The Matriarch (film)

The Matriarch

The Matriarch theatrical release poster (Finnish)
Directed by Markku Pölönen
Produced by Suomen Filmiteollisuus
Written by Markku Pölönen
Starring Peter Franzén
Sanna-Kaisa Palo
Samuli Vauramo
Jenni Banerjee
Heikki Kinnunen
Music by Vesa Mäkinen
Cinematography Jan Nyman
Edited by Markku Pölönen
Release dates
 14 September 2007
Running time
 90 min
Country Finland
Language Finnish
Budget €1,400,000
Box office €435,981

The Matriarch (Finnish: Lieksa!) is a 2007 Finnish comedy-drama film written, directed and edited by Markku Pölönen and produced by the Pölönen-owned film production company Suomen Filmiteollisuus.

Plot

Martta (Sanna-Kaisa Palo) and Otto (Heikki Kinnunen) are a pair of traveling tailors who claim to be bastard descendents of the Romanovs and wander from town to town in Finland seeking work, accompanied by their two half-witted adult sons, Hippo (Tuomas Uusitalo), Repe (Tatu Siivonen) and equally silly son-in-law Ventti (Toni Wahlstrom). 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 (Samuli Vauramo), 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 (Jenni Banerjee), but the family is in disarray when a long-lost half-brother, Laszlo (Peter Franzen), suddenly re-emerges and tries to wrest control of the clan away from his mother.

Cast

Soundtrack

The soundtrack includes the song "While Your Lips are Still Red" by Tuomas Holopainen and Marco Hietala.

External links