DIRECTOR: ALLI HAAPASALO
STARRING: AAMU MILONOFF, ELEONOORA KAUHANEN, LINNEA LEINO
RUNNING TIME: 1 HR 40 MINUTES
Three young women try to defy the persistent winter darkness in Finland. In the process, they move between dreams, reality, friendship and relationships, and try to make sense of the whole mess.
STARRING: AAMU MILONOFF, ELEONOORA KAUHANEN, LINNEA LEINO
RUNNING TIME: 1 HR 40 MINUTES
Three young women try to defy the persistent winter darkness in Finland. In the process, they move between dreams, reality, friendship and relationships, and try to make sense of the whole mess.
FILM REVIEW:
(This review contains spoilers.)
“When will you realize everything won’t be handed to you?”
Girl Picture is the latest International Feature submission for Finland. Set in Helsinki, this incredible film follows two best friends, Mimmi and Ronkko, for three Fridays in a row as they navigate through their teenage lives.
The film begins with Mimmi and Ronkko spending most of their time going to school and working at a smoothie booth. One Friday, Mimmi meets Emma, one of the top figure skaters in the country, while working and after an interaction between one another, they’re invited to a house party. Mimmi and Ronkko are both at the point in their lives where they’re looking to explore relationships and the pressures that comes with it. As Ronkko tries to experience and feel something with a man, Mimmi and Emma’s relationship begins to grow into something much more special.
The entire film takes place for three weeks.
What makes Girl Picture incredible is that it manages to capture the personalities, perspectives and motivations of these three women perfectly. Their stories are all incredibly different and each character is so well done that you’re instantly drawn into them and you want to get to know them better. Their decisions, emotions and the aftermath are all extremely relatable. We just want them to succeed and to be happy.
Director Alli Haapasalo has done a fantastic job at creating a film that flows into something really special. Every shot has a purpose. The writing, the performances and the cinematography are all incredibly well done, as is the soundtrack. It all feels so warm and intimate like you’re experiencing life with them.
While this film is definitely a coming of age story about three incredible women, it’s overall strength is the fact that it’s a real story about learning to be at peace with oneself and trying to become a better version of oneself too. We all make mistakes, we all learn from our mistakes, and we all need to grow from our mistakes. And this film is a reminder that life is complicated, life isn’t always straight forward, but life can also be a beautiful thing. It’s a joy to experience and witness sexuality, queerness and female friendship free of judgement and restraint.
(This review contains spoilers.)
“When will you realize everything won’t be handed to you?”
Girl Picture is the latest International Feature submission for Finland. Set in Helsinki, this incredible film follows two best friends, Mimmi and Ronkko, for three Fridays in a row as they navigate through their teenage lives.
The film begins with Mimmi and Ronkko spending most of their time going to school and working at a smoothie booth. One Friday, Mimmi meets Emma, one of the top figure skaters in the country, while working and after an interaction between one another, they’re invited to a house party. Mimmi and Ronkko are both at the point in their lives where they’re looking to explore relationships and the pressures that comes with it. As Ronkko tries to experience and feel something with a man, Mimmi and Emma’s relationship begins to grow into something much more special.
The entire film takes place for three weeks.
What makes Girl Picture incredible is that it manages to capture the personalities, perspectives and motivations of these three women perfectly. Their stories are all incredibly different and each character is so well done that you’re instantly drawn into them and you want to get to know them better. Their decisions, emotions and the aftermath are all extremely relatable. We just want them to succeed and to be happy.
Director Alli Haapasalo has done a fantastic job at creating a film that flows into something really special. Every shot has a purpose. The writing, the performances and the cinematography are all incredibly well done, as is the soundtrack. It all feels so warm and intimate like you’re experiencing life with them.
While this film is definitely a coming of age story about three incredible women, it’s overall strength is the fact that it’s a real story about learning to be at peace with oneself and trying to become a better version of oneself too. We all make mistakes, we all learn from our mistakes, and we all need to grow from our mistakes. And this film is a reminder that life is complicated, life isn’t always straight forward, but life can also be a beautiful thing. It’s a joy to experience and witness sexuality, queerness and female friendship free of judgement and restraint.
