Syke-elokuva: Kipinöitä yössä

Laura Joutsi: Syke-elokuva: Kipinöitä yössä (FI 2025). Matti Ristinen (Ilmari Nortamo), Helmi-Leena Nummela (Jannica) Ronkainen), Johannes Holopainen (Eero Mustonen).

Syke: kipinöitä yössä / Syke: gnistor i natten.

    FI 2025. PC: Yellow Film & TV Oy. Distributor: Nelonen Media. P: Anni Pänkäälä, Essi Tuukkanen EX: Lasse Koskinen, Marko Talli.

    D: Laura Joutsi. SC: Paula Korva, Anne Prokofjeff. The Syke concept: Petja Peltomaa. Script supervisor / dramaturge: Daniela Hakulinen. DP: Heikki Färm. PD: Kristiina Saha. Cost: Ninni Lahtinen. Makeup: Mari Vaalasranta. Catalogue music: Epidemic Sound ; Universal Production Music. Original song for the movie: "Uudestaan syntynyt" by and perf. Laura Närhi. S: Antti Onkila. ED: Teemu Pöllänen.

    C: 

Helmi-Leena Nummela / Jannica Ronkainen

Johannes Holopainen / Eero Mustonen

Matti Ristinen / Ilmari Nortamo

Karim Rapatti / Miko Rask

Valtteri Lehtinen / Leevi Koskinen

Lena Meriläinen / Lenita Pakkala

Leena Pöysti / Johanna Alanko

Iida-Maria Heinonen / Sonja Salmi

Sebastian Rejman / Jesse Adlercreutz

Janne Saarinen / Niklas "Nikke" Uotila

Elssa Antikainen / Milla

Matleena Kuusniemi / Linnea Hiekka

Heikki Simolin / Tapani Kuorisalmi

Maaria Kuukorento / Oili

Pekka Kauhanen / Aki Lahtinen

Jaana Jokisalo / Saara

Viljami Loponen / Luka Nortamo

Joa Dahlman / Oliver

Vieno Kinnunen / Luna Pakkala

Vilja Aavikko / Armi Joki

Juha Uutela / Kuosmanen

Jukka Hakamaa / Jussi

Jesper Jumisko silmävammapotilas

Hulda & Kyösti / the dog Kyösti

    90 min

    Premiere: 14 Nov 2025 - distributor: Nelonen Media.

ELONET: "Laura Joutsin ohjaama Syke: Kipinöitä yössä (2025) on kolmas suositun Syke-tv-sarjan pohjalta tehty pitkä elokuva. Käsikirjoitus on Paula Korvan ja Anne Prokofjeffin, kun taas kaksi ensimmäistä Syke-elokuvaa käsikirjoitti tv-sarjan luoja ja pääkäsikirjoittaja Petja Peltomaa. On uudenvuodenaatto, ja sairaalassa odotetaan juhlaillan tuovan muassaan ruuhkaa. Hoitaja Jannican (Helmi-Leena Nummela) ex-poikaystävä Miko (Karim Rapatti) tulee yllättäen pienen vamman takia käymään ensiavussa, ja juuri sinkkuuttaan surrut Jannica sopii miehen kanssa illaksi treffit. Takakireä keikkalääkäri Eero (Johannes Holopainen) ärsyttää Jannicaa perusteellisuudellaan. Erilaisia huolenaiheita ja kiperiä tilanteita on niin potilailla kuin sairaalan henkilökunnallakin, ennen kuin vuosi vaihtuu ja raketit paukkuvat."

Syke is a popular Finnish medical drama series. The series creator is Petja Peltomaa. A who's who of Finnish actor has appeared in it. The first season was in 2014, and in the autumn 2025 the 21th season was launched. In 2014-2017 the series was telecast at Yle TV2, since 2018 in Ruutu+ streaming channel and since 2019 tekecast in Nelonen / Liv.

AA: A hospital drama, a television spinoff, a multi-character study. 

Syke in English is Pulse. Kipinöitä yössä means Sparks in the Night.

New Year's Eve at the emergency room. Besides the regular traffic, extra pressure is anticipated due to the fireworks, liberal consumption of alcohol, and online challenges among teenagers.

I have found things to like in the previous Syke spinoffs. They share the insight celebrated by Marshall McLuhan in Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (1964): the tactile quality of the TV image in medical drama. Dealing with matters of life and death and sickness and health in a constant state of emergency. The excitement is the same as in war and crime films, but instead of killing people, the mission is saving people.

The previous spinoffs were written by the series creator Petja Peltomaa, but not this one. New Year's Eve is a great subject for medical drama, but unfortunately this film feels like made on autopilot.

I liked the story of Linnea Hiekka (Matleena Kuusniemi) whose condition the medical professionals have a hard time tracking down. After several false hypotheses, including hypochondria and alcoholism, a rare disease is diagnozed.

A new temporary physician, Eero Mustonen (Johannes Holopainen) is in charge. The experienced nurse Jannica Ronkainen (Helmi-Leena Nummela) is worried because Mustonen's fussy and overdone perfectionism causes the queues to grow alarmingly on a busy day. Jannica takes matters in her own hands and solves cases pragmatically. This does not go down well with Mustonen.

But a mutual respect grows after both have offered false hypotheses in the case of Linnea Hiekka and Ronkainen has performed a decisive move. Then by the seafront Tapani Kuorisalmi (Heikki Simolin) falls and has a serious head injury. An emergency drilling is necessary. Jannica has a drill in her first aid kit. Eero refuses to conduct a drilling in these circumstances, but Jannica performs the surgical emergency operation and saves Tapani's life.

Eero's secret is revealed: he has studied to become a neurosurgeon but has committed a false diagnosis leading to the patient's death. Since then he has been over-careful.

The conflict between doctors and nurses was discussed in the previous Syke movie Särkynyt sydän. Because of the appalling income gap between doctors and nurses, half of Finland's hospital staff considers leaving the profession. Kipinöitä yössä elaborates on this theme. I have a personal interest in these stories because my mother was a head nurse when I was born.

The generation gap is another theme. The ambulance doctor Ilmari Nortamo (Matti Ristinen) is worried about his teenager son's goings-on in the restless Sylvester night and tries to multi-task as a father and a doctor. Communication is difficult.

Jannica multi-tasks in medicine and dating. Her ex, the football star Miko Rask (Karim Ripatti) is back and woos Jannica with gifts and an offer of a ride in an extended limousine.

Meanwhile, the highly strung Eero finds himself repeatedly in a conflict zone with Jannica. Sparks fly, but not in a good way, yet we know how it is in these stories in which there is such hate at first sight. Finally the risk is about transgressing workplace codes of conduct.

Johannes Holopainen has been an appealing jeune premier. In this movie I see him for the first time as a grown-up man. He has presence and weight for greater things.

I have been impressed by the particularly warm audience commitment to the Syke movie screenings I have visited. Also this screening was sold out. 

My blog remarks on the previous entry:

Syke-elokuva: Särkynyt sydän (FI 2023)