Lieksa!

Plot synopsis:
The heart of the film is the Koppelo family. Worn out after a number of travels, but united and strong, this family is proud of their history. They have their share of misfortunes but never stop believing in themselves: We are not just any gang of vagabonds; we are part of world history!Members of the Koppelo family were once court tailors for Nicholas II of Russia. The Finnish family sewed all the beautiful wedding gowns and lace dresses familiar from photos of the Czar´s family. When the Russian revolution started, Sofia, one of the ancestresses of the family and Nicholas II´s last mistress, fled to Finland with her out-of-wedlock son, her sisters and their families. They crossed the frozen Gulf of Finland and ended up in Terijoki, a small town in the south-eastern Finland that now belongs to Russia.Accused of being Bolshevists, the family fled the Finnish Civil War to Europe. Years passed, and the family spread throughout the United States and Southern Europe. In 1970s, part of the family returned to Finland and settled in Pyhäselkä, Northern Karelia, in a house called Lotokka.The Matriarch begins when a thirty-year-old peaceful existence in Lotokka ends the family is evicted! Martta, the matriarch of the family, faces a big challenge. Her family has been through some rough times, and it is her responsibility to lead them to Lieksa, a town of dreams.The Koppelo family love, fight and make up fiercely. Martta´s sons are about to slip into the world of crime, and the situation is further complicated by a dumb young man who the family picks up on the road and whose identity is a mystery.Travelling in a caravan of cars, the Koppelo family sets up camp next to a lake, and Martta finally has time to take a break. But not for long, as evil is already on its way. Laszlo, the criminal and the black sheep of the family, suddenly arrives and notices Lara, Martta´s beautiful daughter who has grown into a beautiful young woman.

Tags: dramatic, romantic, historical

Review:
A good film.
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..
nothing special.
Beginning and the base of the story was interesting, and going on fine.
Then when Laszlo (Frantzen) comes back to family, the story starts to change more to some gangster stuff...
and also Laszlo's character is widely annoying and idiotic, and I didn't realize why he is speaking such a stupid way, and not sounding natural at all.
gangsters comes even more, little fighting, good against the evil.
Kind of basic story.
Not to much humor inside as I was expecting.
Some ultra cheesy singing parts and music in this film made want to skip the end totally; just too much sentimental crap.
I didn't even care anymore how it will end, what will happen.
It's easy to imagine anyway.
Of course movie was not full of bad stuff.
Some acting and film shooting is very well made, and this movie actually had some nice idea.
Only how it became after all wasn't a success..
A good surprise.
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.
What a wonderful surprise.
had it's release here in Finland, I'm ashamed to admit that I let the mostly lukewarm reviews get to me and I passed this wonderful film.
Thank heavens I was able to catch it on TV.
I can understand that some people might not be enthusiastic about a film, which is like a fairy tale for grown ups.
The cinematography is incredibly beautiful and it gives the film an other-worldly feeling.
The cast is quite good, especially Sanna-Kaisa Palo's Martta and I love the music, especially the song "While Your Lips Are Still Red" by Nightwish.**** HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD*** **** HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD***Lieksa!
tells a story of a man, who on a wintery night stops his car when he sees a crashed wan on the side of a road.
The man is drunk and when he realizes that the crash site was a setup he has very little time to react before his head makes a contact with a shovel.
The Koppelo family boys were trying to steal the man's car, but when they saw cops approaching, they panic and enter the shovel.
The old-boys take the man with them to their camp, where they realize that the man has lost, not only his memory, but also his ability to speak.
They decide to keep him and re-name him as Kasper.The Koppelo family is like a band of gypsies, traveling the road in old banged-up trailers.
The head of the family is Martta, a strong willed woman, who has two beautiful daughters and two slow minded sons.
There also few other family members in the group.
The family's great grandmother was a a lover of the former Russian emperor, Nicolai the II and the Koppelo family is truly proud of their royal blood, even though they are living from hand to mouth.
They are, like their forefathers before them, great tailors and the family is heading for a town called Lieksa, dreaming for the possibility to set up a tailor shop when they get there.
Kasper catches the eye of Lara, the beautiful younger daughter of Martha and Kasper starts to develop feelings for her.
Things are complicated by the fact, that Kasper can't utter a word and when the dangerous, handsome Laszlo, the black sheep of the family shows up, he starts to romance Lara, who is starting to grow weary with Kasper's silence.
Laszlo easily charms the Koppelo boys, but Martta is suspicious.
When Laszlo is caught red-handed stealing the family money, he is driven out of camp and he sells the family to a bunch of thugs.
Kasper overhears the plan but is caught by Laszlo and beaten up badly.Laszol tells the family to leave all their possessions behind and leave or they will be killed.
The family decides to fight and with the help (mostly) of the women, they overthrow the thugs.
Laszlo's legendary father, who left the family years ago arrives and defeats and disowns Laszlo.
Kasper moves in with Lara.When the caravan reaches the Lieksa city border, the Koppelo boys are sent to check the town.
When they come back few days later, they look shocked.
They tell the family that they had experienced more during those few days spent in Lieksa, than they had during their whole life and the city-life was not for them or for the family.
(The joke is, that Lieksa is one of the smallest cities in Finland).
That evening, when the family is sitting around a camp fire Kasper speaks for the first time.
One of the boys notes this, while the other one observes that Kasper is only thinking out loud and it really sounds like that.
Kasper has narrated the story during the film and his speech sounds just like a narration.
He observes that the destination is not important.
It is the journey that counts and he says that maybe the Koppelo family is destined to journey on.
So they keep on traveling, in to the night..
An Underrated film.
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.
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).
A caravan that heads to Neverland.
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..
Lieksa.
Lieksa.
Lieksa.
Lieksa.
I would love to see this movie.
I saw teasers and beautiful ads from the movie I was interested in seeing this movie.