Lapland Odyssey 4

Four stories about Finnish life intersect. In the first one, drum artist Monkki Mähönen arrives for a renovation job at his old band mate's summer villa. Second story revolves around wannabe motorcycle gang and its leader Jouni who are being humiliated at a village shop. Thirdly in the 1960s, a star reporter Erkki "Likasanko" Sysimetsä starts writing a once in a lifetime story about the womanizing of Arvo Hakala, a pipe organ repair man. In the fourth story, a fantasy and sci-fi film director Kurt "Kurre" von Riikonen is looking for financing of his upcoming movie Excalibur IV with catastrophic consequences.

September of 1944, a few days before Finland went out of the Second World War. A chained to a rock Finnish sniper-kamikadze Veikko managed to set himself free. Ivan, a captain of the Soviet Army, arrested by the Front Secret Police 'Smersh', has a narrow escape. They are soldiers of the two enemy armies. A Lapp woman Anni gives a shelter to both of them at her farm. For Anni they are not enemies, but just men.

Hannes is a beer truck driver in Dortmund. His biggest dream is to win the first prize at the International Timetable Contest in Inari (Finland). When his new boss cancels his extra holidays to go there, Hans goes mad… On his journey to Finland by train, followed by the police, he meets lot of folks and the love of his life.

The film starts at the countryside, where station master Viirimäki is spending his summer holiday. He has gotten into the holiday mood to the extent that he wakes up from his stupor at the very moment he should already be getting back to work. Unfortunately the last ship from the island where he has been vacationing has already sailed, but as luck would have it, local residents Himanen and Kehkonen promise to help him out. Things turn out differently, however, and the attempt to help starts out an adventure filled with misunderstandings and plot twists.

A physics teacher's obsessive dislike for Christmas is put to the test when a reservation mishap sends him and his family on a trip to Lapland, a tourist destination dedicated to Christmas and surprisingly near the North Pole.

On a quiet street in Helsinki, Sachie has opened a diner featuring rice balls. For a month she has no customers. Then, in short order, she has her first customer, meets Midori, a gangly Japanese tourist, and invites her to stay with her.

Johanna, the hostess of the parish house, does her utmost to ensure that everything goes according to plan. There is no room for error. The last thing Johanna needs is a busload of uninvited guests knocking on the door of the parish house on the eve of an important wedding. However, a passing Russian party has had its car broken down and Johanna soon finds herself accommodating the party at the parish house. Johanna's brother is tasked with fixing the car to get the guests on the road and out of the way quickly. Her brother's entrepreneurial friend, on the other hand, sees great opportunities in the situation and decides to act. The clock ticks, the car won't start, the wedding ceremony is about to begin and the recipe for disaster is in motion.

25-year-old Iiris and Karoliina have been best friends since childhood. Karoliina has been travelling and living abroad for some years now, but is coming back home for the summer as Karoliina has gotten them a job as waitresses in Hanko, the best summer city in Finland!

Group of old friends gather in a summer villa to celebrate a surprise birthday party for Mitzi, who is the dramatic focal point of the group. The weekend starts ominously when Mitzi does not respond well to the surprise party. It turns out that Mitzi has just filed for divorce and has been looking forward to a peaceful weekend. The tense situation takes a new turn when Mitzi's best friend brings her new boyfriend for a visit, who happens to be a Swedish film star. Familiar surroundings and the old rituals get to the core of the group and make them forget their adulthood. Revelations, not meant to harm the balance, make them reassess their past as well as their present.

Based on the eponymous fairy tale by Peter Asbjørnsen, this is the story of a young man named Hans, who is given a magical flute that can shepherd any living creature. The King's daughter wishes for hares, and Hans agrees to help. However, soon he finds himself in trouble when the royal family wish for the flute itself. With quick thinking and a few tricks up his sleeve, Hans must navigate the whims of the royal court and protect himself from their avaricious intentions.

Inkeri, 75, has hit her husband on the head with a solid iron frying pan and is planning to bury him in their garden. Before facing the rest of her life in prison, there may yet be a moment left to really live. Inkeri makes her sisters Sylvi and Raili join her on a trip to the Koli National Park. Will Inkeri find in her that free young woman who desired a feminist revolution in the 70s?

Recently divorced Helena is getting anxious about spending christmas alone. Her best friend invites her to spend old time christmas on a farm - only place they can afford.

There's this hot ice-hockey guy called Lauri Mäntyvaara. Satu promises she'll do her best, so that her best friend Heidi will get him. You'd think that the picturesque Finnish Archipelago would be the perfect place to discover your first love (and get rid of your virginity), but it will not be easy, if a cynical protein-shake-slurping ice hockey team thinks the target of your desire should focus only on the European Championship, and the only places you can escape to are the pretentious summer wedding parties - or bitter divorce parties.

A family's vacation to a remote getaway takes an unexpected turn when they discover the present-day implications of the island's cannibalistic past.

Turo is stuck in a small village and the best thing in his life is being the lead vocalist for the amateur metal band Impaled Rektum. He and his bandmates have practiced for 12 years without playing a single gig. The guys get a surprise visitor from Norway -- the promoter for a huge heavy metal music festival -- and decide it's now or never. They steal a van, a corpse, and even a new drummer to make their dreams a reality.

Mikko Virtanen feels like a Swedish soul trapped in a Finnish body. Full of disgust for everything Finnish, he sees Sweden as heaven. Upon meeting a suicidal Swedish psychologist Mikael Anderson, he seizes an opportunity for an identity switch. Raspberry Boat Refugee is a comedy about cultural differences in the Nordic countries, their nationalism and, not least, prejudices about our neighbours. It also proves how futile it is to try to escape oneself.

A couple inherit a 'house of their dreams' and for a while they think they got lucky, but soon find themselves in the middle of a renovation nightmare.

Finland in the 50s saw a time where boats from all over the world docked in the harbor city of Kotka. In addition to transporting goods, the sailors brought with them another import: jazz, swing and blues. A tale of music-loving, fearless and passionate young men decide to open Fennia, a jazz bar. Soon Fennia achieves legendary status and the men; the Harbour Brothers, play their music and hold court like emperors.

Triangle comedy about a movie crew shooting a no-budget artsy film. Director Pohja is a clumsy beginner, cinematographer Törrönen an old pro, and the leading actors Igor and Merju first detest each other although the script is supposed to make them lovers. The two gradually grow closer even in real life, but the director too has set his eyepiece on Merju.

Sergeant Friman is developing an automatic submarine detector that piques the interest of both, Swedish and Russian spies.