Movie Review: The Grump (Mielensäpahoittaja)

The Grump (Mielensäpahoittaja)
Neutrinos Productions, Solar Films, Finland, 2014. 

The Grump (Antti Litja), or literally The Man Who Gets Upset About Things, is an elder man living in his country house. His wife (Petra Frey) has Alzheimer's disease and she lives in a ward in the community health center. He has Son (Iikka Forss) and Daughter-in-law (Mari Perankoski) who live in Helsinki. He is stubborn and thinks that everything was better in the past. Basically he means good but his world views are old fashioned and politically incorrect. He is a bit like softer version of Clint Eastwood's character Walt Kowalski in "Gran Torino."  Or a stereotype of an old Finnish man.

The Grump

When The Grump sprains his ankle, he has to put on his fur hat and travel to Helsinki to get MRI images taken and have some physiotherapy. He has to spend time with his Daughter-in-law who is a busy businesswoman. His wimpy son stays in the country house to take care of The Grump's potato field. The visit is awkward because of his prejudices and the generation-gap. The Grump gets into Daughter-in-law's nerves. She has also to take care of important Russian businessmen and close a multi-million euro construction deal. The Grump does not believe that women can drive or be good business negotiators so he tries to help with hilarious results. 

Daughter-in-law

It gets awkward

Tarasenko (Bruno Puolakainen), Ljudmila (Alina Tomnikov) and Sergei (Viktor Drevitski)

Whereas in the past things were simple and people were usually trustworthy, The Grump has to see that the world has become more chaotic. The Grump tries to teach his Son to be more manly, but seems to cause only harm. The Grump has to understand that the world is changing but that's okay as not all change is so bad after all.

Son

The movie is based on books by Tuomas Kyrö. The movie uses some story lines from three books by Tuomas Kyrö, "The Grump," "Daughter-in-Law" and "The Grump and Some Gravy." The books are more less plot driven than the movie, with The Grump discussing various things that upset him, so the movie has more drama compared to the books. The storyline of Russian businessmen is lifted from "Daughter-in-Law" or "Miniä" that was given as a freebie from Finnish bookstores on The Day of Books and Roses in 2012.

The movie is both funny comedy and sentimental drama. Antti Litja is great as The Grump, making the character both irritating and lovable. Mari Perankoski's character balances nicely Antti Litja's character. The Grump's problems with modern technology are bit similar to Monsieur Hulot's in "Mon oncle." There is also a nice reference to Finnish classic movie "The Year of the Hare" (1977) that also starred Antti Litja (and was remade as ""Le lièvre de Vatanen" starring Christopher Lambert). Cinematography is good and works especially well with the sentimental scenes. Although the adaptation of the books and the flow of the story are not quite perfect, the movie has a nice message about understanding generation gaps.

Rating: Very Good 

Starring: Antti Litja, Petra Frey, Mari Perankoski, Iikka Forss, Viktor Drevitski, Bruno Puolakainen, Alina Tomnikov, Janne Reinikainen, Timo Lavikainen, Kari Ketonen, Mikko Neuvonen, Nelly Hristova, Sulevi Peltola, Matti Rönkä, Hanna Karlsson, Ronja Porthan, Lenita Susi, Rosa Autio, Emilia Suoperä, Maria Loikala, Sirkka Rautiainen, Minna Koskela, Jukka Helle, Evgenia Podymalkina, Mihail Vasiljev, Atso Akkanen, Hanna Saari, Mattus Alsi, Panu Raipia, Milla Puolakanaho, Annukka Jokinen, Rauni Eskelinen, Antti-Ville Seppä, Väinö Seppä, Antris Bonsdorff, Anna Hallinen, Eki Vainikka, Arttu Pääkkönen, Jonni Karvosenoja, Ville-Veikko Niemelä, Mikko Marttala, Ida Koski, Tuula Kurkisuo-Stolpe, Eeli Hämäläinen, Kasper Helle, Niclas Järviö, Kasper Iikkanen, Eero Kivistö, Taisto Nurkkala, Rampe Toivonen 

Director: Dome Karukoski