European Films

A laid-off factory worker hides his unemployment from his depressed wife by secretly making money as a male prostitute in Finnish dramatic comedy Miehen työ (A Man’s Job). The film from director Aleksi Salmenperä is not only filled with laughs -- and many more sophisticated than the topic might lead one to expect -- but because of a carefully constructed screenplay also plays well as a character drama, beautifully making the characters and their dilemmas come alive. Miehen työ had its world premiere here at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and looks set to join recent local box office hits upon its release in Finland before going on tour at festivals and possibly some arthouse play in Scandinavia and beyond.

 

Tommi Korpela, 38 y.o. Finnish actor, athletic, meticulous, has found the ideal job impersonating the well-meaning Juha, a father of three and caring husband to his depressed wife Katja (Maria Heiskanen). Every morning before going to work he counts her pills just to make sure she has taken them at all (or might have taken too many). When he loses his job he asks his friend Olli (Jani Volanen), a taxi driver, to help him find a new job, though he hardly expects to end up selling his body to women.  

 

Salmenperä also directed the 2004 Finnish Oscar submission Lapsia ja aikuisia - Kuinka niitä tehdään? (Producing Adults) and not only directed but also wrote Miehen työ, another mix of heartfelt drama and sexual antics. Though it is the first feature film Salmenperä has written, his writing displays a surprising maturity, starting on a pitch similar to British unemployment comedies such as The Full Monty but soon setting its own tone that nimbly alternates comedy and drama.

The film includes some very delicate material (including one of Juha’s clients who has Down Syndrome) that works perfectly because the director finds exactly the right tone for each scene, with the final reels arriving at a level of emotional resonance normally only associated with heavy character dramas. The experience of editor Samu Heikkilä, who previously worked on Aku Louhimies’s bleak world-views, might have helped to keep track of narrative and character development while keeping the laughs coming at a steady rate. The film also surprises with its portrayal of the depressed Katja, whose depression is treated seriously and not simply as a plot convenience to drive her husband into prostitution.

 

The film is as good-looking as Producing Adults, with cinematographer Tuomo Hutri again opting for a short depth of field and diffused light for most shots, and now focusing on cool blues and greys for the film’s palette. At the end of the journey, after a lot of blood and tears, audiences will feel they know Juha, Katka, Olli and their children as well as their own neighbours -- though they might feel these characters would be more fun to live next door to.