Leo Lastumäki
1928 - 2012
Elokuu
Matti Kassila
Toivo Mäkelä, Emma Väänänen
The title of the Finnish film Elokuu translates to August. Directed by Matti Kassila, one of Finland's premiere filmmakers, Elokuu was adapted from a novel by Nobel prize winning finnish author F.E. Sillanpää. Simply put, the story concerns the decline and fall of a once-proud family, thanks to the alcoholism of its paterfamilias. Toivo Makela delivers a powerfully effective performance as the inebriated protagonist, avoiding the usual "drunken" cliches. The overlong running time, coupled with the downbeat nature of the subject, limited the film's worldwide appeal.
The Harvest Month
Dog Nail Clipper
Markku Pölönen
Peter Franzén, Taisto Reimaluoto
Bright young soldier Mertsi suffers a permanent brain injury in the Second World War. In the late 1940s he wanders around the Finnish countryside looking for simple work and relying on other people's help. A workmate, Ville, tells him about his clever Spitz dog back home and the problems with her overlong dew claws. Together with his helpful war buddy Eetvi, Mertsi joins a lumber camp in the middle of a freezing winter, tries hard but finds the work there too strenuous for his body and mind. While he still sees nightmares about the war, in the daytime he keeps dreaming and worrying about the dog...
Dog Nail Clipper
Tulitikkuja lainaamassa
Leonid Gayday, Risto Orko
Evgeni Leonov, Vyacheslav Nevinnyy
In Eastern Finland, in Liperi to be exact, Anna-Liisa Ihalainen asks her husband Antti to get some matches from the Ihalainen household. Unfortunately that trip takes a little longer than expected...
For the Matches
Lampaansyöjät
Seppo Huunonen
Heikki Kinnunen, Leo Lastumäki
Valtteri and Sepe, two ordinary white-collar guys from southern Finland drive up north to implement a plan they've been hatching for months. Because they simply love the taste of lamb, baked "robber-style" in a hole dug under a campfire, they forge their car's number plates and other important documents just to be able to poach sheep grazing on the roadside without getting caught. Lots of man talk around the campfire, aided by lots of booze. The summer may be wet, but the vodka is definitely dry.
Lampaansyöjät
Rautakauppias Uuno Turhapuro, presidentin vävy
Ere Kokkonen
Vesa-Matti Loiri, Marjatta Raita
Uuno Turhapuro, a useless bum who has married money, creates havoc around his father-in-law's presidential campaign. He dresses up as his long-lost, wealthy brother from America, but things go awry when the real brother appears. At some point Uuno takes up a job at a hardware store, only to warm up a classic TV sketch perfected years earlier by the film's writer-producer Spede Pasanen. Written by Markku Kuoppamäki
Rautakauppias Uuno Turhapuro, presidentin vävy
Uuno Turhapuro Suomen Tasavallan Herra Presidentti
Ere Kokkonen
Vesa-Matti Loiri, Tapio Hämäläinen
Uuno Turhapuro becomes the President of Finland. Streets are named after him and honorary companies are arranged for him. He also tries to turn Finland into a kingdom.
Uuno Turhapuro Suomen Tasavallan Herra Presidentti
