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Leijonasydän (2013) (Heart of a Lion)
The movie is about Teppo, Nazi looser, who falls in love with a woman, Sari. After while she reveals having a son Rhamadhani with her black ex- boyfriend. Then the troubles start. How to reconcile the extremist racism ideology versus the colored stepson? Teppo agrees and decides to accept Rhamadhani as his own however faces troubles with his Nazi tribe and mainly with himself. He can hide and keep it secret in front of his comrades at the beginning but later he needs to decide. Then his brother (also the member of Nazi tribe) enters his life revealing the secret. That's the moment of Teppo's disunity. He is torn apart between two worlds and he needs to make a final decision. One world is to belong to his group where he's already built the group's respect, where he feels purpose in his life and another world, his new family. He needs to decide. He cannot serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other (allusion to Mt 6). I like the scenes how Teppo and Rhamadhani are building their relationship, mutual respect and love. It is painful for both of them.
Final decision is accompanied with his brother suicide and funeral, his girlfriend coming home from hospital, his brethren renouncing him and literally taking away the symbols (tattoos) that he doesn't deserve any more (according to his tribe). They scraped his swastika tattoo with a grinder. It must've hurt like hell but Teppo is happy. Happy to his new family, happy to make a final statement, happy to make it alive, happy to finally decide.
The message of this movie is crucial and true. We need idealistic movies like this one. Especially today when extremism is no longer extreme, becoming normal. However the cinematography was not that great and it is still a movie as a whole that I'm reviewing here.
The movie is about Teppo, Nazi looser, who falls in love with a woman, Sari. After while she reveals having a son Rhamadhani with her black ex- boyfriend. Then the troubles start. How to reconcile the extremist racism ideology versus the colored stepson? Teppo agrees and decides to accept Rhamadhani as his own however faces troubles with his Nazi tribe and mainly with himself. He can hide and keep it secret in front of his comrades at the beginning but later he needs to decide. Then his brother (also the member of Nazi tribe) enters his life revealing the secret. That's the moment of Teppo's disunity. He is torn apart between two worlds and he needs to make a final decision. One world is to belong to his group where he's already built the group's respect, where he feels purpose in his life and another world, his new family. He needs to decide. He cannot serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other (allusion to Mt 6). I like the scenes how Teppo and Rhamadhani are building their relationship, mutual respect and love. It is painful for both of them.
Final decision is accompanied with his brother suicide and funeral, his girlfriend coming home from hospital, his brethren renouncing him and literally taking away the symbols (tattoos) that he doesn't deserve any more (according to his tribe). They scraped his swastika tattoo with a grinder. It must've hurt like hell but Teppo is happy. Happy to his new family, happy to make a final statement, happy to make it alive, happy to finally decide.
The message of this movie is crucial and true. We need idealistic movies like this one. Especially today when extremism is no longer extreme, becoming normal. However the cinematography was not that great and it is still a movie as a whole that I'm reviewing here.