Hymypoika (2003)

Taavi, who never goes anywhere without his video camera, and his young and wealthy friends find themselves on the cusp of adulthood. After throwing a wild party at the mansion left to him ... See full summary »

Director:

Jukka-Pekka Siili (as J-P Siili)

Writers:

Jaajo Linnonmaa (idea), Jukka Vieno (screenplay)

Stars:

Jussi Nikkilä, Reino Nordin, Jarkko Niemi

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jussi Nikkilä	...	Taavi
Reino Nordin	...	Jere
Jarkko Niemi	...	Markus
Jenni Banerjee	...	Reetta
Ville Kivelä	...	Sami
Mervi Takatalo	...	Mira
Evi Suppala	...	Jenni
Laura Malmivaara	...	Helena Pääkkönen
Ville Virtanen	...	Jeren isä Juhani
Kari Heiskanen	...	Juristi
Kari Hietalahti	...	Taavin isä
Milka Ahlroth	...	Taavin ätti
Esko Mäkelä	...	Nettideittimies
Elina Stirkkinen	...	Nettideittinainen
Markku Peltola	...	Samin isä

Storyline

Taavi, who never goes anywhere without his video camera, and his young and wealthy friends find themselves on the cusp of adulthood. After throwing a wild party at the mansion left to him by his deceased parents, Taavi shoots video of the partygoers in their various states of undress and drunken sexual congress. What begins as a prank spurs Taavi and his friends Jere, Sami, and Markus to form a club, the only requirement for admission being that each young man must bring a tape of his latest sexual conquest to every club meeting. The risque game quickly degenerates into dangerous compulsion as relationships implode and the boys forsake their girlfriends in favor of prostitutes and "swingers". As currents of coercion and abuse enter the picture, each young man must ultimately confront his own morality in the viewfinder.

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Plot Keywords:

pubic hair | male pubic hair | public nudity | nudity | male nudity | 

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Taglines:

Viimeisenä seisoo rakkaus

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

FS-Film (Distributor) information sheet Official site [Finland]

Country:

Finland

Language:

Finnish

Release Date:

2 December 2004 (Hungary)

Also Known As:

Young Gods

Filming Locations:

Helsinki, Finland

Box Office

Budget:

€1,200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$225,282 (Finland), 30 October 2003, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Helsinki Filmi Oy,SubTV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References A Clockwork Orange (1971)

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Soundtracks

My Love is True
Written by Rake Eskolin
Performed by Blue Weed
© Warner/Chappel Music Finland /
Inkfish Oy

User Reviews

Finnish This Movie

Young Gods: 7 out of 10: For once I would like to see a teenage drama where careless foolish teenagers get away with being well careless and foolish. Nobody gets hurt, pregnant, married, commits suicide, tragically killed ext… they just act like complete idiots and go off to college. Kind of like real life for a lot of kids.

On second thought there are movies like this but they are all have Porky's in the title. Young Gods is unfortunately a teenage drama. Which means no foolish action will go unpunished.

Before the drama really kicks in we have a super realistic look at the lives of four teenage boys. The movie nails the attitudes and actions of young males of that age group and the pace while leisurely actually reflects the indifference to time people of that age actually have. (It also reflects the boredom that comes with no school and no job.) The movie also has a surprisingly naturalistic attitude about nudity and sex. Some may be shocked by the young actors' nudity but it felt non-sensationalist and rather realistic.

The plot about voyeurism and constant filming is overdone (see drama above) and the results of the boys' actions seem more draconian than real life. But this is after all a movie.

Despite being relatively slow placed and occasionally over-dramatic Young Gods is an enjoyable, realistic and fresh coming of age film.