Aleksi Delikouras’ Spede film cleverly avoids the vague behavior associated with the comedian.
On September 29th, a new fictional biographical film will hit cinemas, when the Spede film about entertainment mogul Pertti “Spede” Pasase will see the light of day.
Aleksi Delikouras the film directed by Pasanen doesn’t bring anything new to those who have gotten to know Pasanen’s life or personality before, but it is an interesting time travel to Finland, where the entertainment industry was still considered completely inferior.
See you in the title role Riku Nieminenwhose role performance could be guessed in advance to be exactly what it was: Riku Nieminen as Spede.
However, Nieminen performed his role well and managed to convey the restless, unpredictable and stubborn image of the bald-headed comedian known to the whole nation. Famous sayings “Woe to the scumbag” felt a bit glued on to other sweaters, although expected.
Still, the role performance of the brightest star was taken by someone completely different.
Aku Sipola plays a role in the film Vesa-Matti Loirina, which completely surprised the viewer. Sipola’s versatility and talent as an actor can be seen at the latest when Uuno Turhapuro enters the story.
Sipola’s ability to imitate Loir’s mannerisms, expressions and gestures feels incredibly authentic. For so long, when Sipola had been seen only as the coffee shop owner of Salkkarei or the Mainos-Harri of Putous, now the picture changed completely. Sipola’s charisma worked perfectly to embody Loir.
Aku Sipola as Vesa-Matti Loir. Yellow Film & TV Vytautas Juozenas
It was a relief that the film was not too comedic. Aleksi Delikouras’ recent film, known for his dramatic comedies such as Punttikomedia, combined a lot of elements of comedy and tragedy and reminded us of the challengingness of the comedy genre even in the dialogue of the characters: tragedy and comedy grow from the same root.
The entire film was shot on 35 mm film that had not been cleaned of debris, and that in itself brought enough authenticity to the period image, so that the individual flashes recorded on eight mm film could have been left untouched. However, Delikouras’ style is pleasant to follow and holds well.
In the spring of 2022, Lenita Airisto made public accusations that she had experienced sexual harassment from Pasase. Other well-known women also shared their own experiences, and Spede’s disturbing behavior was revealed to have been an “open secret” in some places.
Riku Nieminen stated in an interview with Iltalehti that indulging in shady behavior probably wouldn’t have brought anything new to the film. I curse that Nieminen is right.
Aku Sipola and Riku Nieminen star in the film. YELLOW FILM & TV
Spede’s dark world was glimpsed a little, but the actual reason for the unpredictable and aggressive behavior could only be guessed. Although initially ignoring Pasanen’s disturbing behavior felt swept under the rug, in the end it was a relief to notice that Spede was not painted as a saint during the film.
I delikouras together Antti Heikkinen in the script he created with, the comedian from Kuopio’s tendency to threaten journalists, beat up misbehaving passers-by and his way of using his position of power in relation to young women was highlighted.
Spede was not necessarily always a nice guy, but he has left his mark on Finnish entertainment. In good and bad.
Spede premieres on Friday, September 29, 2023.