Yö armahtaa: Drama by Mika Kaurismäki about three gentlemen who ponder life and alcohol in an empty bar in Finland during the Corona Lockdown.
Film plot and background
The corona pandemic has the world in its grip. While hospital caregivers are on the verge of exhaustion, the hospitality industry faces unprecedented existential fears. One night in Helsinki, bar owner Heikki (Pertti Sveholm) has to come to terms with the fact that his bar will soon close down for good.
Actually, it is already closed when his good friend, the nurse Risto (Kari Heiskanen), comes knocking. His last shift at the hospital has worn him down. He needs a good drop to take his mind off things and decide for himself whether and how long he will continue to do the job.
Surprisingly, there is another knock at the door. A mysterious stranger Juhani (Timo Torikka) just wants to charge his mobile phone and wait until his grandchild is born. Only slowly does he reveal that he might have far bigger problems than the two of them together. Over good wine and the closed location, the three men ponder life, guilt and atonement and the chance for hope in a bleak world.
“One Night in Helsinki” – background, cinema release
Finnish director Mika Kaurismäki first attracted attention in 1980 and, together with his brother Aki, has always been one of the most important representatives of modern Finnish film. With “One Night in Helsinki” he tackles the biggest topic of our time, the corona pandemic.
Unlike his previous works, this time he built the film not from a script but from his three main characters. Only Kaurismäki knew where the story was heading, all dialogue and reactions arose from the situation and were therefore improvised.
The world premiere already took place in November 2020, the German theatrical release for “A Night in Helsinki” is on 20 January 2022.
