Heart of a Lion (2013) User Reviews

Best Finnish movie that I have ever seen

[Movie_Reviews · 8/10 · 20 June 2014]

OK. I must admit: I have not seen to many Finnish movies. But the few that I have seen has been either really boring or, if it is a comedy, really boring.

But this one. WOW! Nothing short of stunning, with great performances all over. Not just from Peter Franzén but also from the rest of the crew, the Nazi fellows not the least. Jasper Pääkkönen (try saying that name really fast ten times) playing the brother in the film is equally good.

The movie has a message. But it is not made "down your throat". Just as the Nazis in the movie are acting stupid, so is the black father and the gypsies. So lots of people with different colored skin and different backgrounds, acting stupid. Not just one part. As often in the real world.

Makes me wonder if there are more good Finnish movies. At least this one gives me a certain hope that there might be. Or at least some to come.

Right way

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 23 September 2015]

I can't comment on movies from Finnland in general or if there have been better ones in recent past than this one. But I can tell you, that this one is pretty damn good. And hopefully you're not offended by the "d"-word, because there's much worse coming your way in this movie. And while most of it could be viewed as borderline cliché and predictable as to were it is heading, the movie itself is able to not only get away with it, but be mesmerizing nonetheless.

It's the central performances (which includes the kid) and also the sensibility with which the movie is handled by everyone involved. Unfortunately stuff like this happens in real life too and it's not just fiction. Is there hope though? For the character(s) involved and for us in general?

Best Finnish film, although that's not saying much. One single spoiler (I have an internal warning)

[opferacija · 7/10 · 19 December 2016]

The film industry suffers from a lot of problems - weak scripts, small pool of talent hogging everything and a claustrophobic, incestuous climate of recycled films/actors/ideas.

There's the obligatory film about the war with Russia, a whole bunch of wannabe Hollywood filmmakers that should stick to music videos and nothing of real quality worth noting.

When asked "Is there a good Finnish film to watch?" I would just say "no, not really." I'm not being unpatriotic, but you should just watch things that are good. Watching things out of patriotism is akin to charity.

This film is actually good. I would give it 6.7, but IMDb does not have fractions, so I rounded it up to seven, which is quite generous.

There are problems with this film that stem from a slightly immature/amateur production.

Music has little to play in this film. Film is not theater and we don't live in the silent film era, but some films give so little consideration to audio which is, in my opinion, half the film. There's no powerful score, no soundtrack to help the story, nothing. Scenes with Nazis could've had metal, punk or something. Scenes with refugees could've had some music. Show this contrast of cultures.

Real-life Neo-Nazis make a bigger deal about music they don't like than other minor grievances (not just them, innocent kids in the car complain about music because music is powerful and if you don't like it, it's really annoying).

The cinematography was okay. They just filmed it as it is. There's no interesting camera movement, angles, framing, blocking. The camera just filmed what was there and that's it.

The casting is great. The acting is great.

Locations - meh. There was nothing special.

Pacing was a bit heavy. The story didn't have a great flow to it. Editing too. Things just happen one after the other, sometimes you're not sure if this is the same minute, day or week. Dialogue was okay. The script showed some weakness.

It's a good film overall and a step in the right direction for the industry as a whole.

I'm going to state this explicitly so that no one learns the wrong lesson: The reason why this film is good is because it's original (not a ripoff of some American film) and it's entertaining. This does not mean "People liked this film, let's make it 15 more times" or "let's make more films about Neo-Nazis, people love that topic." Nopes, sorry. I liked the first one, this one. Think of something new next time. I'm not interested in any more stories about Neo-Nazis, or step-father-step-child bonding or something of the sort.

If you cook a good dish and your spouse says "Wow, you're a good cook" - that doesn't mean "hmm. S/he likes spaghetti. I'm gonna make that for him/her every day for 40 years!"

SPOILER

The idea that the boy's father would leave his son alone with two skinheads that play pranks with grenades is laughable. People don't leave their kids with a random stranger to begin with. Two random strangers? Two random skinhead strangers? Two random skinhead strangers who play jokes with grenades?

I can't fault the actors. This is amateur scriptwriting.

so easy to criticize it

[Kirpianuscus · 10 November 2015]

a film about small things. far by ambitions, almost unrealistic, scene for old fashion values and form a form of revelation who is not easy to convince. but a courageous film. for the absence of high ambition. for to not pretend be a moral lesson. only picture of few decisions and choices. it is an impressive film for its profound modesty. honest, amusing, using vulnerabilities and fears in a manner who except the heroism in common sense. a film about love who could be only result of acceptance. a film who surprise because it is clear, seems be slice of every day life, not propose a model only present the way of a man to himself. short, a film easy to criticize it. but that could be its fundamental virtue.

I've enjoyed it.

[SolidYohanK · 7/10 · 8 December 2018]

I'm really happy to see a bloody happy ending. But, feels it unreallistic. Don't know why.

Finnish History X

[samukaresma · 7/10 · 21 June 2022]

I instantly got the feeling to compare it American History X, as Heart of a Lion was presented with a similar premise. Heart of a Lion, however, focuses a lot more on the relationship between the two characters, rather than (mostly) one character having an existential crisis.

The beginging was a bit odd and boring. The relationship with the main character and his future girlfriend felt very awkward and unrelatable. I just kept thinking why on Earth would she want to be with him, and the chemistry felt forced. The chemistries and relationships between the main character and the kid and the brother were a lot better, great even. Those and the acting was really what carried the movie. Otherwise it could have been better.

The neo-Nazi group as well as the plot in general and its events were all very unconvincing and unbelievable, as in unrealistic and over-the-top. Seven guys coming to beat one guy up just because their kid's shirt was stolen at school? Things like that really broke the immersion. All the other characters aside from the three main characters felt over-exaggerated caricatures and stereotypes.

Despite its flaws, the movie still managed to be emotional and after the first twenty minutes the pacing and directing were good. Acting was great and overall the movie was okay.

Best movie to come out of Finland in years

[Vartiainen · 9/10 · 12 June 2014]

I had honestly given up hope of ever seeing a truly good Finnish film. Finnish filmmakers seemed to have this peculiar depressive streak a mile wide and every film I watched was either painfully banal comedy or a dark drama about the cruelty of life. And then I saw this film.

Leijonasydän by Dome Karukoski is the best Finnish film I've personally ever seen. It has the capacity of emotion, the sheer skill and the story to stand side by side with the best international films out there. And the reasons for this excellence are the reasons why most films succeed: excellent characters and a great story. And it's not that the story itself is all that unpredictable or new. The film is about a Neo-Nazi that is forced to live with his new girlfriend's son. A son, whose father just happens to be of African descent. You can probably figure out how the story will pan out just from that. It's the execution here, the way the story is told and how well the actors do their jobs, that pulls the movie through.

And those aforementioned actors are all very skilled. Peter Franzén and Jasper Pääkkönen both do a credible job of portraying two brothers, who both happen to believe in white power. Yet they're not treated unsympathetically. Their actions are condemned, sure, but the film also goes to great lengths to show them not as monster, but as people who believe in wrong things. They both show capability for regret, sympathy and even love, despite their upbringing. Great depth of emotion and humanity.

Laura Birn and Yusufa Sidibeh also shine as mother and son. Finland still doesn't get all that many immigrants, so people of foreign descent are still something of an oddity here. Thus it's great to see films like this one that treat the fact like it's supposed to be: a family, no matter their respective skin colour.

As far criticism goes, I only have a couple of nitpicks. Like how the ending could have gone on for a bit longer, or how Birn's character gets suddenly removed for a part of the film, but these are more matters of taste rather than real flaws in the film.

Leijonasydän is a great film. It believes in humanity, has incredible role performances and is just all around heartwarming to watch. Highly recommended for all.

Can love save us from an extremist ideology?

[losindiscretoscine · 9/10 · 10 December 2016]

Can love save us from an extremist ideology? That's the question addressed by "Heart of A Lion", four times nominated to the Jussi Awards (the Finnish equivalent of the BAFTA) in 2014. In addition to the actors' amazing performances (Peter Franzén is superb), the movie sensitively shows the trouble in having a normal life when we want to be an active representative to an ideology like nazism. Despite some tough moments and Dome Karukoski's accuracy to show how this extremely violent environment is, there is room for light in this Finnish movie. Little by little, Teppo finds his humanity and humbly realizes the limits of far-right ideologies that are indeed quite popular in Northern countries. Even though Finland is going to celebrate the first century of its independence, immigration is still rare and attachment to the roots and the national history are essential. Although the director says that "Heart of a Lion" could have been set anywhere, the story is the more legitimate and realist in Finland. This film sends us a beautiful moral: complicity, wiseness and reason can win against ignorance, exclusion and violence that, as shown by the movie, are synonyms of decay and degeneration instead of progress and growth. Full review on our blog Los Indiscretos : https://losindiscretos.org

Heart of a Lion good name for the film at least for the Finns

[antti_kinnunen · 10/10 · 8 February 2016]

This film is like the French film "French Blood" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4168502/ The acting is very professional, straight forward and not over acted which happens in lots of films with violence. Both of these films shows what happens when there is too much of energy, anger and no thoughts how to live life as human until something happens that makes the changes.

The film shows well the conflict that arises after one has had enough of all that idiotic ideology and how difficult it is to break the old ways, they keep haunting in the background all the time. Both films are extremely good drama and I would say these are a must to watch especially for all those who think they have all the answers but no idea what to do.

Over the top

[dieheinis · 5/10 · 21 November 2020]

The movie has a good message, the relationship between the "stepfather" and his son is heartwarming, their dialogue and the way they open up to each other is great, but all of that get's torn apart and gets ridiculed by the unbelievable stuff that is happening around them.

The conflicts and scenarios created in this movie are highly unrelatable and unrealistic, they don't mirror the reality at all, which is bad if you want to create a believable and relatable story. Some of the stuff that is happening is exaggerated at best, but most of the stuff that is happening is just outlandish fantasy.

One example.

All the hideous acts of racism and all the violence that has happend in this movie and not ONE single time was the press or police involved?! I mean no one calls the police or get's jailed, EVER. Like the only scene that someone got into CUSTODY is after something gets blown up with a grenade and even then, the person simply gets released without an investigation.

I don't know why they couldn't keep things more grounded and based on reality, it would have made this movie sooo much better, but instead this movie just tries too hard to shock people with exaggerated fights and conflicts.

Love, Hate, and all the Mixed Emotions Between.

[[e-mail] · 10/10 · 13 November 2023]

It's an emotive subject; should the mother of a bi-racial kid entrust her son to a known white nationalist leader who she is attracted to, and who falls in love with her, and who promises to be good to her son? This complex and challenging story, which could so easily have fallen into stereotypical traps, such as being a lay-it-on-with-a-trowel preachy morass, or an unbelievable pile of schmaltz where an adorable, angelic child softens the hardest of all hearts, instead slowly and adroitly makes you see the frailties and humanity, and internal conflicts of all of the main characters. The beauty in this film comes from it showing the viewer the layers and complexities of human nature.

Skinhead falls in love with a woman who has a black son.

[zimmerwolke · 8/10 · 16 July 2017]

I liked the pacing of the movie as well as the characters. The main character is a man who is at a difficult point in his life, so I don't feel his character development is unrealistic.

What led to -2 stars is definitely the end. Like seriously, what the... Why does his brother have to kill himself? Obviously he is in a bad place mentally, but why can't the movie give us a happy end? It's so unnecessary and random, especially when the relationship between the brothers is starting to get better. I get it, psychotherapy isn't dramatic and cool, but how about that and some meetings with the victim to talk things over? Why have this absolutely stupid suicide to up the drama or whatever instead of showing a way out of whatever mental problems he's going through, show them rent the land and rebuild it and them living there with their families? or did they run out of money to make it a proper end and that's why they cut the brother's story short? So yeah, that was very disappointing, but the rest of the movie is quite nice. The kid is a little brat, too, and his father also doesn't know when to stop, but that's what makes the characters realistic. Still wanted a better ending. I'm very conflicted, but I think it's worth a watch.

Entertaining but totally unreal.

[probably-just-me77 · 5/10 · 30 July 2015]

I find this movie very enjoyable. Character interactions, emotions, scenes, dialogues and so on. The only problem with it is that it doesn't belong in this world. There are no people like this. I've spent most my childhood surrounded by right wing skins (many of them still my best friends). Then I've spent nearly 10 years being an immigrant and surrounded by people of very mixed origins. Again I repeat - people are not like that. What this movie does is it perpetuates harmful stereotypes and prejudice on both sides in the name of universal love and leftie brainwash. Use with caution.

The director is very talented but should rely more on his own life experience when telling stories rather than doing his liberal homework to get praise from his Starbucks friends. I think it would take him to another level.

Brainwashing on whitescreen

[joonas_karkkainen · 3/10 · 6 March 2019]

Movie has a rather good plot, but it's totally biased on the leftist narrative on multiculrural utopia.. Watchable, but biased. All the reasons why right wing is rising has been left out.