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Klaus Härö’s “Never Alone” draws from real events and people during the Nazi years to tell the tale of a man who stood his ground with his ideals. Abraham Stiller (Ville Virtanen) runs a thriving textile business in Helsinki. He and his wife, Vera, are Jews who migrated from Tsarist Russia decades ago. The couple is part of local influential circles, having connections within the police as well. But how far does this immunize them or the Jewish refugee couple they take under their wing and give jobs?

What undoes the film, and whittles away some of its power is the frame narration rendered in trite, uninspired monochrome. A journalist is interviewing the businessman about his past. She questions him about Finland’s deportations of Jews in the 1940s despite it not being occupied by Germany. When she brings up the case of one deportee who survived the post-war trials,...

Tom Of Finland Kino Lorber Director: Dome Karukoski Written by: Aleksi Bardy based on a story by Aleksi Bardy and Dome Karukoski Cast: Pekka Strang, Lauri Tilkanen, Jessica Grabowsky, Taisto Oksanen, Seumas Sargent, Niklas Hogner, Jakob Oftebro, Kari Hietalahti Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 10/7/17 Opens: October 13, 2017 Given that Norway and Denmark were […]

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"Conquer America for me." Kino Lorber has debuted an official trailer for the Finnish indie drama Tom of Finland, a fictional feature film profile of the Finnish man who became known as "Tom of Finland". After returning home from WWII, Touko Laaksonen fled to America to escape homosexual persecution. There he established himself as one of the most influential and celebrated figures of 20th century gay culture. "Tom of Finland" drew erotic art of gay men, most often wearing leather outfits, which became a symbol of gay culture at the time. Pekka Strang plays "Tom of Finland", with a cast including Lauri Tilkanen, Jessica Grabowsky, Werner Daehn, and Kari Hietalahti. This premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year, and played at numerous other film festivals. It looks like it has a strong lead performance at least. Here's the first trailer (+ poster) for Dome Karukoski's Tom of Finland,...