The Matriarch

September. 14,2007      
Rating:
5.5
Trailer Synopsis Cast

Martta and Otto are a pair of traveling tailors who claim to be bastard descendants of the Romanovs and wander from town to town in Finland seeking work, accompanied by their two half-witted adult sons, Hippo, Repe and equally silly son-in-law Ventti. The family occasionally turns to crime when they can't quite make ends meet, and the boys begin turning to violence with greater frequency when Otto weakens and Martta becomes the head of the family business. Their fortunes take an unexpected turn when the brothers assault and abduct a man they call Kaspar, who becomes the family's sidekick in their travels. Despite Kaspar's inability to speak, he attracts Martha's youngest daughter, an attractive young woman named Lara, but the family is in disarray when a long-lost half-brother, Laszlo, suddenly re-emerges and tries to wrest control of the clan away from his mother.

Peter Franzén as  Laszlo
Sanna-Kaisa Palo as  Martta
Samuli Vauramo as  Kasper
Jenni Banerjee as  Lara
Heikki Kinnunen as  Niccolo / Otto

Reviews

Karry
2007/09/14

Best movie of this year hands down!

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FeistyUpper
2007/09/15

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

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Derry Herrera
2007/09/16

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

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Dana
2007/09/17

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

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Gautier M
2007/09/18

I get a Finnish copy of this movie with Italian and English subtitle.it's a shame that this movie didn't get more attention because : - the picture and the music are great - the plot is very non-typical - there is no boring sex or conventional violence - it's a mix of irony and tales in a nutshell this movie is a little bit like a johnny Depp or Kusturica's movies.I should admit that this movie have some lack (Maybe because of its low budget) some better actors should have been hired, some characters should have been better elaborated and some part of the scenario also. nevertheless it didn't prevent me to dream

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daorbaa
2007/09/19

Beginning and the base of the story was interesting, and going on fine. Then when Laszlo (Frantzen) comes back to family, the story starts to change more to some gangster stuff... and also Laszlo's character is widely annoying and idiotic, and I didn't realize why he is speaking such a stupid way, and not sounding natural at all. Well... gangsters comes even more, little fighting, good against the evil. Kind of basic story. Not to much humor inside as I was expecting. Some ultra cheesy singing parts and music in this film made want to skip the end totally; just too much sentimental crap. I didn't even care anymore how it will end, what will happen. It's easy to imagine anyway. Of course movie was not full of bad stuff. Some acting and film shooting is very well made, and this movie actually had some nice idea. Only how it became after all wasn't a success.

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Julia Alifanova
2007/09/20

Loved the whole thing. The story of a young man that gets hit in the head and starts his life anew, like a baby - learning to walk, to talk, to feel, and the last but not the least, to understand - is simple but appealing.And although the plot and settings are strictly fairy-tale and timeless (like, what the people are wearing, their caravans, some of the speeches, and the guy named Laszlo from head to toe) you still want to believe what is happening on the screen. Of course one can enjoy watching more once he knows the background of the Koppelo family's story and have an idea of what Lieksa, the movie's Neverland or Oz, whatever, really is like. Then it comes clear that the caravan is actually going nowhere. Another wasted dream.10 points to the team who made the movie.

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tilli79
2007/09/21

When Lieksa! had it's release here in Finland, I'm ashamed to admit that I let the mostly lukewarm reviews get to me and I passed this wonderful film. Thank heavens I was able to catch it on TV. I can understand that some people might not be enthusiastic about a film, which is like a fairy tale for grown ups. The cinematography is incredibly beautiful and it gives the film an other-worldly feeling. The cast is quite good, especially Sanna-Kaisa Palo's Martta and I love the music, especially the song "While Your Lips Are Still Red" by Nightwish.**** HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD*** **** HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD***Lieksa! tells a story of a man, who on a wintery night stops his car when he sees a crashed wan on the side of a road. The man is drunk and when he realizes that the crash site was a setup he has very little time to react before his head makes a contact with a shovel. The Koppelo family boys were trying to steal the man's car, but when they saw cops approaching, they panic and enter the shovel. The old-boys take the man with them to their camp, where they realize that the man has lost, not only his memory, but also his ability to speak. They decide to keep him and re-name him as Kasper.The Koppelo family is like a band of gypsies, traveling the road in old banged-up trailers. The head of the family is Martta, a strong willed woman, who has two beautiful daughters and two slow minded sons. There also few other family members in the group. The family's great grandmother was a a lover of the former Russian emperor, Nicolai the II and the Koppelo family is truly proud of their royal blood, even though they are living from hand to mouth. They are, like their forefathers before them, great tailors and the family is heading for a town called Lieksa, dreaming for the possibility to set up a tailor shop when they get there. Kasper catches the eye of Lara, the beautiful younger daughter of Martha and Kasper starts to develop feelings for her. Things are complicated by the fact, that Kasper can't utter a word and when the dangerous, handsome Laszlo, the black sheep of the family shows up, he starts to romance Lara, who is starting to grow weary with Kasper's silence. Laszlo easily charms the Koppelo boys, but Martta is suspicious. When Laszlo is caught red-handed stealing the family money, he is driven out of camp and he sells the family to a bunch of thugs. Kasper overhears the plan but is caught by Laszlo and beaten up badly.Laszol tells the family to leave all their possessions behind and leave or they will be killed. The family decides to fight and with the help (mostly) of the women, they overthrow the thugs. Laszlo's legendary father, who left the family years ago arrives and defeats and disowns Laszlo. Kasper moves in with Lara.When the caravan reaches the Lieksa city border, the Koppelo boys are sent to check the town. When they come back few days later, they look shocked. They tell the family that they had experienced more during those few days spent in Lieksa, than they had during their whole life and the city-life was not for them or for the family. (The joke is, that Lieksa is one of the smallest cities in Finland). That evening, when the family is sitting around a camp fire Kasper speaks for the first time. One of the boys notes this, while the other one observes that Kasper is only thinking out loud and it really sounds like that. Kasper has narrated the story during the film and his speech sounds just like a narration. He observes that the destination is not important. It is the journey that counts and he says that maybe the Koppelo family is destined to journey on. So they keep on traveling, in to the night.

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