Watch Lapland Odyssey For Free

Sorry, this movie sucks

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

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.

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.

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.

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.