sequences indeed: the bank robbery sequence and its aftermath, the eventual transformation of an unassuming folk group into an energetic rock'n'roll band, etc. The cast, obviously, was totally unknown to me but the lead role of the bewildered amnesiac was sympathetically portrayed by Markku Peltola.
While the film's narrative is perhaps too slight and its treatment too low-key for mainstream audiences, I found it to be a delightful little movie full of a remarkable humanity and a quirky sense of irony, which occasionally provides some very funny sequences indeed: the bank robbery sequence and its aftermath, the eventual transformation of an unassuming folk group into an energetic rock'n'roll band, etc. The cast, obviously, was totally unknown to me but the lead role of the bewildered amnesiac was sympathetically portrayed by Markku Peltola.