Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana (1994)

Lugubrious Finns Valto and Reino take to the road in search of coffee and vodka, without which their lives are not worth living. But their reveries are interrupted by the arrival of ... See full summary »

Director:

Aki Kaurismäki

Writers:

Sakke Järvenpää, Aki Kaurismäki

Stars:

Kati Outinen, Matti Pellonpää, Kirsi Tykkyläinen

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kati Outinen	...	Tatjana
Matti Pellonpää	...	Reino
Kirsi Tykkyläinen	...	Klavdia
Mato Valtonen	...	Valdemar 'Valto' Reiman
Elina Salo	...	Hotel Receptionist
Irma Junnilainen	...	Valto's Mother
Veikko Lavi	...	Vepe
Pertti Husu	...	Pepe
Viktor Vassel	...	Bus Driver
Carl-Erik Calamnius	...	Petrol Station Attendant
Atte Blom	...	Barkeeper 1
Mauri Sumén	...	Barkeeper 2
Anu Aalto
Matti Ahjoniemi
Riitta Ahjoniemi

Storyline

Lugubrious Finns Valto and Reino take to the road in search of coffee and vodka, without which their lives are not worth living. But their reveries are interrupted by the arrival of garrulous Russian Klaudia and Estonian Tatiana - who are clearly interested in the two men, despite the language barrier. But what are the chances of getting a response from men who prefer staring at vodka bottles to talking?

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Plot Keywords:

vodka | russian | estonian | coffee | sleeping | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Finland Germany

Language:

Finnish Russian

Release Date:

14 January 1994 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sputnik,Pandora Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Leather jacket that Reino is using has the name of a real Finnish sporting association called Orimattilan Jymy. It has been established in 1903 and compete at least in shooting, skiing, basketball, volleyball, swimming and athletics.

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Connections

Featured in Boheemi elää (2011)

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Soundtracks

If I Had Someone To Dream Of
Written and Arranged by Lindskog and Feichtinger
Performed by The Renegades

User Reviews

Not quite as good as before

Finland circa 1965: Two greasy rockers on a joy(less?)ride in a souped-up Pobeda pick up two Russian girls on a bus stop. They make tentative efforts to get to know each other. And....

That's it, really!

Aki Kaurismäki is a master of minimalism. He uses ever so slight, naive gestures to depict vacuous people living empty lives. His men are always Brylcreemed, chain-smoking Vodka-drinking losers, his women are quaint, awkward little creatures starving for attention, which the men never grants them. All this, and some truly horrid vintage Finnish rock and tango-music.

Yet, "Tatiana" isn't up to his usual standards. The rock and tango is there, likewise the usual bleak landscapes and battered Eastern-European cars, but this time the plot is so vague as to be almost absent, and the comic relief is too thinly spread. It amounts to a retread of themes and scenes from earlier, better movies. It's almost a parody of a parody.

Kati Outinen certainly looks fitter and healthier than before, and she is the sole reason for watching the film. Matti Pellonpäa's character is never resolved, the man's lack of motivation and drive is painfully obvious. Why does he succumb to love at the end? It's never made clear. I have always wondered whether Kaurismäki makes films about Finns as he sees them, or rather as foreign prejudices will have them. In "Tatiana" I never bothered to ponder this question. The film is just light-hearted, plotless nostalgia, and doesn't merit any deeper analysis. Fortunately Kaurismäki has gone on to make better films than this.