The Matriarch
The Matriarch
| 14 September 2007 (USA)
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Martta and Otto are a pair of traveling tailors who claim to be bastard descendants of the Romanovs and wander from town to town in Finland seeking work, accompanied by their two half-witted adult sons, Hippo, Repe and equally silly son-in-law Ventti. The family occasionally turns to crime when they can't quite make ends meet, and the boys begin turning to violence with greater frequency when Otto weakens and Martta becomes the head of the family business. Their fortunes take an unexpected turn when the brothers assault and abduct a man they call Kaspar, who becomes the family's sidekick in their travels. Despite Kaspar's inability to speak, he attracts Martha's youngest daughter, an attractive young woman named Lara, but the family is in disarray when a long-lost half-brother, Laszlo, suddenly re-emerges and tries to wrest control of the clan away from his mother.

Reviews
Lawbolisted

Powerful

Nayan Gough

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

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Matylda Swan

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

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Zandra

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

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Gautier M

I get a Finnish copy of this movie with Italian and English subtitle.it's a shame that this movie didn't get more attention because : - the picture and the music are great - the plot is very non-typical - there is no boring sex or conventional violence - it's a mix of irony and tales in a nutshell this movie is a little bit like a johnny Depp or Kusturica's movies.I should admit that this movie have some lack (Maybe because of its low budget) some better actors should have been hired, some characters should have been better elaborated and some part of the scenario also. nevertheless it didn't prevent me to dream

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Julia Alifanova

Loved the whole thing. The story of a young man that gets hit in the head and starts his life anew, like a baby - learning to walk, to talk, to feel, and the last but not the least, to understand - is simple but appealing.And although the plot and settings are strictly fairy-tale and timeless (like, what the people are wearing, their caravans, some of the speeches, and the guy named Laszlo from head to toe) you still want to believe what is happening on the screen. Of course one can enjoy watching more once he knows the background of the Koppelo family's story and have an idea of what Lieksa, the movie's Neverland or Oz, whatever, really is like. Then it comes clear that the caravan is actually going nowhere. Another wasted dream.10 points to the team who made the movie.

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Jonathan Cooper

Before i watched this film i read different reviews about this film and with some sites rating it around 5 out of 10 i was a bit put off it, but after i watched the music video from the film i decided to give it a go. But i am glad i have watched the film, the shots are beautiful and well made edit. The storyline is a bit confusing but as i read the story before i watched it i felt like i knew what was going on. The only main down side for me was that it was too short and it felt like they squashed the movie down to 1 hour and 30 minutes, they could easily of added more flow to the movie and made it near the 2 hours and 30 minutes. Overall i would recommend this movie to my friends to watch even though it is very hard to get your hands on a English copy.

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Irene Taipale

When Lieksa! first premiered in Finland I almost went to the theater to watch it, but after hearing a lot of comments about how the movie had some nice camera angles and such, but that it was really weird and didn't have a plot, I didn't go. But when I heard the theme song "While your lips are still red" I started to want to see the film. Then after a little while I heard that the movie was wonderful from one person and I bought the film. I watched and loved it. The film was visually beautiful and had a simple meaning that many people don't seem to understand. The Koppelo family believe that their grandmother was the lover of the last tsar of Russia. They've settled to live in Pyhäselkä, but in the beginning of the movie they are deported and they have to find a new place to live in. They leave towards Lieksa, the town of dreams. In the mean time a drunken man is driving and his car crashes with the Koppelos' van. The drunken man loses his memory and the Koppelo family take him with them. They name the man Kasper. Kasper falls in love with Lara, the daughter of the leader of the group. Kasper doesn't say anything during the movie, until in the last few minutes. The Koppelo family encounter a huge problem, Lazslo, a member of the group that left them years ago returns and wants Lara to be his bride. Lara fells in love with him, because her relationship with Kasper isn't going anywhere. Lazslo later on turns out to be a traitor once again and wants to destroy the whole group. The Koppelo family does get rid of Lazslo and his helpers in the end. The Koppelos head out to Lieksa before the winter. When they arrive at Lieksa, two of their group visit Lieksa while the others wait outside the town. After they return, they announce that Lieksa is too great for them. There was more action in one day at Lieksa than in their whole lives before. (Lieksa is actually one of the smallest and most insignificant towns in Finland)So the point in my opinion is that the thing that you try so very much to get, might not be that great after all. There were some faults, like when men dressed as women and you were supposed to laugh and for some the movie might be too unclear to follow. But on the whole, Lieksa! left me a great fairy tale-like feeling and I really enjoyed watching it. Markku Pölönen did a great job in my opinion and would deserve a lot more credit for the film than he did. I recommend Lieksa! to anyone who enjoys realism and fairy tales mixed in a love story9/10 (Sorry if I made spelling mistakes, I'm Finnish)

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