The 50 finnish cult films, you have to see.
by sandeflicks | created - 11 Sep 2017 | updated - 12 Sep 2017 | PublicFinnish cinema is waste of your time. When i heard that i just knew i have to make this list. I want to show the oddities, so bad they are great, underrated, rare and lesser known finnish movies. ps. I also include some mini tv-series on this list.
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1. The White Reindeer (1952)
Not Rated | 74 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A newlywed woman goes to the local shaman to get some help with her love life, but instead she gets turned into a white reindeer vampire.
Director: Erik Blomberg | Stars: Mirjami Kuosmanen, Kalervo Nissilä, Åke Lindman, Jouni Tapiola
Votes: 2,471
2. The Christmas Party (1996)
84 min | Comedy
Mike is getting out of prison after serving four years for a bank robbery. Bona is arranging the party of all parties for him: a Christmas party.
Director: Jari Halonen | Stars: Jorma Tommila, Antti Reini, Rauno Juvonen, Oiva Lohtander
Votes: 460
3. Sensuela (1973)
104 min | Drama, Romance
A Lappish girl, the only daughter of a reindeer herder, rescues a crashed German fighter pilot during WW2. The two develop warm feelings for each other during his convalescence.
Director: Teuvo Tulio | Stars: Marianne Mardi, Ossi Elstelä, Mauritz Åkerman, Ismo Saario
Votes: 661
4. Lampaansyöjät (1972)
96 min | Comedy, Drama
Valtteri and Sepe, two ordinary white-collar guys from southern Finland drive up north to implement a plan they've been hatching for months. Because they simply love the taste of lamb, ... See full summary »
Director: Seppo Huunonen | Stars: Leo Lastumäki, Heikki Kinnunen, Pentti Auer, Elina Hoffrén
Votes: 480
5. Yön saalistajat (1984)
92 min | Crime, Thriller
A small gang of criminals is planning to commit a gold heist not knowing that the new member of their gang is actually a police detective. But when his true identity is revealed to the gang... See full summary »
Director: Visa Mäkinen | Stars: Kauko Helovirta, Ilmari Saarelainen, Matti Mäntylä, Sari Sarmas
Votes: 200
6. Tulipunainen kyyhkynen (1961)
86 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Doctor Aitamaa is spending holiday with his family at their summer villa. He accidentally reads a letter that was meant to his wife. The letter is from another man. Aitamaa fallows his wife... See full summary »
Director: Matti Kassila | Stars: Tauno Palo, Gunvor Sandkvist, Helen Elde, Matti Oravisto
Votes: 263
7. Painajainen (1988)
183 min | Horror, Mystery
Painter Kai Merilä wakes up from a 7-month coma after being in a road accident while Driving Under the Influence. Suffering from amnesia, he returns to his villa in the Finnish countryside,... See full summary »
Stars: Eero Melasniemi, Anna-Leena Härkönen, Esa Anttila, Mikko Hänninen
Votes: 138
8. The Moonlight Sonata (1988)
86 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
A female fashion model Anni Stark (played by Tiina Björkman) takes leave from the fashion business and goes to Finland's Lappland (a wilderness region in Northern Finland, better known as ... See full summary »
Director: Olli Soinio | Stars: Tiina Björkman, Kari Sorvali, Kim Gunell, Mikko Kivinen
Votes: 1,027
9. Moonlight Sonata II: The Street Sweepers (1991)
80 min | Comedy, Horror
Director: Olli Soinio | Stars: Soli Labbart, Kari Sorvali, Mikko Kivinen, Erkki Pajala
Votes: 485
10. Lipton Cockton in the Shadows of Sodoma (1995)
83 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
The 21st-century tale centers on taciturn detective Lipton Cockton as he looks into a series of murders involving exploding victims.
Director: Jari Halonen | Stars: Jorma Tommila, Tarja-Tuulikki Tarsala, Hannu Huuska, Outi Mäenpää
Votes: 335
11. Farewell, Mr. President (1987)
87 min | Crime, Thriller
Asko Mertanen is a waiter who is very interested in shooting. He gets fed up how the things are run in Finland, so he thinks that the best way to change them is to shoot the Finnish president.
Director: Matti Kassila | Stars: Hannu Lauri, Laila Räikkä, Antti Litja, Esa Saario
Votes: 351
12. Naisenkuvia (1970)
X | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
Finnish porn-movie producer Pertsa returns from America to his home country to continue his profession with hopelessly-small budgets and incompetent casts and crews. A self-ironic satire ... See full summary »
Director: Jörn Donner | Stars: Ritva Vepsä, Jörn Donner, Kirsti Wallasvaara, Aarre Elo
Votes: 309
13. Nukkekauppias ja kaunis Lilith (1955)
70 min | Drama, Fantasy
A wide-eyed doll salesman is mistaken for a bomb-wielding anarchist by the oppressive forces of the totalitarian state.
Director: Jack Witikka | Stars: Martti Katajisto, Hillevi Lagerstam, Heikki Savolainen, Leena Kaprio
Votes: 99
14. The Witch (1952)
80 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Archaeological team unearths a body of a young woman, who was told to be a witch buried in the bog some 300 years ago. Soon a naked woman appears and drives the men of the village crazy. ... See full summary »
Director: Roland af Hällström | Stars: Mirja Mane, Toivo Mäkelä, Hillevi Lagerstam, Sakari Jurkka
Votes: 469
15. Rakkauden risti (1946)
99 min | Drama, Romance
The daughter of a lighthouse keeper runs away with a shipwrecked businessman to the city. But instead of her dreams, she finds herself selling herself in the streets, until a painter finds her as an ideal model for his next painting.
Director: Teuvo Tulio | Stars: Regina Linnanheimo, Oscar Tengström, Ville Salminen, Rauli Tuomi
Votes: 234
16. The Last Border: Viimeisellä rajalla (1993)
105 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
One man's quest for revenge in a post-apocalyptic world
Director: Mika Kaurismäki | Stars: Jolyon Baker, Jürgen Prochnow, Fanny Bastien, Kari Väänänen
Votes: 502
17. Yöjuttu: Merkitty (1984 TV Movie)
48 min | Horror
After a suicide attempt, a woman finds herself haunted by a ghostly figure.
Director: Ismo Sajakorpi | Stars: Satu Silvo, Eero Melasniemi, Georg Dolivo, Martin Lehtinen
Votes: 87
18. The Well (1992)
109 min | Drama, Thriller
Director: Pekka Lehto | Stars: Merja Larivaara, Auvo Vihro, Liisamaija Laaksonen, Katariina Kaitue
Votes: 134
19. A Time of Roses (1969)
108 min | Sci-Fi
A historian in a futuristic dystopian world is researching the death of a free-spirited model who died under mysterious circumstances. He finds Saara's identical double Kisse and convinces her to re-enact Saara's life and death for TV.
Director: Risto Jarva | Stars: Arto Tuominen, Ritva Vepsä, Tarja Markus, Eero Keskitalo
Votes: 296
20. Täältä tullaan, elämä! (1980)
118 min | Drama, Romance
In the punk rock era of the late 1970s three restless teenagers, two boys and a girl, spend their time in and out of a special class for problem kids. Jussi seldom sees his parents at home,... See full summary »
Director: Tapio Suominen | Stars: Esa Niemelä, Tony Holmström, Kati Outinen, Risto Piskunen
Votes: 807
21. Fuck Off! Images of Finland (1971)
104 min | Documentary
Three 30-something Finnish filmmakers travel around Finland to interview ordinary people and paint a picture of Finland in the year 1970.
Directors: Jörn Donner, Erkki Seiro, Jaakko Talaskivi | Stars: Jörn Donner, Irmeli Loikala, Jussi Niininen, Einari Meriläinen
Votes: 541
22. Back to the USSR (1992)
94 min | Comedy, Drama
It is glasnost in the USSR. Reima August is the last communist. A lonely outcast that does not agree with the new world around him.
Director: Jari Halonen | Stars: Jorma Tommila, Ulla Koivuranta, Sanna-Maria Salmi, Pauliina Sykkö
Votes: 223
23. Kiimaiset poliisit (1993)
Comedy, Crime, Drama
About three cops, one married couple--Marita and Hessu--and Marita's old love Oiva. After years, Marita and Oiva meet and escape into the woods during a police operation. In the soft heat ... See full summary »
Stars: Merja Larivaara, Taisto Reimaluoto, Kai Lehtinen, Martti Suosalo
Votes: 56
24. An Unknown Friend (1978)
90 min | Crime, Thriller
The cold and ruthless Bruno is married to Karen. Together they seek out poor and defenseless people offering them life insurance policies. Bruna and Karen make sure that it pays off.
Director: Lars G. Thelestam | Stars: Kate O'Mara, Bruno O'Ya, Åke Lindman, Anne Marie Pohtamo
Votes: 110
25. Curses of the Witch (1927)
82 min | Drama, Horror
A newlywed couple suffer from the effects of a curse a witch put on the place they live in centuries earlier.
Director: Teuvo Puro | Stars: Einar Rinne, Heidi Blåfield, Irmeli Viherjuuri, Kaisa Leppänen
Votes: 160
26. The Wedding Waltz (1988 TV Movie)
56 min | Comedy, Drama
Viltteri, a balding guy in his thirties living in rural northern Finland, is hopelessly clueless about his new role as a married man and the father of a newborn son. A perfect escape from ... See full summary »
Director: Matti Ijäs | Stars: Vesa Vierikko, Sulevi Peltola, Markku Maalismaa, Kaija Pakarinen
Votes: 1,258
27. The Hair (1974)
104 min | Comedy, Crime
A middle-aged man becomes deeply involved with the affairs and criminal connections of a mysterious girl.
Director: Seppo Huunonen | Stars: Mikko Majanlahti, Arja Virtanen, Pauli Virtanen, Eeki Mantere
Votes: 198
28. Laukaus tehtaalla (1973)
79 min | Drama
The events surrounding a factory in a small town are gone through in documentary style.
Director: Erkko Kivikoski | Stars: Urpo Poikolainen, Aarne Hakulinen, Pentti Viljakainen, Artturi Haikonen
Votes: 153
29. Painija (1985 TV Movie)
86 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Ageing wrestler and circus strongman is put in an institution located somewhere in a world of its own, next to an abandoned railway station with pigs running loose on the tracks in almost ... See full summary »
Director: Matti Ijäs | Stars: Esko Hukkanen, Esko Pesonen, Kalevi Kahra, Allan Koskinen
Votes: 162
30. Aleksis Kiven elämä (2001)
104 min | Biography, Drama
Finland in the 1850's take the first steps towards independence. The Finnish-language authors introduce themselves.
Director: Jari Halonen | Stars: Marko Tiusanen, Jari Salmi, Karoliina Kudjoi, Margit Lindeman
Votes: 588
31. Sixtynine 69 (1969)
98 min | Drama, Romance
Tuula's husband Jukka takes care of all domestic chores. Tuula seems to have no idea that her husband spends his evenings working as a major league ice hockey referee. She also finds out ... See full summary »
Director: Jörn Donner | Stars: Ritva Vepsä, Sven-Bertil Taube, Seija Tyni, Jörn Donner
Votes: 259
32. The Green Chamber of Linnais (1945)
91 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A nobleman in 1830's Finland has to contend with stuck-up relatives, his daughters' suitors, dark secrets from his family's past, mistaken identities and a haunted wing of his mansion.
Director: Valentin Vaala | Stars: Rauli Tuomi, Regina Linnanheimo, Kaija Rahola, Paavo Jännes
Votes: 173
33. The Day the Earth Froze (1959)
Not Rated | 67 min | Adventure, Fantasy
Based on Finnish mythology, this movie traces the exploits of Lemminkäinen as he woos the fair Annikki and battles the evil witch Louhi. Louhi kidnaps Annikki to compel her brother to build... See full summary »
Director: Aleksandr Ptushko | Stars: Urho Somersalmi, Anna Orochko, Ivan Voronov, Andris Osins
Votes: 1,460
34. Pohjanmaa (1988)
127 min | Drama, Comedy
Based on the novel of the same name by Finnish author Antti Tuuri, this delicious late-'80s comedy builds its dark humour on the stereotypical mentality of the northern part of Finland. ... See full summary »
Director: Pekka Parikka | Stars: Taneli Mäkelä, Esko Salminen, Esko Nikkari, Vesa Mäkelä
Votes: 776
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