The middle installment in Anssi Mänttäri‘s legendary Korvenheimo Trilogy is dedicated to Erica Jung. That’s all the introduction necessary and enough reason to head to the cinema straight away. For further proof we might mention that the film was shot in five days, and that it has endured as a period piece better than 90% of its contemporaries: this film positively stinks of the 1980s.
Mänttäri never strayed too far from the eternal subjects: in the story, based on a cleverly circular structure, Rea Mauranen gets under the skin with her portrayal of an unbearable reporter, whom among others Heikki Kinnunen, Matti Pellonpää and Jörn Donner have to adjust their perspective to as (not necessarily Regina’s) men. The simple question “you play the piano?” grows into nothing less than a yardstick of humanity.
The Helsinki seen here doesn’t exist any longer either, something has been lost in the past four decades. This Regina has its documentary values as well. The delectable characters and the sly humour come as a bonus: even "Erica Jung" is not real, and neither is Korvenheimo. (Anton Asikainen)
Language: Finnish, subtitles: English