Lapsia ja aikuisia - Kuinka niitä tehdään? (2004)

Director:

Aleksi Salmenperä

Writers:

Tuomo Hutri (original idea)
Pekko Pesonen (idea)

Release Date:

17 September 2004 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Just when you think you've grown up...everything changes

Plot:

Longtime couple Venla and Antero come to a serious impasse. After years with Antero, Venla wants to start a family...

Plot Keywords:

Vasectomy | Fertility | Fertility Clinic | Childlessness | Female Bonding

Awards:

3 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Minna Haapkylä	...	Venla
Kari-Pekka Toivonen	...	Antero
Minttu Mustakallio	...	Satu
Tommi Eronen	...	Rönkkö
Pekka Strang	...	Miro
Dick Idman	...	Claes
Antti Raivio	...	Jarmo Heiskanen
Saara Pakkasvirta	...	Seija
Meri Nenonen	...	Tintti
Juha Kukkonen	...	Hessu
Tiina Pirhonen	...	Receptionist
Elina Knihtilä	...	Anna Heiskanen
Edith Fieandt	...	Edith Heiskanen
Eeli Salmenperä	...	Eeli Heiskanen
Iiris Haase	...	Ida Heiskanen

Also Known As:

Producing Adults (International: English title) (USA)
Children and Adults: How Are They Made? (International: English title) (informal literal title)
Hela vägen (Sweden)
Lapsia ja aikuisia (Finland) (short title)
Muumimuki (Finland) (working title)
Sukupuolielämää (Finland) (working title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

Finland | Sweden

Language:

Finnish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Finland:K-11 | Hong Kong:IIB

Filming Locations:

Helsinki, Finland

Company:

Blind Spot Pictures Oy

Trivia:

This is Finland's official Academy Award submission for Best Foreign Language Film of 2004.

Quotes:

Venla: I gotta go home!
Satu: No, wait! Do you think that I should rub your clitoris before you go?
[long silence]
Satu: That was a joke!

Soundtrack:

Kauppaopiston naiset

A sweet film that captures love

I enjoyed the film Producing Adults. The acting was superb, thanks to a strong script and believable characters. The desperation underlying the urge for reproduction is done with a certain understated 'flair' (is that an oxymoron?) that is most appealing.

Someone said that the change in the lead character's sexual preference was jarring, and on celluloid at least it does indeed look somewhat sudden. A 'heating-up' period might have helped. These two women have known each other all their lives, but we are not led to believe that they destined to be lovers, particularly since the lead character, pushing hard for pregnancy, has stood by her selfish boyfriend for 15 years.

I can see where straight men might be somewhat put out by perceptions of 'male bashing.' The men in the film tend to be self-absorbed, a little pathetic, even doltish. That said, all things considered, I think this is a sweet, moving and engaging movie. It is, at its heart, about love, yet it's never smarmy, pretentious or didactic. There are some very soft and tender scenes in here that brilliantly belie that old myth about Scandinavia's 'icy' temperament.