''The Land of Happiness'' (Finnish: ''Onnen maa'') is a 1993 Finnish

comedy-drama 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 ...

film, set in the 1960s (when tango was all the rage in Finland), by multiple award-winning Finnish director

Markku Pölönen Markku Tapani Pölönen (born 16 September 1957 in Eno) is a Finnish film director, screenwriter, and editor; and the owner of film production company Suomen Filmiteollisuus. Pölönen's best known work is the 2004 film '' Dog Nail Clipper'' &mda ...

Plot

The film stars Finnish actor Pertti Koivula in the lead role as Tenho, a

prodigal son The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the parable of the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father, or of the Forgiving Father) is one of the parables of Jesus Christ in the Bible, appearing in Luke 15:11–32. Jesus shares the parable with ...

with patent leather shoes and dancing skills to match, who returns home to his family's rural farm for the summer after failing to make a living in the city. Tenho's brother Aarne ( Taisto Reimaluoto) runs the farm while Grandma ("Mummo") (Anja Pohjola), the boys' mother, as the matriarch, tends to farm chores while caring for her boys' father (Veikko Tiitinen) in his failing physical and mental health. Other characters include Tenho's young nephew Tapi and Tenho's sister-in-law Tuija. Tenho is immediately put to work on the farm by his brother, but Tenho is not cut out for farm life. He cannot keep up with the work even when he tries, and he does everything possible to get out of helping, even deliberately maiming himself. Highlights of the film include Tenho's budding romance with the attractive milk maid Virva; it looks like a sure thing until Virva learns about a certain bet involving her that Tenho has made with Aarne. That's when Virva turns to ice and Tenho's feelings change to crazed obsession. The film also features live performances by Finnish tango musician

Reijo Taipale Reijo Toivo Taipale (9 March 1940 – 26 April 2019) was a Finnish pop singer since the 1950s specializing in Schlager music and tango. Many of his albums have gone gold and platinum. Biography Taipale was born in Miehikkälä, Finland. Through ...

Cast

Katariina Kaitue Katariina Kaitue (born 21 January 1967 in Helsinki) is a Finnish actress. She has been a regular actress since 1991 at the Finnish National Theatre, where she has performed dozens of roles. Kaitue studied at the Helsinki Theatre Academyi from 1 ...

as Virva * Pertti Koivula as Tenho Hirvola * Anja Pohjola as Mummo * Veikko Tiitinen as Ukki * Tuula Väänänen as Terttu Anneli Hirvola * Taisto Reimaluoto as Aarne Tapio Hirvola * Riikka Räsänen as Tangotyttö * Tatu Kaihua as Tapani 'Tapi' Ilmari Hirvola * Heidi Hakkarainen as Tuija *

as Tangokuningas * Carl Mesterton as Saarnamies * Jukka Puronlahti as Välkky * Leo Raivio as Hännystelijä * Esa Halonen as Meijerimies

Awards

The film won the best picture and best screenwriter awards for Pölönen at the 1994 Finnish Jussi Awards, Finland's premier movie accolade.

References

External links

* Finnish comedy-drama films 1993 comedy-drama films 1993 films Films directed by Markku Pölönen 1990s Finnish-language films {{1990s-comedy-drama-film-stub