Hymypoika (2003)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Jukka-Pekka Siili

Writers:

Jaajo Linnonmaa (idea)
Jukka Vieno (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 December 2004 (Hungary)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Viimeisenä seisoo rakkaus

Plot Keywords:

Youth | Threesome | Betrayal | Public Nudity | Male Frontal Nudity

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Jussi Nikkilä	...	Taavi
Reino Nordin	...	Jere
Jarkko Niemi	...	Markus
Jenni Banerjee	...	Reetta
Ville Kivelä	...	Sami
Mervi Takatalo	...	Mira
Evi Suppala	...	Jenni
Laura Malmivaara	...	Helena Pääkkönen
Ville Virtanen	...	Jeren isä Juhani
Kari Heiskanen	...	Juristi
Kari Hietalahti	...	Taavin isä
Milka Ahlroth	...	Taavin ätti
Esko Mäkelä	...	Nettideittimies
Elina Stirkkinen	...	Nettideittinainen
Markku Peltola	...	Samin isä

Also Known As:

Brändö (Finland) (working title)
Nuoret jumalat (Finland) (working title)
Young Gods (International: English title)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

Finland

Language:

Finnish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:R21 (cut) | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Helsinki, Finland

Company:

Helsinki Filmi Oy

Movie Connections:

References A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Soundtrack:

Itsenäisyyspäivä

A cautionary tale of spiritual emptiness

This movie is a tad better than the user ratings indicate. Perhaps some were hoping for porn, and came away disappointed--although there is plenty of nudity, there is nothing to titillate--this is a moving and cautionary tale of spiritual emptiness.

"Young Gods" is the ironically-titled film that examines the vapid world of mesmerizing images we live in, when there's no guidance for spiritual context. We experience this confusion through the eyes (and lenses) of four Finnish boys, all recent high-school graduates. Taavi has just inherited his deceased father's mansion and wealth, but has blocked out the memory of his death, and moves through life at a distance, viewing everything possible through his camcorder's viewfinder. Jere is emotionally dead. He has a girlfriend and finds comfort in sex, but is unable to open his heart. Sami, homely and overweight, has zero self-esteem. Markus is extremely immature, but otherwise well-intentioned.

The four make an odd pact to film their sexual conquests, and the four find themselves living in an even more illusory meta-world, as their desire to film sex takes precedence over their actual desires, and recording an event becomes secondary to experiencing life. They all seem to lack a father who can teach them about love and loving, and are left to float down a river of sex and imagery without a clue to its purpose. (Jere's father is no help: he's a pornographer, coolly directing loveless sex scenes as though creating a grocery display.) Slowly, the consequences of their pact begin changing them as it brings out the yearning, emptiness, violence, or love that is really within their hearts.