La vera storia di Olli Mäki

Very, very good film. An unusual one with the boxing theme. Must see it. It will stay for you long after it has ended. 1962, black and White, Finnish movie. Amazing.

A baker in Finland, through an unsuspected order in his life, finds himself in exercises for boxing world championship whereas he was joining only amateur competitions before ten matches. This is a movie of an ordinary man's falling in limbo of his common life and the new life surrounded by sponsors, journalists, filmmakers, parties, feasts and shows. Olli's girlfriend represents his ordinary and peaceful life while the championship represents the new life. Movie has great scenes knitted by awesome cinematography and acting performances; plain, unexagerrated and aesthetic.

I really enjoyed this movie. I thought I might be put off by the black and white or that it would be dull (I'm not terribly interested in boxing) but instead I loved the black and white - it was incredibly beautiful, and I never found myself bored. Instead it was sweet and charming and very romantic and I found my self both chuckling and at other times, with tears welling up. Very nicely done. My husband, who is more an action adventure kind of guy - liked it enough but didn't love it as much as I did.

A beautiful film. not memorable. but real nice. about love, sport, media pressure, a honest and modest man . nothing to reproach . nothing bad. only sin - impression to see a sketch. the viewer options for colors and lines, for define it as boxing story or love story is the thing who transforms the film as a spring drawing. the absence of director to give real roots to the story is, maybe, the lead error. sure, it is a biopic and the "true events" are enough for a reasonable adaptation. but you expect more than a neutre , interesting portrait. sure, one of good points is the predictability of story. you know the end. you expect it. and the basic motif for not be bored or apathetic is the performances of Oona Airola,Jarkko Lahti and Eero Milonoff. I admitt, I expected with enthusiasm to see this film. and I was not dissapointed. because it is a beautiful film.

Overall, a good movie with a good story and a good direction. There is no dramatic event, but 'The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki' narrates Olli's journey to the most important game in his life calmly, peacefully, and honestly just like what everyday looks like for everyone. Because the movie does not add ANY salt or pepper, it loses intensity and density along the way especially toward the ending. The championship boxing match is supposed to be the peak or the burst of emotion and highlight of the film, but there isn't any emotion stored for more than an hour. The direction of the match does not meet the expectation. If you look at it from another perspective, it's a great achievement to lead 90 minutes without any particular events with a strong plot.