Kielipuolipotilas

Kielipuolipotilas / The Dumb Show is one of Neil Hardwicks lasting contributions to Finnish television. KPP is a story about a foreign diplomat who tries to help a fallen drunkard by bringing him to a hospital but because of a misunderstanding is taken in himself. The fun starts when he tries to explain his way out.

The point of the film is that although both the diplomat and the local people talk a lot, the former in a Slavic-sounding and the latter in a remarkably Finnish-like language, both languages are actually invented ones. Because of this it doesn't really matter what country you are from: you won't understand anything of what they say anyway - except for a few words you learn during the show.

This short film progresses slowly, perhaps even too slowly for some tastes, but for me it allows the main character to develop a deeper personality - as much as you can develop a personality in a silent movie. And, as in proper comedy, the situations for the poor diplomat grow more difficult as the story progresses. Although I cannot guarantee that you'll like Kielipuolipotilas, I'd still recommending giving it a try if you get the chance.

Trivia: When this short film was sent to the Eurovision entertainment program contest, Norwegians complained that they couldn't understand it because it wasn't properly subtitled.

Trivia: While watching Kielipuolipotilas, you may learn a few words of the made-up languages. Particularly, "tixis tixis", which supposedly means "thank you", is still sometimes used in Finland after more than 25 years after showing this short film.