Metsuri’s story, awarded at Cannes, is slow and slow

Pepe (Jarkko Lahti) and Tuomas (Hannu-Pekka Björkman) have to face heavy adversity. ARSEN SARKISIANTS / ELOKUVAHYTÖ AMU

The lumberjack’s story

Finland-Netherlands-Denmark-Germany, 2022

Directed by: Mikko Myllylahti

IL Rating: ⭐⭐

Mikko Myllylahten written and directed by The lumberjack’s story is an absurd and strange dramatic comedy. The film tells the story of Pepe, a lumberjack living in a small town (Jarkko Lahti), in whose life everything starts to go wrong.

Despite his big problems, Pepe tries to approach the challenges that fate puts in front of him optimistically and calmly.

Sometimes the characters in the film stare into nothingness while pondering the insanity and futility of life, like on the stage of an amateur theater, and sometimes we are in the grip of almost purgatory-like visions.

Mostly, however, Metsuri’s story repeats philosophical platitudes and moves from one depressing adversity to another. The dialogue is theatrical and one that you would almost never hear in a normal conversation.

Some of the end-of-the-world views presented in the film are so corny that they are almost laughable. The thought crept into my mind that the purpose of this was to make a parody at the expense of gloomy Finns. Either way, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the movie is downright excruciatingly boring.

A smiling man Jarkko Lahti, who won the Jussi award for the lead role in the movie (2016), is quite expressionless and motionless in the main role of Metsuri’s story. He should reflect some kind of positivity in the midst of various terrible events, but this side of the story remains quite superficial.

Stealing attention from the actors Hannu-Pekka Björkman, who is the main character in the role of Pepe’s friend Tuomaksen, a genuine and sincere Finnish everyman. Thanks are also always excellent Ulla Tapaninenwhose performance as Pepe’s mother is one of the highlights of the film.

Of course, there are other positive aspects of the film, such as, for example Arsen Sarkisiants colorfully flamboyant description and by Jonas Struck eerie music.

At least there are indications in Metsuri’s story Aki Kaurismäki and by David Lynch from the movies and the TV series Fargo – and maybe there’s a touch of Kalevala mysticism too. Unbelievable plot twists happen and there is some kind of social criticism here, but nothing leads anywhere and there is no clear red thread in the film.

It seems as if the director Myllylahti wanted to cultivate the influences he picked up here and there throughout the film, and every strange idea or image that came to mind had to be included, regardless of whether it is a good thing from the point of view of the whole. Mysteriousness doesn’t automatically make a movie interesting.

Clearly, the film’s humor and atmosphere have still hit their mark, at least in Central Europe, because Metsuri’s story was awarded in the Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival. The film won the so-called distribution award, which supports its screening in French cinemas.

The film certainly works well in France, where the film’s snowy landscapes and exoticism are viewed with different eyes than here in the north.

Despite everything, even this kind of experimental art film has its place in Finland, and we hope that Mikko Myllylahti’s next film will also be special and personal, but preferably less heavy-handed.

Metsuri’s story premiered on Friday, October 7, 2022.