''Ponterosa'' is a 2001

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 film directed by brothers Mika and Pasi Kemmo. The film takes place in a

campsite A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using te ...

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populat ...

, where a group of very different people get to know each other.

Cast

Tony Halme Tony Christian Halme (January 6, 1963 – January 8, 2010) was a Finnish politician, athlete, author, actor, and singer. He was a member of the Finnish Parliament from 2003 to 2007, representing the True Finns party as an independent politician ...

as Mauri, "Maukka" * Heikki Paavilainen as Jussi * Timo Julkunen as Oskari Mäkelä * Paula Siimes as Stella, Mauri's sister * Karita Tuomola as Monica * Jenni Ahola as Nelli * Laura West as Maria * Matti Tuominen as Lauri, "Late", Mauri's and Stella's father *

Vesa Vierikko Vesa Tapio Vierikko (born 24 May 1956 in Lappeenranta, Finland) is a Finnish actor. Vierikko began acting in 1978 on television working consistently throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He starred in the 2003 film ''Sibelius'' working with Finnish d ...

as a urologist *

Jarmo Mäkinen Jarmo Mäkinen (born 29 May 1958 in Karstula, Finland) is a Finnish actor. Mäkinen began acting in 1989 on television working consistently throughout the 1990s appearing in several films and TV series mostly notably in ''Vita lögner'' which he ...

as a Coastal Swede * Tuija Ernamo as Saara, Oskari's wife * Santeri Kinnunen as a family man at the campsite *

Esko Nikkari Esko Nikkari (23 November 1938 – 17 December 2006) was a prolific Finnish actor who made more than 70 appearances on film and television. He was born in Lapua, and made his screen debut in 1974 in the movie ''Karvat''. Nikkari was a workhorse ...

as a rural householder on the ship * Lasse Karkjärvi as a travel agency clerk * Mattiesko Hytönen as a real man, Saara's lover * Olli Haaslahti as a young Mauri * Tom Lindfors as a lawyer * Ante Kangas as Rolf * Tuija Timberbacka as a religious person * Janne Itämies Source:

Production

As ''Ponterosa'' was one of the few major Finnish films in 2001 that did not receive any financial support from 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 ...

, the production was mainly privately funded by a number of companies. Due to this sponsorship, the film contains product placement. Parts of ''Ponterosa'' were shot in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

Kirkkonummi Kirkkonummi (; sv, Kyrkslätt, , Sweden ) is a municipality of inhabitants () in southern Finland. The literal meaning of the words "''Kirkkonummi''" and "''Kyrkslätt''" in English is "church heath". Geography The municipality is located just ...

Vantaa Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa is the fourth most populated city in Finland ...

, and

Music

# "Zulu Stomp" (Big Bertha and The Bulldozers) # " Wild Thing" (

The Troggs The Troggs (originally called the Troglodytes) are an English garage rock band formed in Andover, Hampshire in May 1964. Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper " Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You" and "Love Is All Around", all o ...

) # " Hurt" (

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...

) # "Huilu portailla" (Aku Lundström) # " Volare" (

Bobby Rydell Robert Louis Ridarelli (April 26, 1942 – April 5, 2022), known by the stage name Bobby Rydell, was an American singer and actor who mainly performed rock and roll and traditional pop music. In the early 1960s he was considered a teen idol. His ...

) # "

Batman Theme "Batman Theme", the title song of the 1966 ''Batman (TV series), Batman'' TV series, was composed by Neal Hefti. This song is built around a guitar hook reminiscent of spy film scores and surf music. It has a twelve bar blues progression, using ...

" (composed by

Neal Hefti Neal Paul Hefti (October 29, 1922 – October 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. He wrote music for ''The Odd Couple'' movie and TV series and for the ''Batman'' TV series. He began arranging professionally in his ...

) # "

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''. The uplifting lyrics describe somebody who overcomes his troubles and worries by realizing that "it w ...

" (

B. J. Thomas Billy Joe Thomas (August 7, 1942 – May 29, 2021) was an American singer widely known for his pop, country and Christian hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Popular songs by Thomas include "Hooked on a Feeling" (1968), "Raindrops Keep Fallin' ...

) # " Set U Free" (

K-System The K-system is an audio level measuring technique proposed by mastering engineer Bob Katz in the paper "An integrated approach to Metering, Monitoring and Levelling". It proposes a studio monitor calibration system and a set of meter ballistic ...

) # " Only You" (

The Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The ac ...

) #

"Cuy Cuy" (Zapata) # "Lopputekstit teema" (Aku Lundström) # "Reveille Rock" ( Johnny & The Hurricanes) # "

Lollipop A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker, sticky-pop, etc. Lollipops are availa ...

" ( Ronald and Ruby) # "Jos jotain yrittää / Harva meistä on rautaa" (

) # "

I Love How You Love Me "I Love How You Love Me" is a song written by Barry Mann and Larry Kolber. It was a 1961 Top Five hit for the pop girl group The Paris Sisters, which inaugurated a string of elaborately produced classic hits by Phil Spector. Bobby Vinton had a Top ...

" (

The Paris Sisters The Paris Sisters were a 1960s American girl group from San Francisco, California, United States, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. Career The group consisted of lead singer Priscilla Paris (January 4, 1941 – March 5, 200 ...

) # "

Will You Love Me Tomorrow "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", sometimes known as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", is a song with words by Gerry Goffin and music composed by Carole King. It was recorded in 1960 by the Shirelles at Bell Sound Studios in New York City, and hit n ...

" (

The Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFadd ...

) # " Let It Be Me" (Teukka & Tanja) # "Social Outcast" (Big Bertha and The Bulldozers) Source:

Soundtrack album

The soundtrack album for the film, ''Soundtrack elokuvasta Ponterosa'', was released by

Edel Records Edel SE & Co. KGaA is a German independent media company based in Hamburg. As a label and publishing group, it also operates marketing and sales for artists and smaller music labels. The repertoire of the Edel labels includes dance, rock and po ...

. The album contains 15 tracks. Subsequently, a music video for the album's bonus track "Leikiten" was also released.

Marketing

''Ponterosa'' was promoted by the film roles of then well-known celebrities. The presence of Karita Tuomola, a television host and the 1997

Miss Finland Miss Suomi ( Finnish for ''Miss Finland'') is a national beauty pageant in Finland. The pageant was founded in 1931, where the winners were sent to Miss Universe. History Miss Suomi was held for the first time in 1931. Between 1952 and 1955 t ...

, and

, a professional boxer and wrestler, were used to gain media attention for the film. The celebrity cast also included Jenni Ahola, who was known as the 1997

Miss Hawaiian Tropic Hawaiian Tropic is an American brand of suntan lotion. Hawaiian Tropic was founded by Ron Rice in 1969. Rice became the largest private manufacturer of sun care products in the United States, until Hawaiian Tropic was acquired by Playtex Produ ...

of Finland, the 1997 Miss Internet, an

Olvi Olvi plc ( fi, Olvi Oyj, ) is a Finnish brewery and soft drinks company founded in 1878. It currently holds 18.7% of Finland's market share in beverages, making it the largest Finnish-owned business in its sector. Among its subsidiaries, A. Le C ...

ad girl and as the CEO of the modeling agency Promodel. The DVD version of ''Ponterosa'' was released on 14 July 2006.

Reception

Receiving only 2,552 admissions, ''Ponterosa'' was also poorly received by the critics. The film was criticized for its poor script and dialogue. The technical implementation, especially cinematography, was described as amateurish. Despite the heavy criticism, ''Ponterosa'' has subsequently gained significant camp value, and it has been referred to as "the camp classic of Finnish cinema".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0281078 2001 comedy films 2001 films Campsites Films set in Finland Films set in Helsinki Films shot in Finland Finnish comedy films 2000s Finnish-language films