''Calamari Union'' is a 1985 Finnish surreal comedy film, the second full-length film by the director

Aki Kaurismäki Aki Olavi Kaurismäki (; born 4 April 1957) is a Finnish film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the award-winning '' Drifting Clouds'' (1996), ''The Man Without a Past'' (2002), ''Le Havre'' (2011) and ''The Other Side of Hope'' (20 ...

. The film's cast includes well-known Finnish actors and rock musicians.

Plot

Fifteen desperate men named Frank band together to escape from a repressive

Kallio Kallio (; sv, Berghäll; literally " the rock") is a district and a neighbourhood in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, located on the eastern side of the Helsinki peninsula about one kilometre north from the city centre. It is one of the mo ...

district of Helsinki. An English-speaking man named Pekka joins the barroom conspirators, whose avoidance of last names help them outsmart obstructing forces as they sneak through dark alleys and the tunnels of the

Helsinki metro The Helsinki Metro ( fi, Helsingin metro, sv, Helsingfors metro) is a rapid transit system serving Greater Helsinki, Finland. It is the world's northernmost metro system. It was opened to the general public on 2 August 1982 after 27 years of p ...

. Taking advantage of the night, their goal is to reach the magical seaside district of

Eira Eira is a neighborhood in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. History The district dates back to the early 20th century and received its name after Eira Hospital in the neighboring district of Ullanlinna, which in turn took its name from Eira ...

Cast

Reception

An absurdist comedy, the film is considered to be a satirical cult classic. Caryn James of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described the film as "gleefully absurdist", adding that Kaurismäki "takes over the American gangster film and flavors it with his improbable humor". Others have drawn connections between ''

The Saimaa Gesture ''The Saimaa Gesture'' ( fi, Saimaa-ilmiö) is a 1981 film by Finnish directors Aki and Mika Kaurismäki. It is a documentary about three Finnish rock groups aboard the steamboat SS Heinävesi on their tour around Lake Saimaa. The film The film ...

'' and ''Calamari Union'' and the Finnish punk movement.

References

External links

* * * * * * * 1985 films 1980s Finnish-language films Films shot in Finland Films set in Helsinki Films directed by Aki Kaurismäki Finnish black-and-white films 1985 comedy films Finnish comedy films {{1980s-comedy-film-stub