Lapland Odyssey (2010) User Reviews

Anti-depressant

[dumsumdumfai · 8/10 · 11 September 2010]

The Finnish mind as described by the director as such: When Newsweek published an article stating Finland is the best place to live, ppl in Finland didn't believed it and prove the stats wrong by recalculating. The new result hoisted Sweden, the Fin's neighbour and nemesis. Reminancent of Ben Hammer's explanation of Kitchen Stories.

Before going into the film, I looked up that Lapland is a geographic region of northern Finland or other close-by neighbours. Apparently, unemployment is high, and as the director put it - it is not surprising to have suicide rates greater than traffic mortality rates. And given the sparse traffic - that high ratio (not necessarily #) may not be shocking. (all info by the director)

This film has that in mind (also explained the director @tiff 2010) - a non-didactic look to lift Northern Finns out of their second best performances, inheritance and even mentality.

The story is basically a winter road movie, and like all road movies, it is about discovery of self - but with sort of a funny twist. I like the fact that the characters are fairly real and likable, not eccentric for the "quirky need" of being eccentric at all. The 3 main friends each have their own hang-ups, and along the way finding each own solutions. The downside is - I didn't see "how" all the decision came about - as in real life - change, drastic, life altering change takes time. If only a movie can capture that. But still a good ride.

** spoilers*** This is probably just me, but the funniest sequence for me is the bar fight. The fight goes outdoors, but the stationary camera is from behind the bar - focusing on a glass of beer.

And on top, the quick background 5 min introduction part is priceless. But the ending is a bit too optimistic for me. But I accept it for the good intention that it means and needs to be.

Fun and entertaining

[mistoppi · 8/10 · 24 August 2017]

I've seen Napapiirin Sankarit or Lapland Odyssey once before in Middle School, when we watched it in class. At the time I didn't have my blog nor did I think that much of movies, and especially Finnish movies felt almost foreign to me, so I rarely watched any outside of school at least.

Someone actually talked about the way this film starts in school – because it doesn't start with the main character Janne. It starts with his friend and his narration. He talks about the tree many men in the area used to hang themselves from. It's an interesting way to start, mostly because that's super dark – but it suits the movie and it suits Finland – but also because there has to be a shift in the point of view, if you want to change from the side character to the main character. That shift works well though. It's smooth, and it feels natural to start following Janne not getting the digital TV box.

The story is fun, and it's entertaining to see what kind of misadventures the main characters get themselves into. It's not the most original comedy out there, when you consider it globally, but at least around the time when it came out, it stood out from most of Finnish comedies. Mostly it's not as bad as some, since there are Finnish comedies I refuse to watch because of the cast and the fact that the movies are remakes of a Danish comedy. I'm not mentioning the movie by name, but I think my Finnish readers know exactly what I'm talking about. Also Napapiirin Sankarit did win four Jussi awards, for best direction, best film, best screenplay and people's choice award, and a Silver Dolphin for best cinematography at Tróia International Film Festival, and two awards at Alpe d'Huez International Comedy Film Festival.

Napapiirin Sankarit is entertaining and it looks amazing, and it takes place in the north, which is a plus since most modern movies seem to take place in the southern Finland. It's definitely worth seeing, whether or not you're from Finland or elsewhere, except most Finnish people have probably seen it already. However I'm not sure about the sequels. I haven't seen them, and they are not directed by Dome Karukoski, but at least the third one is directed by Tiina Lymi, who also directed one of my favourite Finnish movies, Äkkilähtö. Not sure if I'll ever watch them though, since they feel forced. The first one is always the best, right?

Hilarious take on Finnish stereotypes

[Vartiainen · 7/10 · 11 January 2016]

One of Dome Karukoski's earlier films and certainly one of his funniest, Lapland Odyssey is essentially a catastrophe road-trip movie. A deadbeat man living in the months long night of Lapland gets an ultimatum from his wife. Either he gets her the digital television adapter he has been promising her for ages, or they're through. And he only has until the morning to do so. The only problem? It's already late evening, he has no car and the nearest all-night electronics store is hundreds of kilometers away.

From that basic setting we end up getting one of the funniest Finnish films I've ever seen. And I think the reason why I found this to be so funny, when Finnish film humour usually does nothing for me, is the fact that the characters take it so seriously. For the man and his two equally deadbeat friends this is truly an odyssey. They're on a quest to save to man's marriage and they will go to extreme lengths to achieve their goal. No winking at the camera, no forced jokes, no pop culture or modern events references. Just great characters and them getting into trouble.

The film is also beautifully shot, well-acted and features some stunning shots of winter Lapland. If I had to name one problem, I'd say that the Finnish stereotypes can be a bit forced from time to time. Oftentimes they're the best source of humour in the film, but from time to time they wander into groan territory. Still, a very minor problem in the grand scheme of things.

Lapland Odyssey is certainly worth a watch for all fans of comedy and for all those that have liked one of Karukoski's other films.

Consistent greatness with one blunder

[Quarantaine · 7/10 · 20 March 2022]

Oh, wow. This ending is one of the finest I've ever seen. Absolutely brilliant. The movie Hangover has clearly been riding along when Pekko Pesonen typed this madness down. His scenes are seriously over you, like a group of killer bikini chicks. Very nice. At first I thought I had walked into an exhausting exercise in endurance of sole stupidity, but then I realized my mistake. These buddies are in fact in a confused state of mind due to unemployment. Hence mentally crippled and do the best they can. This is a very unfortunate clarity blunder, but otherwise director Dome Karukoski's movie is a master class in consistency. Much thanks to Jussi Vatanen's believable laid back style.

I thought it was good plain fun

[paaskynen · 7/10 · 13 September 2015]

In the past years a smattering of films was released that were set in Lapland. Swedish titles like Frostbiten and Babas Bilar (both from 2006) come to mind as well as in Finland Rare Exports and Lapland Odyssey (both from 2010).

All these films are characterised by what may be described as a typically northern, undercooled type of humor. And, typically, they are all set during the dark, snowy Arctic winter.

Lapland Odyssey (Napapiirin sankarit) is more than the others a straightforward comedy. The protagonist is your typical slacker. In an American road movie, he'd be a pothead, but in Lapland alcohol is still the drug of choice. This loser is set the task to, for one time in his life, not disappoint his girlfriend. His fluctuating luck sees him among other things nearly drowned by an all-female underwater rugby team and nearly shot by Russians and after all his tribulations he is left empty-handed standing in front of the house, ready to acknowledge defeat when a deus ex machina arrives...

I thought it was actually worth watching.

Immature Mens' Road Trip, Finnish-Style

[alisonc-1 · 31 July 2011]

In northern Finland in December, Inari (Pamela Tola) has had enough of her slacker husband of 9 years, Janne (Jussi Vatanen); first, she's given him 50 Euros to buy a digital recorder but he's blown the money on booze and just fooling around. So she gives him an ultimatum – bring home a digital box by 9 AM tomorrow or she's leaving. Janne and his two buddies Kapu (Jasper Paakkonen) and Tapio (Timo Lavikainen) set off in a borrowed car to the nearest big town, 200 kilometres away. Janne has no idea how he'll find the money to buy the machine, but he's sure he'll think of something. In the meantime, he doesn't know that an old flame of Inari's has decided to make moves of his own on her in Janne's absence....

This is your basic winter road trip movie, Finnish-style. The men are all in their 30s and completely irresponsible; the women are all long-suffering but willing to give their guys just a little bit more time in the hopes that they'll somehow grow up. There's various high-jinks, run-ins with cops, naked men running around with paintball guns – oh, and an underwater rugby team made up entirely of gorgeous Swedish women. Your tolerance of this movie will relate directly to your tolerance for all such movies; I suspect men will find it funnier than women, overall, and women are more likely to just roll their eyes. Performances are all fine, but the plot just does not appeal.

Quirky silly-but-feelgood comedy which won't bore you...

[OneSentenceReview · 8/10 · 22 February 2022]

...just read the (unfortunately few) positive english reviews they are basically right and more eloquent written than mine. Good fun, good laughs with friends or to cheer you up alone,including un-predictable story turns hence will keep you watch it to the end, what does one want more?

The setting in middle finnland with its grim long dark winter but people totally used to it added a bit of insight how things can be up there (I've been there).

These negative english reviews (among the very few english ones in total (11) even now in 2022) bug me a bit, as there are sooo many reeally (really!) bad english films/comedies around and whe there's a foreign one, they let rip - why not relearn to laugh a little about "simple" jokes again?

Crazy film

[nicholls905-280-546911 · 7/10 · 22 June 2019]

This is one of those films that provide enough set pieces to pay off the simplistic plot. The film grows more outlandish by the minute and even when you think it is about to go on the straight and narrow, it takes another bizarre turn. Is it a genre defining movie? No. It is a movie that ticks the boxes and is fun in the process. Likable characters and a crazy plot allow for a film that is going to divide the audience. I enjoyed it.

Odyssey Lapland.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 6/10 · 12 June 2017]

Before watching what was expected to be a dull UK General Election,I decided to watch an easy-going movie. Taking a look at DVDs a pal recently got,I spotted a Finnish Comedy! This led to me skiing down to Lapland.

The plot:

Sick of seeing Janne just stay in bed, Inari gives him orders to go and buy a digital TV box. Seeing her request gets ignored again, Inari tells Janne that if he does not get a box,she will leave him. Stumbling outside,Janne gathers his mates and goes in search of the Lapland digital box.

View on the film:

Whilst not being set in the holiday season,director Dome Karukoski & cinematographer Pini Hellstedt still cast a Christmassy atmosphere,with the lads going in search for a digital box over tracking shots of snow covered trees and frosty breath. Keeping the Sex Comedy aspect light and playful, Karukoski reveals an eyeful of skin,but keeps it related to the lads quest. Shoving Janne off his bed to finally enter the outside world,the screenplay by Pekko Pesonen leaps between a mix of Sex Comedy and gross farce,as Janne goes on a Lapland Odyssey.

A dull farce comedy packed with usual Finnish clichés

[ernesti · 3/10 · 1 January 2013]

Napapiirin sankarit is an overly hyped Finnish movie that was said to portray a life of Finnish men. Well firstly the main characters in this film are hollow caricatures of the group of people they portray. They are nothing but stupid and live on welfare. That just seems boring and offensive enough and just every aspect of the plot is made clear in the beginning. I only found myself smiling a few times but that doesn't really make a good comedy because the film itself was dragging all the way.

It felt like the film lacked many elements that make it watchable and smooth. Firstly the characters weren't all that interesting, they just were plain stupid. Now that isn't enough for a viewer to actually care about them. Secondly the plot seriously needed more depth to it to make it last for the 90 minutes. Thirdly it seems like the script was written in a day as it isn't that complex. Fourthly the old and used clichés should have been avoided because this film is just full of them.

Lastly, all Finnish movies need some Russian character to misbehave or just remind of the second world war. It's amazing how many clichés can be packed in just one movie.

Of course i understand that in farce comedies everything seems to go wrong but at least it should be funny. I don't know that would i actually need a mindset of a woman to actually find the overall silliness of the men really funny.

Falls a bit flat the longer it goes, but as a whole not too bad

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 12 December 2018]

If you are in the mood for a (North) European pointless comedy movie, maybe with a bit of hullaballoo and guilty pleasure potential, then "Napapiirin sankarit" is not a bad choice overall. The English title is "Lapland Odyssey", so now you already know about the location where this one plays. And it is a defining location for sure as this means lots of bleakness and rather cold surroundings and environments. But the film still has a lot of warmth to offer and it shows that director Karukoski and writer Pesonen are fairly experienced and kinda well-known in Finland, maybe Scandinavia as a whole even. This 90-minute film scored a decent deal of awards recognition and must have been a really good hit commercially too as they did not only come up with one, but two sequels since this original was released. And from what I saw they got most cast members back for these, including Jussi Vatanen who plays the main character, a likable loser, well this description fits pretty much all his friends too in here. To me, the film felt a bit like a Finnish version of the old Lemon Popsicle movies, maybe with less nudity, but content- and humor-wise very similar. And yes, it is definitely all about the comedy here, never about the drama although subjects like break-ups and cheating do exist here and even some crime and violence too. It is a bit of a road movie without the road if you want to say so and again it is not the best idea to be an animal in film, especially not this film. What else can I write. Oh yeah the idea that the girlfriend wants her digital received to watch Titanic is a nice recurring running gag. Just like everything that results from it, like when they are running into all these receivers early on actually, but they cannot or don't want to take any of these. Afterward, the level gets a bit worse, even if there are occasional delightful moments again like with the guy falling in love with the older self of a naked video game character he's been crushing on and I am kinda glad for him they found each other eventually. But there are also lengthy weak sequences, like the one with the hot women in the pool or one other friend who adds virtually nothing at all in my opinion. Huge thumbs-up to Kari Ketonen though. He is really great fun here and a scene stealer every time he is one doing so well with depicting the human version of a weasle, or maybe a chameleon that knows very well how to adapt and cause mayhem, also physically, but is just never really accepted. A bit of a tragic character really with how much he really seems to care for the female protagonist too because of something that was a long long time ago. But yeah well done to Ketonen and a deserving Finnish Film Award nomination for him definitely. He is maybe the positive deal breaker for me that elevates this film from forgettable to solid and maybe the main reason wyh I give it a thumbs-up overall, despite some glaring weaknesses, and recommend chcking it out if you are in the mood for something I mentioned very early on in my review. If so, then go for it!

A few scenes of boobs, booze and bravado - big deal.

[westsideschl · 2/10 · 11 September 2013]

An unimaginative guy's booze, boobs and bravado flick. A loafer boyfriend is told by his girlfriend that he needs to get a cablebox so they can watch "Titanic" or she leaves so he and his two similarly goofball, loafer, less-than-responsible buddies drive what is suppose to be a couple of hundred kilometers (the actual times and distances make 10 kilos more likely) looking for a store or some other source that has the cablebox. Essentially the movie showcases the dumb slapstick mistakes they make at a level that would make a juvenile hyped. Made in 2010 and now being released in DVD so that tells you something.

Don't believe the trailer!

[MosquitoMagnet · 3 January 2018]

I thought it was going to be a hilarious comedy, Hangover style - with stupid, but believable characters and comprehensible plot. Instead it was a mess to watch. The actions of the morons made no sense. Their personalities were unbelievable. Maybe if they were completely stoned, but they weren't! It wouldn't have mattered much to me if the situations they found themselves in were funny, but I couldn't even laugh at them! I kept waiting and hoping for the film to get better, to resemble the trailer I saw... I should have known better.