Huijarit

Rike Jokela: Huijarit (FI 2023).

Huijarit is a piece of light entertainment, a humorous thriller-romance about a trio of swindlers always trying to cheat in matters ranging from small (how to steal a hotel breakfast) to big (how to run a fake wellness clinic).

An impressive and distinctive leading performance by Tuulia Eloranta as the fake doctor Siru Paasio. Tommi Korpela is convincing as the main villain, Jukka Helasuo. Miitta Sorvali is great as the real doctor Eila who sees through Siru instantly. Pilvi Hämäläinen as Siru's sister Kati, the police detective who tries to guide Siru to the straight and narrow. Elsi Sloan, impressive in Sydänpeto, is striking again as Siru's non-binary ex, now her roommate.

The film evokes the 1980s trend of films where a repressed yuppie careerist meets a wild woman who changes his life, such as Something Wild, Blind Date, After Hours, and Desperately Seeking Susan.

But Huijarit is original and different as written by Anna Ruohonen, Lassi Vierikko, Juha Jokela and Rike Jokela, based on a story by Riina Hyytiä and Seppo Vesiluoma, and directed by Rike Jokela, an experienced television director now debuting in theatrical movie-making.

After the movie I was thinking that Finland used to be a country of honesty, where the word was the bond, but this is no longer self-evident. Huijarit is a sign of the times.