Helmiä ja sikoja (2003)

Director:

Perttu Leppä

Writer:

Perttu Leppä (writer)

Release Date:

29 August 2003 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Naurat tai itket ja naurat!

Plot:

When their bootlegging father ends up in jail, four twenty-something brothers need money to pay his debts to local crooks...

Plot Keywords:

Money | Bootlegging | Brother | Half Sister | Karaoke

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Mikko Leppilampi	...	Läde
Laura Birn	...	Laura
Amanda Pilke	...	Saara
Unto Helo	...	Timo
Timo Lavikainen	...	Ruho
Jimi Pääkallo	...	Poju
Pekka Valkeejärvi	...	Ukko
Outi Mäenpää	...	Saara's Mom
Antti Reini	...	Laura's Boyfriend
Antti Virmavirta	...	Sika
Tomi Salmela	...	Limppu
Sakari Kuosmanen	...	Lehikoinen
Matti Onnismaa	...	Mom's Boyfriend
Risto Salmi	...	Liquor Store Vendor
Marko Tiusanen	...	Bailiff

Also Known As:

Pearls and Pigs (Europe: English title) (USA)

Runtime:

Finland:113 min

Country:

Finland

Language:

Finnish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 (re-rating) | Finland:K-15 (original rating) | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Heinävesi, Finland

Company:

Talent House

Movie Connections:

Featured in Amanda (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Hän (Honey)

Definitely funnier than "Pitkä kuuma kesä"

I liked Leppä's previous film "Pitkä kuuma kesä" but didn't find it as great as most young Finns seem to. So I didn't expect very much of this. Maybe that's why I was almost blown away and really laughed a lot during this flick.

The characters are quite rough stereotypes but the actors do a great (or at least decent) job portraying them thus making them painfully disgusting or funny. Especially Amanda Pilke's performance as young Saara really hits the spot. What disturbs a bit is that sometimes people start laughing in the middle of their lines. I really believe that is intentional and not just poor acting. However, it sometimes makes you feel as if the actors are making up their lines as they speak and thus have a hard time showing a serious face. This disturbs especially with Unto Helo, whose acting in "Pitkä kuuma kesä" wasn't really my favorite performance either.

I think the funny bits are mostly in the dialogue, so non-Finns might not find this nearly as funny as I did. I also guess you get the most of this if you're under thirty years old (at least mentally :) ) because most of the

action involves young guys messing around and boozing. Still, there's also a plot so this is not just a Jackass episode.