science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
horror comedy film
Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary genre, literary, television genre, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three ty ...
Antti Litja
Antti Vilho Olavi Litja (21 February 1938 – 13 July 2022) was a Finnish actor.
Litja made over 60 film and television appearances since 1959. A prominent figure in Finnish film in the 1970s and 1980s, since the mid-1990s he mostly appeared o ...
,
Martti Pennanen
Martti Pennanen (8 December 1923; Tervola, Finland – 17 December 2010; Tampere, FinlandSaara Pakkasvirta. It tells story about the data-expert that proposes, after his brain capacity has ben developed in the special rationalization program, the serious measures that will save the company from an
economic collapse
Economic collapse, also called economic meltdown, is any of a broad range of bad economic conditions, ranging from a severe, prolonged depression with high bankruptcy rates and high unemployment (such as the Great Depression of the 1930s), to a ...
, but when his drastic savings programs forces the board to resign, he must go underground.
The film is the only directorial work of Peippo, who was better known as a
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
, and
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, ...
was originally planned to be the director of the film. ''Wonderman'' was also the first film production of the Filminor company after the death of its leader
Risto Jarva
Risto Antero Jarva (15 July 1934 – 16 December 1977) was a Finnish filmmaker.
Jarva usually approached his long films and short documentary films from some social problem and from one or more possible ways to solve it. Such problems included t ...
in 1977.Ihmemies –
Elonet
Elonet is a website run by the Finnish National Audiovisual Archive
National Audiovisual Institute ( fi, Kansallinen audiovisuaalinen instituutti; sv, Nationella audiovisuella institutet or ') is a governmental bureau under the Finnish Ministry ...
(in Finnish) The
Finnish Film Foundation
The Finnish Film Foundation ( fi, Suomen elokuvasäätiö, sv, Finlands filmstiftelse) is an independent foundation with the task of supporting and developing Finnish film production, distribution and exhibition. It is supervised by the Departmen ...
supported the production of ''Wonderman'' with
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
* ...
830,000.
Yleisradio
Yleisradio Oy (Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founde ...
bought three TV broadcast rights in advance for FIM 220,000, but only used two of them. The official premiere of the film was on November 2, 1979 only in Finland's largest cities; in
Kuopio
Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...
,
Pori
)
, website www.pori.fi
Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north-w ...
,
Vaasa
Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),
and
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...
, ''Wonderman'' was not seen until around 1980. Viewers, the film gathered 42% of the 1979 average.
According to the advertising
slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political slogan, political, Advertising slogan, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the publi ...
on the poster, ''Wonderman'' was a "comedy for our time" (''Komedia meidän ajastamme''), but after the film's premiere, critics didn't really know how to feel about it, as its
slapstick
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...
-style visual comedy was considered too overlaid on the story. Mikael Fränti 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 ...
'' mentioned the following about the film, among other things: "What kind of movie is ''Wonderman''? Maybe we could talk about a
contemplative
In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the divine which transcends the intellect, often in accordance with prayer or meditation.
Etymology
The word ''contemplation'' is derived from the Latin word '' ...
film that also relies on humor and functional
prank
A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...
s. --- But apparently the problem is that ''Wonderman'' is too 'literary' at the level of the script. And during the making process, this written taste has not been completely achieved to eliminate." A later reviewer, Pekka Suorsa from ''DVD-opas'', sees the ''Wonderman'' as telling more about our own time squeezed by the "quarter economy" than about the problems of the late 1970s. Ihmemies ' – ''DVD-opas'' (in Finnish)
Plot
Olli Ruusunen (
Antti Litja
Antti Vilho Olavi Litja (21 February 1938 – 13 July 2022) was a Finnish actor.
Litja made over 60 film and television appearances since 1959. A prominent figure in Finnish film in the 1970s and 1980s, since the mid-1990s he mostly appeared o ...
) is a
child prodigy
A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...
who, as the only Finn and the best in his class, has received special training at the Buffalo Institute in the United States. His brain capacity has been developed to the utmost by training the right hemisphere of the brain in tormenting, which many have not endured. The training was paid for by director Tuomola's (
Martti Pennanen
Martti Pennanen (8 December 1923; Tervola, Finland – 17 December 2010; Tampere, FinlandVille Salminen
Veikko Oskari Ville Salminen (2 October 1908, Mariehamn – 28 November 1992, Quarteira) was a Finnish film actor, director, writer and producer. He was the father of comedic actor Ville-Veikko Salminen and cinematographer Timo Salminen. Salminen ...
), the bank manager who controls the company's finances, is enthusiastic about Olli's program and supports him.
At the company party, Olli causes aggravation and they try to keep him out of Paavola's way. However, the men meet again each other. In the following days, Olli begins to behave in a completely new, liberated way: he escapes from Tuomola's hands and also rejects the attempts of his colleague Ronkainen ( Paavo Piskonen) and the ambitious secretary, economist Tuula Korkeamäki ( Tarja-Tuulikki Tarsala), to get him to return to work. Instead, he meets Anneli ( Saara Pakkasvirta), an uncomplicated woman who works as a bartender, in a
middle-class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Comm ...
beer bar and starts living with her. One day, Olli finds a landlord in Anneli's apartment (
Markku Blomqvist
Markku is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Markku Alén (born 1951), Finnish former rally and race car driver
*Markku Aro (born 1950), Finnish singer who performed on Eurovision contest in 1971
* Markku Huhtamo (born 1946), Fi ...
), who for half a year has been waiting in vain for the rent payment "in nature".
Olli and Anneli plan to run away together, but while applying for a final account from the company, Olli is arrested and sent to treatment; Anneli waits for him in vain. Paavola and Korkeamäki plot together against Tuomola and the man is transferred to early retirement after 30 years of service. Olli runs away from the hospital, buys himself a pair of clothes from a department store, refusing to pay for them; he also refuses to pay in the tram, throws the driver out and starts driving the trolley at high speed on his own. While staying at home, Olli learns that the psychiatrist Veijalainen (
Jukka Sipilä
Jukka Sipilä (12 May 1936, Kivijärvi – 7 August 2004, Helsinki, Finland) was a prolific Finland, Finnish actor and television director.
He began acting in film in the 1960s and took up TV directing shortly in the early 1970s before concentrat ...
) who treated him is now
mentally ill
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
himself and that his classmates from Buffalo have also lost their minds.
Olli returns to the management of the company and celebrates in a restaurant with his wife ( Maija Karhi), Paavola and Korkeamäki. At the bar, he meets Anneli, who first teases the man and then goes on another runaway trip with him. At the railway station, they meet Tuomola, who says that he is traveling to the forest and begins to give a
working-class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
monologue about freedom and the possibilities of people's power to passers-by at the station square. In the station tunnel, they follow the antics of the youth: one boy kicks the other's bum, and Anneli says that it is her own son, whom she was not allowed to raise.
In the morning, Olli and Anneli hitchhike along the country roads and get a ride to
Kotka
Kotka (; ; la, Aquilopolis) is a city in the southern part of the Kymenlaakso province on the Gulf of Finland. Kotka is a major port and industrial city and also a diverse school and cultural city, which was formerly part of the old Kymi parish. ...
. They go to the ship, where Anneli meets her old friends and colleagues. However, Olli immediately begins to rationalize and manage the sailors' work. There is no togetherness, Olli returns to land and gets into the black car waiting at the pier.
Cast
*
Antti Litja
Antti Vilho Olavi Litja (21 February 1938 – 13 July 2022) was a Finnish actor.
Litja made over 60 film and television appearances since 1959. A prominent figure in Finnish film in the 1970s and 1980s, since the mid-1990s he mostly appeared o ...
Jukka Sipilä
Jukka Sipilä (12 May 1936, Kivijärvi – 7 August 2004, Helsinki, Finland) was a prolific Finland, Finnish actor and television director.
He began acting in film in the 1960s and took up TV directing shortly in the early 1970s before concentrat ...
as psychiatrist Veijalainen
* Paavo Piskonen as Ronkainen
*
Markku Blomqvist
Markku is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Markku Alén (born 1951), Finnish former rally and race car driver
*Markku Aro (born 1950), Finnish singer who performed on Eurovision contest in 1971
* Markku Huhtamo (born 1946), Fi ...
as Anneli's landlord
* Tuomas Peippo as Janne Ruusunen
*
Ville Salminen
Veikko Oskari Ville Salminen (2 October 1908, Mariehamn – 28 November 1992, Quarteira) was a Finnish film actor, director, writer and producer. He was the father of comedic actor Ville-Veikko Salminen and cinematographer Timo Salminen. Salminen ...