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Matti: Hell Is for Heroes

Original title: Matti
  • 2006
  • 2h 15m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
4.3K
YOUR RATING
Matti: Hell Is for Heroes (2006)
BiographyComedyDramaSport

A ski jumper descends from winning 4 Olympic Gold Medals, to serving two years for stabbing a relative. Careers as a stripper and singer, plus five marriages, replete with allegations of dom... Read allA ski jumper descends from winning 4 Olympic Gold Medals, to serving two years for stabbing a relative. Careers as a stripper and singer, plus five marriages, replete with allegations of domestic violence are fictionalized sympathetically in this dramedy. Alleged exploitation/man... Read allA ski jumper descends from winning 4 Olympic Gold Medals, to serving two years for stabbing a relative. Careers as a stripper and singer, plus five marriages, replete with allegations of domestic violence are fictionalized sympathetically in this dramedy. Alleged exploitation/manipulation of Matti, due to his naivety and gullibility, along with deterioration of his sk... Read all

  • Director
    • Aleksi Mäkelä
  • Writer
    • Marko Leino
  • Stars
    • Jasper Pääkkönen
    • Elina Hietala
    • Juha Veijonen
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.9/10
    4.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Aleksi Mäkelä
    • Writer
      • Marko Leino
    • Stars
      • Jasper Pääkkönen
      • Elina Hietala
      • Juha Veijonen
    • 8User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 nominations total

    Photos32

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    Top cast99+

    Edit
    Jasper Pääkkönen
    Jasper Pääkkönen
    • Matti Nykänen
    Elina Hietala
    • Taina
    Juha Veijonen
    • Maisteri
    Peter Franzén
    Peter Franzén
    • Niilo Nevala…
    Elina Knihtilä
    • Mirva
    Kari Hietalahti
    Kari Hietalahti
    • Hammer
    Jope Ruonansuu
    • Oksanen
    Jani Volanen
    Jani Volanen
    • Nipa
    Jussi Lampi
    • Jorma Tapio
    Toni Wahlström
    • Kalle Ylianttila
    Matias Hangasmaa
    • Antti
    Seppo Pääkkönen
    • Matin isä
    Maija Junno
    • Matin äiti
    Matti Onnismaa
    • Salmela
    Jarmo Perälä
    • Mauri
    Andreas af Enehielm
    • Jari Puikkonen
    • (as Andreas af Enehjelm)
    Teemu Aromaa
    • Mika 'Kojo' Kojonkoski
    Pekka Laiho
    • Jyväskylän kaupunginjohtaja
    • Director
      • Aleksi Mäkelä
    • Writer
      • Marko Leino
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews8

    5.94.2K
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    Featured reviews

    7peeter-7

    Comic horror tragedy based on actual events...

    I paid to see a finnish movie. Something I'd never thought I'd do. I went to have an extreme experience. I never did. Instead of that I got drama, that really does stand up to better standards, comedy to which a fenno-ugrian guy like me can really relate to and horror of realization how someone can go from being the king of the hill to a public joke... The day before I had seen Munich - though rather good it's sterile compared to Matti. Maybe just because it replaces emotions with idealism. I'd recommend it to anyone who even a bit understands the finns... The last time I talked so much about a movie with mu buddies was when I first saw Raiders of the Lost Ark at the age of twelwe...
    8Ms_Black

    selin does it again....

    when i first went to see this movie i was waiting for it to stink big time.i was surprised when i noticed that the movie was actually heartbreaking and funny at the same time.Jasper Pääkkönen did an excellent job playing Matti nykänen.what annoys me is that the only reason they did this movie is because of money.they were obviously hoping that it will be the same kind of success like pahat pojat.Selin has only done one movie that i liked and that was paha maa.is it just me or do they use jasper a lot in their films?the movie isn't very deep ,it just shows us the side of Matti , that we have learned from the pages of "seiska" and "katso".i would have liked to see more skijumping but still everyone has to admit that this movie could have been so much worse.i sort of think that it is a story about being finnish:we are strong ,we eat sausages,we drink beer and sometimes we make mistakes.in the end i have to congratulate selin about the fact that i finally feel somekind of sympathy towards Matti , even if the movie is only fiction.you realise that people have manipulated Matti his whole life.my final conclusion is that this has to be the most tragic story that finland has ever seen.
    7jpkwolf

    Matti stories

    Matti tells partly a fictional story of the Finnish skijumping legend Matti Nykänen who is nowadays only the topic of scandal newspapers. The movie makes you laugh but also feel sorry for Matti who is only a tool for other people who use him to gain money and success. People get Matti into all kinds of trouble because he is so gullible. This might not be the real truth but that's how the movie portrays Matti's life. I have never liked Matti Nykänen because the news of him having a drunken fight is boring and he is stupid and narrow minded as a person but the movie actually makes you feel some sympathy towards him. Jasper Pääkkönen does a fine job as Matti but nothing worthy of huge praise. Other actors do a better job but their roles are easier. I find myself enjoying the new wave of Finnish cinema and Matti is certainly better than the Finnish movies where sex and nude women are the only method to get viewers.
    10tuula-1

    It is so good I want to hide under the table

    I don't know if you need to be Finnish to understand this, but does the word 'myötähäpeä' translate to English? It is the feeling of being ashamed on someone else's behalf.

    I know enough people like this in Finland, who think all the booze that appears within reach MUST be drunk, and also people who can be lead by their nose by their friends like they had no brains (while they do have, even if it at times seems defective).

    It also has various scenes of drinking by fireside by a lake, hitchhiking, crummy local halls where bands perform, horrible clothes and suburbia that I (too) vividly remember from my own past... I feel like chewing my arm off but I cannot stop watching.

    Compelling stuff indeed.
    3ichabod81

    Biography of a wife beater and an alcoholic = Finnish hero.

    For those of you who are not familiar with the titular "hero", Matti Nykänen, he is this Finnish Olympic gold-medalist, who was a folk hero back in the 80's, 'cause he brought ski-jumping medals by the boat loads. Here's where it gets tricky. Today he's nothing. He's a bottom feeder, who does anything to stay in the headlines. And even that seems like an understatement. How's that, one might ask. Well, since his professional career ended, he has started a ridiculous singing career (he can sell a few albums, but people buy them and show up to his gigs purely out of humor), he's been a stripper (!), he's been to prison, he has found God and he has married a woman he beats up every once in a while. What's not to like? Plus, he's clearly a retard.

    Matti, the movie about him, tries to sell his story to the viewer as he would be the victim in all of this. Which is of course total BS. A lot of the stupid things he's done and God forbid *is still doing*, have come from people daring him. For heaven's sake, HOW HARD IS IT TO JUST SAY "NO"?! And stupid things like jumping off a bridge, or something. Plus when you rarely see him doing an interview his eyes are wondering everywhere and he makes statements like you wouldn't believe.. he's like The Waterboy, but with half the IQ.

    This is a naive film with some good performances, but even those can't hide the fact that this film's been made with the intention of ripping the ticket fare from the Finnish audience, who are there just to see the joke that this man is. Not the sensitive side, because with he's real actions this far gone, no-one's buying that he even has one.

    ** / *****

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In the documentary of the film it is revealed that Jasper Pääkkönen performed the bridge jump himself because there was not enough money to hire a stuntman.
    • Goofs
      Eppu Normaali's song Poliisi pamputtaa taas is heard in the movie. The credits list it as Poliisi pamputtaa, which is another song by Eppu Normaali.
    • Quotes

      Mirva: What was that?

      Matti: Neighbour.

      Mirva: Did it have something to say?

      Matti: The sauna is on fire.

      Mirva: Whose?

      Matti: Ours.

    • Connections
      Featured in Se on Matti - dokumentti elokuvan teosta (2006)
    • Soundtracks
      Bodya, sporttia, tsemppistä
      Composed by Sakke Järvenpää

      Lyrics by Mato Valtonen

      Performed by Sleepy Sleepers

      Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment (Finland) Oy

      Under License from Manus

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 13, 2006 (Finland)
    • Country of origin
      • Finland
    • Official sites
      • Official site (Finland)
      • Solar Films (Finland)
    • Language
      • Finnish
    • Also known as
      • Matti
    • Filming locations
      • Sarajevo, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Yugoslavia
    • Production companies
      • Mainostelevisio (MTV3)
      • Solar Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • €1,600,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $4,359,099
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 15 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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