Restless

I saw this on DVD with English subtitles (my Finnish is very limited).

Levottomat (The Restless) explores what happens when a wild card is introduced into a circle of friends, follow the mirth and merriment as Ari, a young medical doctor, weaves a path of emotional destruction amongst a group of six student friends in Turku.

The period covers a few months in Ari's life: his mother is terminally ill, he is unwilling or unable to make any emotional ties with any of his one night stands, then he meets Tiina... and her friends.

There are many aspects of Finnish life which are seen in this film, the drinking, Juhannus (midsummer), summer cottages, sauna culture etc., young people lacking experience in relationships... all of which are peculiar to the Nordic countries. You also see people in their mid-20s gallivanting around like freshers... Finland is not only a land of the midnight Sun, but also the land of the eternal student.

Be warned, there is a large amount of nudity and sex in this film, which to most people would seem pornographic, really it's not, well not all of it... Finns have a rather unique outlook on the naked body, perhaps due to their Sauna culture.

Well worth watching.

Jeah Levottomat is great piece of movie with lack of good script!Characters in the film are so shallow that it make me sick!But what is great is this movie?Mac Ahlberg's cinematography witch is marvelous!Only Kari sohlberg can do the same thing as Mac did!Also the freshness of the film is BIG plus! And the only good thing in the script that everything can be seen!I hope that Aki Louhimies makes films with better script because he's the man on the job!!!

A few weeks after this film was released, I had the opportunity to see it in Finland. Although it was subtitled and I don't speak very fluent Finnish, my Finnish friend, Kaisa, only had to translate a few questionable parts. I was very impressed with the quality of acting, directing, and cinematography. It appeared very equivocal to our lustrious Hollywood films. As I was visiting Helsinki in March, it was thrilling to see how Finland looked in the summer.

Being a typical "prude" American in regards to showing televised nudity, I was a little surprised at the extent of the sexual scenes. Luckily, I was introduced to Finland's policy regarding nudity before I saw this film. (Ever been to a public sauna in Helsinki?)

Even without the details of the dialogue, I greatly enjoyed the story. Kaisa told me that this film remains very controversial in Finland as some scenes give a poor portrayal of Finland's modern culture. The main racey scenes included: The bar scene showing Finnish women as VERY forward, and nothing short of...well..sluts; several scenes portraying adultery as morally justified; the bachelor party that ends up an orgy with two VERY young girls (maybe 12?); and the fact that the main character ends up with a female priest that cheats on her boyfriend!! Nevertheless, I think it did a good job portraying the loneliness 20-something individuals feel, even when they are "with" others. I think Mikko Nousianinen (II), Ari, did a great job portraying the mixture of emotional feelings in his position...his several positions.

In closing, I would like to say that this movie accomplished what it wanted to, and I will not hesitate to purchase a copy when it becomes available. Does anyone know when that is? Because I would really like to see this movie in an English subtitled version.

Levottomat is a very interesting movie. Quite unique in every sense, and sometimes steps on the border between drama and softcore porn, even if it doesn't really pass it. I found the acting to be pretty good, and the story is quite intriguing. The main character reminds me a lot of a very close friend of mine, so I couldn't keep from bursting out a laughter at times. Though this doesn't mean the movie was funny as in a comedy. Though it's still got its sad and funny sides in its own way. More like sad stuff, I would say. It's frustrating to see how those girls value their sexual joy more than their friendship. But hey buddy, this is life! :-(

The plot is handled well by the director, but could be a little better. Even a movie with such a "sexy" screenplay could have been deeper. I absolutely fell in love with the priest girl, Irina Björklund. She's very pretty, and is a great actress. And the head actor is really talented.

Levottomat is all in all a pretty good effort, in spite of being slightly commercial. I somehow do not look forward to seeing the sequels, because I have a strong feeling that the commerciality would have to be overly exaggerated if one was to make a sequel of this movie. I hope I get to see the sequels and they prove me wrong. But I have doubts about that.. Levottomat in itself is still good though. And right next door to being a classic due to its unique style.

*Recommended!*

The subject of this film is "ambivalence" to the core - exquisitely photographed by Mac Ahlberg, excellent ensemble acting led by Mikko Nousiainen as Ari, well written, witty, and deceptively clever on multiple levels, sexy, but not exploitive, featuring a kind of existential numbness to the beauty and meaning of the world spinning around Ari, who, while extremely attractive and intelligent, just doesn't have a clue about any sense of values or distinguishing importance about the people in his life, professionally or personally, whose lives are nearly destroyed by his self-centered, personally indulgent, yet unsatisfied life style, which freely allows him to pick up and screw other friend's girl friends without regard for the disastrous consequences, who lives in a perpetual state of lovelessness, sex for the sake of sex, so to speak, knowing virtually nothing about his partners, the less the better, such is the state of his emotional uninvolvement. The film links his sexual exploration with his quest for spiritual redemption, which, personally, I found a bit premature, as a guy like Ari will always be a wandering soul, an existential nomad, especially when his needs are strangled by so-called mainstream relationships. This is kind of a MAD MAX with sex rather than cars, as Ari is wandering through the same wastelands... I loved the music, and if anyone can turn me on to a soundtrack CD, I found none available in the states.

Robert