Forbidden Fruit (2009)

Two teen girls from a very restrictive Conservative Laestadian faith community, go alone to Helsinki for the first time.

Director:

Dome Karukoski

Writer:

Aleksi Bardy

Stars:

Marjut Maristo, Amanda Pilke, Malla Malmivaara

6 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marjut Maristo	...	Raakel
Amanda Pilke	...	Maria
Malla Malmivaara	...	Eeva Rahikainen
Joel Mäkinen	...	Toni
Jarkko Niemi	...	Jussi
Olavi Uusivirta	...	Johannes
Timo Tikka	...	Luukas
Jani Volanen	...	Ilari
Teemu Ojanne	...	Mäki
Heikki Nousiainen	...	Joki
Tapio Liinoja	...	Laakso
Tuija Töyräs	...	Raakelin äiti
Jouko Puolanto	...	Raakelin isä
Boris Glibusic	...	Man in a night club #1
Jarkko Nyman	...	Man in a night club #2

Storyline

Two teen girls from a very restrictive Conservative Laestadian faith community, go alone to Helsinki for the first time.

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Plot Keywords:

conservatism | friendship between girls | coming of age | laestadianism | religion | 

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Taglines:

Do you remember the first time when you did something forbidden?

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Young Folks
Written by Peter Morén (as Moren), Bjorn Yttling (as Yttlin) and John Eriksson (as Eriksson)
Performed by Peter Bjorn and John
EMI Music Publishing Scandinavia

User Reviews

Thoughtful and beautiful film!

This surprising film introduces us to a contemporary, conservative Lutheran sect with over 100,000 members in Finland through the lives of two 18-year old girls of the sect, one of whom rebels against her religion's taboos (no TV, no dancing, no make-up, no alcohol, no sex before marriage and no kissing before marriage) by leaving her village in northern Finland to visit the "evil" big city Helsinki and experience "life." The second 18-year old girl is sent by church elders to follow the rebel, watch over her, and keep her from falling into sin and ending up in eternal hell.

Now we have a situation that promises to bring about something of interest, and it does. The story continues with the familiar inner conflict of desiring forbidden experiences and how each individual reacts to the big city's temptations. Not to give away the story further, I'll just say the two girls in question are easy on the eyes and the director certainly knows it. My only criticism might be the understandable yet slightly too frequent lingering on the faces of these lovely girls, but this is certainly a minor criticism.

I highly recommend this beautifully done film!

Details

Country:

Finland Sweden

Language:

Finnish

Release Date:

13 February 2009 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Forbidden Fruit

Filming Locations:

Sörnäinen, Helsinki, Finland

Box Office

Budget:

EUR1,400,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,227,505

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anagram, Helsinki-Filmi, Yleisradio (YLE)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1