Movies by Mika Kaurismäki

Hassisen Kone 40 Years After
Documentary film about Hassisen Kone. A band that, despite its short age, is still remembered as one of the most iconic Finnish rock bands of all time. The film tells not only about the band's 40th anniversary concert and the preparations for it, but also about the history of the band and its members' growth from youth celebrities to adults.
Jackpot 2
Three young people, two boys and a girl, meet on a Friday evening in an urban post-disaster setting which has brought Helsinki to ruins. The boys' sole purpose of life is to play a Flip-Flop pinball machine.
Sonic Mirror
The multi-award-winning Finnish documentarian Mika Kaurismäki, brother of Aki Kaurismäki (The Man Without a Past), helms the nonfiction work Sonic Mirror -- a protracted exploration of rhythm as one of life's driving forces. Revered drummer Billy Cobham serves as host, taking the audience on a long musical journey around the world and through a myriad of musical genres and styles. Cobham, Kaurismäki, and co. segue from Western concert halls and stages to the music of African tribes performed by Brazilian street children to the distinct music...

The Girl King
A portrait of the brilliant, extravagant Kristina of Sweden, queen from age six, who fights the conservative forces that are against her ideas to modernize Sweden and who have no tolerance for her awakening sexuality.

Ryhmäteatteri
Documentary on the history of Ryhmäteatteri theatre company.

The Grump: In Search of an Escort
Grump's life follows the same familiar routines: spring is here and the early potato harvest is ripening. But Grump crashes his beloved Ford Escort and the car has to be scrapped. A new, modern vehicle is no match for quality and the nearest Escort, a 1972 model, can be found in Germany. When the Grumps's sons refuse to help, he must travel to Germany alone.

The Saimaa Gesture
A documentary film about a tour of three Finnish rock bands around Saimaa lake system in a steam boat in 1981. The bands (Juice Leskinen Slam, Eppu Normaali and Hassisen Kone) are shown playing songs in their gigs and, in between, the members give intimate interviews or just act plain silly and have a good time.

Homecoming
Tiina decides to reconnect with his aged and bohemian father living alone. With her reluctant daughter and new husband, they move in and start to renovate the old house. However, neither the renovation nor facing the past is effortless.

Gracious Night
The three men enjoy the evening at a bar whose fate is threatened by pandemic restrictions. Bartender Heikki offers discussion help to his friend Risto, who works in the first line of healthcare, and who has just finished a difficult shift. The evening gets a new twist when a stranger looking for a mobile phone charger pops in and refuses to leave.

Long Good Thursday
While on a shopping trip, Grump smells Saimi, a woman who smells just right and throws the whole man in a state of confusion. The Grump would not have believed that his chest could still feel like a young boy's. The Grump has to admit that he enjoys Saimi’s company. The words, looks, and touch of another awaken long-forgotten feelings. The Grump’s sons are incredulous and downright jealous of their father, and they don’t want to trust Saimi’s sincerity… could she be after the inheritance? Family meetings, misunderstandings, moonlight swims, ...

Master Cheng
Cheng, 45, a restaurant owner from China, has travelled with his young son halfway around the world to a remote village in Finland. His wife died recently in an accident, and Cheng wanted to have a break from everything by traveling with his son to see an old Finnish friend who lives on a farm in the countryside of Finland. It’s the most remote place Cheng can imagine with endless forests, thousands of lakes, a country with entire population of one-fifth of Cheng’s home town, Shanghai.