, image = Back to the USSR.jpg , caption = Original Finnish film poster , director =

Jari Halonen Jari Juhani Halonen (born 30 September 1962) is a Finnish film and theatre director, writer and occasional actor. Known as a controversial and outspoken person, his films, such as '' Back to the USSR'' (1992), '' Lipton Cockton in the Shadows of S ...

, producer = Jari Halonen , writer = Jari Halonen

Jorma Tommila Jorma can refer to: *Jorma (name), Finnish given name *Jorma (album), released by Kaukonen in 1979 *Jorma (wine), a Finnish wine *nowadays in Finnish language ''jorma'' is a very well-known slang word that means penis A penis (plural ''p ...

, based_on = ''Vampyyri eli miten Wilhelm Kojac kuoli kovat kaulassa'' by

Jarkko Laine Jarkko Laine (17 March 1947 – 19 August 2006) was a Finnish poet and a writer of prose and plays. He also translated American literature to Finnish. Jarkko Laine was born in Turku, Finland. He became known from the 1960s underground movement, d ...

, starring = Jorma Tommila

Taisto Reimaluoto Taisto Reimaluoto (born 28 September 1961, in Helsinki) is a Finnish actor. Reimaluoto began his career in films and in 1994, he appeared in '' Aapo'' as the lead character. However since 1995 he has become a prolific Finnish television actor o ...

, cinematography = , editing = , studio = Mondo Furioso Filmproductions , released = , runtime = 94 minutes , country =

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, language = Finnish , budget =

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

900,000 , gross = ''Back to the USSR'' ( fi, Takaisin Ryssiin) is a 1992

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

comedy drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

and co-written with

. It is an absurd comedy about Finland's last

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

(played by Tommila) and his friendship with a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

(played by

) who looks like

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

. The film is loosely based on 1971 novel ''Vampyyri eli miten Wilhelm Kojac kuoli kovat kaulassa'' by

Plot

Reima Elo, the last local communist with a reputation as a village madman, lives in a constant cycle of failure. One evening, when Reima is about to commit

suicide by hanging Suicide by hanging is the intentional killing of oneself (suicide) via suspension from an anchor-point such as an overhead beam or hook, by a rope or cord or by jumping from a height with a noose around the neck. Hanging is often considered t ...

, a man mistakenly resembling Lenin, who introduces himself as Vladimir, arrives at his house as a tenant. The guest has only a

coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewel ...

with him as luggage. Reima begins to believe that Vladimir has indeed come back to life as Lenin, but only in the form of a vampire. This gives Reima a new lease of life and he decides to join Vladimir in a desperate fight against

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

to spread the glory of communism.

Cast

as Reima Elo *

as Vladimir *

Rose-Marie Precht ''Rose-Marie'' is an operetta-style musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The story is set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and concerns Rose-Marie La Flemme, a Fren ...

as Matsonska, pharmaceutist's wife *

Jouko Turkka Jouko Veli Turkka (17 April 1942 – 22 July 2016) was a Finnish theatrical director and controversialist. He was assistant director of the Helsinki City Theatre from 1975 to 1982, and a professor at the Helsinki Theatre Academy from 1981 to 1988, ...

as Topi Rautavaara *

Ulla Koivuranta Ulla Koivuranta (born 19 March 1959, in Vaasa, Finland) is a Finnish actress. In 1991 she began work at the Turku Theatre. She played the role of Lempi in the 1994 film '' Aapo''. Filmography *''Hyvän tekijät'' (1997), released as Good Deeds ...

as Molla Elo *

Tarja-Tuulikki Tarsala Tarja-Tuulikki Tarsala (4 September 1937–9 May 2007) was a Finnish film actress. She was the wife of the director Ere Kokkonen. Tarsala was awarded the in 1998. In 2001, Tarsala won the Jussi Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performan ...

as widow * Kati Köngäs as religious girl *

as pharmaceutist Rauno Matson

Reception

The film received a mixed reception from critics. Helena Ylänen from ''

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...

'' describes in her review ''Back to the USSR'' as "an amazing Finnish film," continuing that "even if the film's mishmash threatens to turn into a

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

only for a few moments, the film deals with big and serious issues in an animated and heartfelt way." Olli Manninen from ''

Iltalehti ''Iltalehti'' (literally "Evening newspaper") is a tabloid newspaper published in Helsinki, Finland. History and profile ''Iltalehti'' was established in 1980 as afternoon edition of newspaper ''Uusi Suomi''. Alma Media is the owner of ''Iltal ...

'' criticized the film, saying that "''Back to the USSR'' is like a joke of a few sketches, the stretching of which into a feature film shows a shocking underestimation of the audience." Hannu Massinen from ''

Etelä-Suomen Sanomat ''Etelä-Suomen Sanomat'' (meaning ''South Finland News'' in English; nickname ''Etlari'') is a Finnish daily newspaper published in Lahti, Finland. It is the leading paper in its metropolitan area.

'' thinks the film is "pointless", saying "the work is full of rubbish, which may fortunately make it a welcome target for so-called

trash film Z movies (or grade-Z movies) are low-budget films with production qualities lower than B movies. History and terminology The term "Z movie" arose in the mid-1960s as an informal description of certain unequivocally non-A films. It was soon adopte ...

worshippers." Kimmo Ahonen from ''Film-O-Holic'' gives the film a full five stars, saying in his review that "the film's farce and tragedy meet in it with a naturalness and an attitude whose uncompromisingness is still admirable and inspiring." In his review, Ahonen also praises the acting of Reimaluoto and Tommila.

References

External links

* {{Jari Halonen 1992 comedy films Films about communism Films directed by Jari Halonen Films shot in Finland Finnish comedy films Vampire comedy films