Populärmusik från Vittula

The movie came out here in our city before 9 months but only some small cinemas showed it. It wasn't easy to find a cinema so I waited till the DVD was out. I rented the DVD last night and I have to admit that I wanted to watch that movie since over 4 months but never found it at my place. I laughed, I felt disgusted, I had silent moments and maybe even a small tear dropped out of my eye ;). And that is what I expect from a good movie - it has to touch me inside and make me wanting to talk about it. The movie has many raw scenes but at the same time also subtle moments. It is about friendship, become and being a man and follow your dreams - it is raw and poetic! And I saw it today again to get every detail of that wonderful movie.

Just saw the film for the fourth time, and thought I'd chip in on the discussion. It seems to me a lot of the criticism the film meets is about the incoherence of scenes, and the kaleidoscopic manuscript. Well, as it is a retrospective view upon a time long gone, I find it trustworthy and natural that the memory of the narrator is thus fragmented. That is how the mind works. And the narration is never torn, but keeps flowing. Yes, it is absurd, yes, it is grotesque, but this is what we call magic realism, a genre often attributed to south American writers. Here, the book that lays basis for the film, intelligently mixes the exotic air of magic with the harsh environment of Pajala. Enough about that. I find this one of the best examples of a successful adaption from book to film I have long seen. I do not see the bad acting that many point out. The dialects may vary, I am not Swedish and cannot tell, so I'm save from harm there. All in all, the ambiance of the film is sort of "happy in spite" and I am impressed every time. But I am a sucker for that magic realism, so bare that in mind.

9/10

This film is about the relationship between two boys growing up together in a small town in the north of Sweden. Their nickname for the town is "Vittula" (roughly translated: The P*ssy fields).

The movie contains violence, sex, nudity and rough language without having any of those ingredients taking away focus from the actual story. In my opinion, it's also rare for a movie to successfully combine comedy and drama. Here the two parts are well balanced and will give you both laughter and sadness.

However, the movie have two weak spots.

1. Since I haven't read the book, I found myself filling in blanks in the story. It isn't always clear what event follows another. Sometimes it's almost like a highlight reel of events taking place in no specific order. Maybe this is how the director intended it to be or maybe how the book is written, but this was kind of annoying for me.

2. Some actors change their accent from scene to scene, which of course take away a lot of credibility from their character. If an actor can't fake a typical northern accent of Swedish for the full lenght of the movie, it would be better if they just stick with their natural accent.

Most people I have spoken to seems to have enjoyed this movie in one way or another, maybe because the story is set so close to home and feels somewhat familiar. (I hope that this movie will be appreciated by people in Finland and in the southern parts of Sweden as well.)

Cast and crew worth to mention are: Director Reza Bagher for taking the initiative to start this project which turned out to be a nice movie (even though some of the scenes don't fit especially well into the storyline, as I mentioned before). Actors Jarmo Mäkinen, Björn Kjellman and Lennart Jähkel for great acting performances.

I rate this movie 6/10.

I have just seen the film, and i loved it! I've read the book and it was a lot better because it had more details, but the film has a certain atmosphere of it's own that is quite magic. The way the story is told is great, and you really get involved with the film. And it is very funny as well! I emmidiately felt the urge to go see the magnificent landscapes in the film, and maybe i will some day. I loved the actors in it, Björn Kellman is always wonderful to watch, but the younger actors were great too. I liked Andreas af Enehjelm (Niila) in particular, he seems to be a very sensitive actor. Let's have more Finnish and Swedish films, the languages are beautiful and the stories go straight to the heart!

As a movie this was pretty much the same as the book: good, but not instant classic. Though I am sure there are lots of people who will disagree with me on the book part.

For technical point of view there is nothing wrong with the flick: acting is good, directing is good, the whole packet works. It even has some pretty funny scenes in it.

My main problem was with the plot itself: this was hardly anything new under the sun. Just another nostalgic driven view of someones childhood and coming of age.

I could have given better score, but my personal favourite scene was left out. I know it wouldn't have much, actually any general plot influence, but I just would have wanted to see it in.

Nothing more to say, see it if you like the genre.