Komisario Palmun erehdys

By all accounts prolific Finnish writer Mika Waltari suffered from manic depression and should he have seen the Hollywood version of his great historical novel 'The Egyptian' his condition could only have been exacerbated. By way of contrast his contribution to the crime genre, the Inspector Kalmu Trilogy, has been brought to the screen with tremendous flair and imagination by fellow Finn Matti Kassila and features one of his country's most respected artistes Joel Rinne as the bluff detective, made up to bear a remarkable resemblance to Joseph Stalin which may or may not have been coincidental.

The second in the trilogy, it is the first to be filmed and the modus operandi of the 'murder mystery' is on full display here with its twists and turns, red herrings galore and an ensemble of deliciously diverse characters, some of whom verge on the caricature. Kassila has choreographed his players well, the pacing is spot on and Osmo Lindeman's score suitably bizarre.

It has been voted by Finnish critics and journalists as Finland's greatest film but this viewer is not sufficiently well up on that country's cinema to judge whether this status be justified.

This inventive, darkly humorous pastiche is eminently watchable however and has the advantage of being sub-titled. How best to describe it? The phrase 'Agatha Christie on steroids' springs to mind.

An intricately constructed locked-room murder mystery that demands your full attention or you'll be lost quickly in its multiple characters, subplots, and flashbacks. Joel Rinne is a delight as the wily Inpsector Palmu, and he is surrounded by an effective supporting cast, with Elina Pohjanpää especially cute as Irma. There may be a tad too much talk in this film, but the sheer novelty of watching a Finnish production, and a well-done at that, in this genre is enough to hold your attention. It was followed by three sequels, all with the same star and director, and I am sufficiently motivated to check out at least the first of them and see how it goes. The title is a bit strange, though - I didn't see any "error" on Palmu's part. *** out of 4.

This is an absolutely delightful movie, one of my all time favourites. It is a mixture of comedy, exitement, dark humor etc. The actors work terrificly as in every Komisario Palmu movie. This movie has great turns and it always succees to scare me deliciously on the end. You can´t get tired of this movie, I can assure you that!

"Director and scenarist Matti Kassila is well versed in the modus operandi of a whodunit, every suspect has something to hide, which can be traced by their individual temperaments. It is a smorgasbord of one-note performers, a buffoonish lush Aimo (Siimes) and his seemingly innocuous sister Airi (Salo), whose finance Erik (Oravisto, showing horrible teeth) is a humorless square. There is Bruno's harpy aunt Amalia (Saara Ranin, a hairy mole near her mouth almost steals her thunder) and his estranged wife Alli (Mantsas) who has a proclivity of hysteria. Also obliviously join the fold is a meet-cute between an appealing socialite Irma (Pohjanpää) and a name writer Laihonen (Riuttu). Ergo, it requests some quality time to suss the whole ensemble, plus subtitle-reading does not help."

read my full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks

Komisarion Palmun erehdys (Inspector Palmu's Error) is based on a book in the detective series by Mika Valtari, a celebrated Finnish author. Thus, it has some of the best scripts in movies I have seen, and in style quite close to Agatha Christie's classic crime mysteries. Having read the book first on which the film is based, it is very faithfully translated to the screen, and even surpasses it in many respects. It is the best one of the film versions of Inspector Palmu books, and well worth seeing.

A rich playboy is murdered in his bath in his manor, and the grumpy and cynical old Inspector Palmu along with his youthful and eager, yet naive assistant must discover who did the crime. A thorough investigation of all the suspects follows, and keeps you in suspense until the end. Telling more would spoil the plot, you had better see the movie yourself.

Acting is excellent, especially by the actor in the main role of Inspector Palmu. There are no unnecessary pauses or gaps in the story, and its keeps going forward. Visual and set design is excellent, and supports the story, while not being overly lavish either. I watched the movie multiple times already and enjoyed each one of those viewings.