Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

A lot of fun.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Never once was there a dull, uneventful moment during the film, "Black Ice". Finish director, Petri Kotwica successfully pieces together an exceptional, suspenseful, and riveting film about Saara, a middle-aged woman, seeking revenge on her cheating husband, Leo, an architect and professor, and Tuuli, the student and "girlfriend" of Leo. The ultimate question asked is, How far does one go to achieve revenge? Saara finds out about Leo's affair the evening of her birthday, and the next day goes to visit him at his office to find an e-mail from Tuuli, the young student Leo has a "relationship" with. Saara finds a picture of Tuuli and where she lives on the campus and immediately goes to find her and follow her, ending up at the karate class Tuuli instructs. Without much thought, Saara has joined the beginner's class and from this initial encounter, the two women form a seemingly strong relationship, although Saara has introduced herself to Tuuli as a Christa Ericcson, in attempt to cover up her true identity. As this relationship progresses, Leo is attempting to juggle his relationships with Tuuli and Christa, eventually leading to utter chaos and devastation in each of their lives.Throughout "Black Ice" director, Petri Kotwica, draws upon various themes throughout the film, such as infidelity, sex/gender, revenge, and betrayal. While each of these major ideas are constantly seen during the movie, the theme of betrayal seems to be emphasized, as it was the basis of many decisions each character made amidst the suspenseful events. Including Saara's discovery of her husbands affair, Leo ending his relationship with Tuuli, his flirtatious actions at the costume party, and Tuuli's realization of Christa's real identity, each of these moments and others depict the extent to which humans prioritize their needs and feelings before others regardless of the effect it has on the people around them. In congruence with the overarching theme of betrayal, the reoccurring idea of seeking revenge drives many of the events that end in betrayal. As Saara seeks revenge on Tuuli for sleeping with Leo, the seemingly strong and "true" friendship Saara (Christa) and Tuuli form is completely destroyed, leaving Tuuli amidst feelings of complete betrayal by Saara. The revenge and betrayal we witness in "Black Ice" constantly reminds the audience just how brutal humanity can be when people are stuck in extremely emotional states.The love triangle story line is a perfect situation to be able to explore humans in instances of revenge and betrayal. While Saara (Christa) is forming a strong connection to Tuuli, Saara'a love for Leo is back and fourth the more she learns about her husband's secrets, as Tuuli's love for Leo is crushed and slowly fades once he breaks up with her and then see's him at the costume party with other students. Leo attempts to juggle both of his relationships, eventually ending in betrayal by both of them. In comparison to Hollywood films, there is nothing quite like the love triangle depicted in "Black Ice".The plot was extremely interesting and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, impatiently waiting to see what would happen next. The skillful use of foreshadowing by Kotwica gets the viewer guessing what will happen next, however the creative and unique plot made it so the unraveling of the events was always unexpected. Throughout the film, I never knew what was going to happen next, which carried the plot along enabling the suspenseful and thrilling scenes to build on each other, ultimately making the end of the film to leave the viewer in shock. The acting and story line was extremely well done and added to the element of suspense, but I think the music and sound effects used throughout the film that truly instilled suspenseful and thrilling feelings in me as the events unfolded. The music allows for the viewer to connect emotionally with what was happening on screen. For example, while Saara was stalking Tuuli in the beginning of the movie, from being in her residence hall on campus to following her as she rides her bike to the karate studio, the suspenseful, slightly creepy music made me feel as if I was stalking Tuuli as well. The connection the music creates with the audience and events on screen amplifies the emotional response the viewer has to each scene.Finish films being known for their tragic and devastating endings, "Black Ice" not only captures devastation in the end, but also a shock factor triggering much emotion that makes it a must see.

who is the victim ? that is question who gives sense of movie. the fragile husband ? the cold powerful wife ? the young mistress ? innocent can be only the baby. so, a film like a labyrinth. no doors, no windows. shadow of Almodovar and crumbs of Bergman. a story and its plains. dark humor and slices of ambiguous fight. jealousy, refuges, empty friendship and survive. cruelty of revenge in spider way and two women as borders of circle. a film as catch. about snow and ice and need of certitudes and fall. about limits and image of the other. about lies as fermented feelings and slide of looks. series of shadows and complicated construction. happy-end as fruit of profound peace. silence from womb of strange war.

"What do you do? I am a psycho….. logist". This is a short excerpt in the film Musta Jaa directed by Petri Kotwica, from when Saara, played by Outi Maenpaa, first met Tuuli who was played by Ria Kataja. It is in this first conversation where the tone will be set for the two's portrayed relationship. Tuuli asks Saara what she does for a living when she meets Saara at her martial arts class. Saara at first says that she is a psycho (which is not very far off the truth) and then hesitates and finishes her statement by adding -logist to the end of her word. Saara not only lies about her profession, but also gives Tuuli a fake name of Krista. Right away, the audience witnesses the level of Saara's deceitfulness, but it is not without cause. Prior to meeting Tuuli, Saara sadly discovers her husband of many years and architect professor, Leo (Marti Suosalo), has been cheating on her with another woman. After doing some snooping on Leo's computer, she identifies one of his students and local martial arts instructor Tuuli as being his mistress. In an eventual effort to harm/kill Tuuli, Saara assumes a fake identity so she could become "friends" with her. Unfortunately things do not go quite as planned for Saara and a deceitful love triangle is formed. Love triangles can only hold up for so long and, as in the case of Musta Jaa, the thrilling twists and turns of the triangle will keep audiences up on the edge of their seats trying to guess what will happen next. Kotwica does an excellent job of keeping the suspense alive and leaves very few clues as to how the love triangle will untangle itself. Musta Jaa is definitely not for children, but if you are looking for an intense thriller, then you have come to the right place.One common theme in several Nordic films is infidelity and it just so happens to be at the heart of Musta Jaa's storyline. We see this theme predominantly in the relationship between Leo and Saara. Up until this point in their marriage, Saara was unaware of Leo's sexual escapades and it is not until she finds out about Tuuli that she realizes her husband has been involved with several other women throughout their marriage. Whereas Saara did not have the slightest clue Leo was cheating on her, Tuuli knew about Saara the entire time. Tuuli did not seem to have a problem with dating a man who was already married, not to mention almost twice her age. Even Saara chose to have a one night stand to blow off some steam once she found out she was cheated on by Leo. Unlike the United States, infidelity is a little more common and frequent in the Nordic countries including Finland, which is why Kotwica and many other Nordic directors include the theme in their films.I found it interesting when I discovered the film was directed by a man because it is a very anti-male film. The film seems to portray males as being untrustworthy and having their minds driven by sex, whereas the women are portrayed to be strong and determined. You see this displayed in the film when Saara is able to successfully turn Leo's love affair back in his face. Leo is too focused on his sexual will and fails to notice his life being turned upside down until it is too late. In a recent interview, Kotwica was asked why he portrayed males so poorly in the film and he responded by saying "It must have something to do with hating certain episodes of my life and looking back I see myself acting as a clown in the past." He also went on to mention his main focus was developing a story between two women and would prefer to have spent a minimal amount of time on the male character. I believe Kotwica accomplishes his goal by spending the majority of the movie focusing on the relationship between Saara and Tuuli rather than devoting an equal amount of time to their relationships with Leo.Overall, Musta Jaa is a deceitful drama with many twists and turns that wrap up in a rather peaceful and linear way. Kotwica does an excellent job using very dark sets and lighting in the film to help enhance its dark themes. The music and soundtrack in the film also fit in perfectly with its intense atmosphere. I thought all three of the main actors/actresses played their parts full of emotion and were entertaining to watch throughout. Some of the sex scenes are fairly graphic, but they do not take away from the overall enjoyment of the film. As long as the kids are in bed, Musta Jaa is an excellent choice for a late night thriller that will keep you guessing the entire time.

"I'm a psycho…psychologist", an eerie and ironic quote taken from the main character, Saara, in the dark and ever so strange love triangle story entangled in the film, Black Ice, written and directed by Petri Kotwica in 2007. Setting the stage for this dark and ominous film, Saara, a middle-aged gynecologist and supposedly happily married to her husband, Leo, says this peculiar quote the first time she meets her husbands apparent lover, Tuuli, after discovering intimate e-mails exchanged between her and Leo. Tuuli is a student of Leo's at an architecture school and is also a part time karate instructor, which Saara enrolls in order to do a little sleuthing of her own to see what kind of person the man she loves would cheat on her with. Throughout the karate class and unbeknownst to Leo, Saara takes on a new identity and becomes unexpectedly close friends with Tuuli, creating a complex web of half truths, lies, and deceit that puts viewers on the edge of their seat wondering when or if the intricate love triangle will come crashing down on Saara, Tuuli, and Leo.Black Ice undoubtedly contains fantastic acting and powerful performances by all three main characters, which is key to the film's underlying themes and extraordinary storyline. Saara, played by Outi Mäenpää, plays a fantastically curious wife trying to figure out why her seemingly "good" husband is having an affair with a young student, Tuuli. Tuuli, played by Ria Kataja, is a seemingly bright, eager, and caring young woman searching for love and affection and finds it with her architecture professor, Leo. Martti Suosalo plays the role of Leo, whom is "happily" married to Saara and pleads his love for her which is seen in the opening scene of the film when Leo tells Saara how content he is being with her and how eager he is to be with her, and only her. The reoccurring theme in Nordic film of infidelity is very prevalent in Black Ice, and in fact is at the center of the entire plot throughout the film. As stated above, Leo cheats on his wife, Saara, who is anything but happy when she finds out this daunting truth about her husband. To get "back" at Leo, Saara indulges in a one-night stand of her own, which only complicates things. Saara does this in retaliation to Leo's actions, and two wrongs definitely in this case don't make a right, but Leo is portrayed and lives up to the cliché that the man is the sole "bad guy" in situations like this one. This speaks to Petri Kotwica's writing and how he incorporates women as the "powerful" ones. Moreover, Saara and Tuuli are eventually seen throughout the movie as "equal". Kotwica develops both character's beautifully and has the patience to tell his story mainly through his fine actors and actresses, not through the film's images. For example, instead of Saara confronting Tuuli from the get go about the affair, the drawn out relationship between Saara and Tuuli gives the audience a sense of compassion and concern that women have for their most closest loved ones. This brings up another strong theme apparent in the film; love. It is obvious that Saara loves Leo and will go to great lengths to confirm one hundred percent that he indeed is cheating on her. The strong emotion of love can blind a person from the inevitable truth and can cause people involved to do things and act a certain way that is very different from who they truly are. This is seen when the film reveals that Saara has a strong urge to kill Leo's lover, Tuuli. Undoubtedly, this is not a normal thought for a prestigious and moral doctor such as Saara and definitely not a part of her daily life and personal values. Interestingly enough, the majority of the plot focuses on the relationship and the blooming love between Saara and Tuuli. In my opinion, an important underlying theme to note in Black Ice is the fact that under any circumstance, infidelity is wrong and can only end up badly for both parties. Leo learns the hard way that having an affair and cheating on your wife can only lead down a dark and lonely path to destruction. Being faithful to your spouse is of utmost importance, and anything short of being faithful is wrong and will inevitably lead to all parties involved being hurt. Overall, I felt that the movie accomplished the goal of keeping it's audience entertained and on the edge of their seat. Mixing in multiple relationships with fireworks and surprises at every turn, I would give this film a 9.5 out of 10. The strangeness of the love triangle is one that is very different from films in the Untied States, and I truly enjoyed the character's development and how all the pieces ended up fitting together in the dark, love twisted film of Black Ice.