6 modern movies that tell you all you need to know about Finland

Finnish cinema is a tough racket. Its scope is limited by a minuscule market of 5.4 million inhabitants who speak an unusual language. Even big mainstream movie productions rely on grants to be feasible. Unlike their Swedish colleagues, Finnish filmmakers do not get a boost from a potential audience of neighbouring countries who understand the language.

Despite this, a bunch of modern Finnish movies deliver as widely understandable art. Many reflect particular recurring themes of struggles, melancholy and nature.

Rare Exports (2010)

Santa Claus is a type of monster found in Lapland. Based on a previous short film in which wild Santas are captured and sold, Rare Exports gives the genre of Christmas themed comedy horrors a boost. The late film critic Roger Ebert compared the idea to “The Thing” where an alien found in Antarctica begins to thaw.

What it says about Finland: Its people are slowly waking up to the full potential of harvesting all natural resources.

Frozen Land (Paha maa, 2005)

Based loosely on Leo Tolstoy’s “The Forged Coupon”, a series of events is triggered by a teacher losing his job and his son spending counterfeit money. Sickness and bad karma spread during an alienating, cold winter trip through Helsinki revolving around alcoholism, violence and deadly mistakes. Frozen Land is not a particularly uplifting movie but remains among the best Finnish drama movies of the past decade.

What it says about Finland: Winter is coming. It does not bring out the best in people.

The Man Without a Past (Mies vailla menneisyyttä, 2002)

Director Aki Kaurismäki is the internationally renowned Finnish avant-garde filmmaker. The Man Without a Past may be his best known movie. It operates within a well established low-key style. A working class man newly arrived in Helsinki loses his memory after a violent mugging. The film follows the protagonist as he reestablishes himself on the outskirts of society among other marginalised characters. Kaurismäki displays a longing for simpler times and pulls off a relaxed pacing and settings that feel ageless.

What it says about Finland: You will feel more at home if you learn to appreciate the empty space between conversations.

Iron Sky (2012)

Iron Sky is a comedy. Nazis fled to the moon at the end of WWII and they are making a huge armed comeback in 2018. A Sarah Palin lookalike is the president of the United States of America. Udo Kier does a super-creepy bad guy. Stylistically speaking, Iron Sky is not for everyone. It flies past regular slapstick humour and any Austin Powers sequel straight into camp territory. Director Timo Vuorensola used a lifehack approach to filmmaking by turning to the internet for crowdsourced funding and production assistance. That is beautiful engineering.

What it says about Finland: At the Russian border, you will lose your mind to anxiety if you do not poke some occasional fun at geopolitics.

Mother of Mine (Äideistä parhain, 2006)

During WWII, tens of thousands of Finnish children were sent to neutral Sweden to avoid the horrors of war. Mother of Mine follows Eero as he struggles with feelings of being abandoned by his biological mother. Matters are complicated further by Eero’s tumultuous relationship with his surrogate mum.

What it says about Finland: It takes over half a century to really open up about war trauma.