Spoilers
Caught this short (98 minutes) Finnish comedy in a 'Euro Vision' festival in town. While this film is a 2003 production, the fact that the handful of comments on IMDb is almost entirely from Finland may suggest that it hasn't got much exposure elsewhere.
The plot carries marks of originality. A yuppy couple Janne (an IT wiz) and Katri (a sough-after graphic designer) looking for an unusual vacation signs up with Invisible Hand Vacation for the 'unemployed poor' experience, a month in the housing projects with nothing but four envelopes of weekly cash that allows them to barely keep body and soul together. (For the sake of enjoyment of the movie, let's not argue about whether an educated couple should be so gullible). The first half of the film treads lightly along this path, as we see how the couple adapts to this play-world poverty but actually blending in with the real people living in this neighbourhood. There are some very funny moments as well as interesting insight into how the minds of these two people work under this made-believe poverty.
In the middle of the movie, events start to turn a little nasty as the vacation turns out to be one big con job. Things get a bit melodramatic from this point on, losing some of the freshness that came before. Sometimes satirical, sometime farcically, the mood nevertheless does not get carried so far as to become noire.
One scene that I really like is close to the beginning, with the couple discussing this vacation package in their plush kitchen. As Janne goes through the material in the web site, we see detailed, close up shots of Katri making gourmet coffee from an expensive domestic coffee machines, from grinding of beans to the rich coffee finally flowing out into the two beautiful cups. I could almost smell the aroma. This is a sharp contrast of what we see later, Katri sweating in their run down 'vacation' apartment, pouring dirty-looking water from a plastic jar into a plastic cup.
The acting is good from both of the main characters, as well as the supporting cast. While not particularly profound or inspiring, this movie is entertaining and enjoyable.
Caught this short (98 minutes) Finnish comedy in a 'Euro Vision' festival in town. While this film is a 2003 production, the fact that the handful of comments on IMDb is almost entirely from Finland may suggest that it hasn't got much exposure elsewhere.
The plot carries marks of originality. A yuppy couple Janne (an IT wiz) and Katri (a sough-after graphic designer) looking for an unusual vacation signs up with Invisible Hand Vacation for the 'unemployed poor' experience, a month in the housing projects with nothing but four envelopes of weekly cash that allows them to barely keep body and soul together. (For the sake of enjoyment of the movie, let's not argue about whether an educated couple should be so gullible). The first half of the film treads lightly along this path, as we see how the couple adapts to this play-world poverty but actually blending in with the real people living in this neighbourhood. There are some very funny moments as well as interesting insight into how the minds of these two people work under this made-believe poverty.
In the middle of the movie, events start to turn a little nasty as the vacation turns out to be one big con job. Things get a bit melodramatic from this point on, losing some of the freshness that came before. Sometimes satirical, sometime farcically, the mood nevertheless does not get carried so far as to become noire.
One scene that I really like is close to the beginning, with the couple discussing this vacation package in their plush kitchen. As Janne goes through the material in the web site, we see detailed, close up shots of Katri making gourmet coffee from an expensive domestic coffee machines, from grinding of beans to the rich coffee finally flowing out into the two beautiful cups. I could almost smell the aroma. This is a sharp contrast of what we see later, Katri sweating in their run down 'vacation' apartment, pouring dirty-looking water from a plastic jar into a plastic cup.
The acting is good from both of the main characters, as well as the supporting cast. While not particularly profound or inspiring, this movie is entertaining and enjoyable.