Pihalla - Auf zu neuen Ufern

The story might seem familiar on the surface, but it is astonishingly well executed--with a special flavor, a unique sensibility. Highly recommended.

This is way too long, but it still offers quite a watchable look at the lives of two teenagers who don't have their demons to seek, and who manage to bring out the best, and some honesty, from each other. "Miku" (Mikko Kauppila) and his brother "Sebu" (Juho Keskitalo) have a party at which their parent's house gets pretty trashed. His dad is pretty laid back, but his mother is livid and so off to a remote cabin they go for the summer vacation. Initially bored, "Miku" meets up with the handsome "Elias" (Valtteri Lehtinen), a confident lad who knows exactly what he wants from his new friend. It doesn't take them long, nor are we left in any doubt as to the nature (no need for nurture here) of the rest of the story. It does offer us a little depth to their characters, with the harridan of a mother actually having a few mitigating worries of her own, and with the former having both a mother and a sister who might give cause for concern. It's too dialogue heavy, and the sex scenes are photographed in such a clumsy fashion as to really stifle the natural nature of the story. That said, the scenery is beautiful, there is a bit of comedy to lighten the mood now and again, and the two young men offer us just enough to keep it going.

Nice little Finnish movie. Would have been even better with a more polished production and some (mainly the mothers) not so over the top characters.

When i red the very banal two-line-plot on IMDb, I thought i will watch a cliché gay summer movie, a typical love story encluding malignant parents, hater society, etc. This movie is nothing like that. Very original and well acted characters (especially the mothers), very nicely written and directed script, very understandable but not cliché situations which are seemingly from the real life (oh those little details!). I have to mention the camera work - photography is just nice. Watch this movie if you want a nice summer evening with thoughts and emotions, but not the overloaded Holywood way. I didn't regret a moment of it.

I was bored, and this is what you feel while watching a movie with no end purpose. There are other films out there that say the same story better. This has nothing to add up.

5 stars only for the acting.