Sasa Hara I liked the pacing of the movie as well as the characters. The main character is a man who is at a difficult point in his life, so I don't feel his character development is unrealistic.What led to -2 stars is definitely the end. Like seriously, what the... Why does his brother have to kill himself? Obviously he is in a bad place mentally, but why can't the movie give us a happy end? It's so unnecessary and random, especially when the relationship between the brothers is starting to get better. I get it, psychotherapy isn't dramatic and cool, but how about that and some meetings with the victim to talk things over? Why have this absolutely stupid suicide to up the drama or whatever instead of showing a way out of whatever mental problems he's going through, show them rent the land and rebuild it and them living there with their families? or did they run out of money to make it a proper end and that's why they cut the brother's story short? So yeah, that was very disappointing, but the rest of the movie is quite nice. The kid is a little brat, too, and his father also doesn't know when to stop, but that's what makes the characters realistic. Still wanted a better ending. I'm very conflicted, but I think it's worth a watch.

losindiscretoscine Can love save us from an extremist ideology? That's the question addressed by "Heart of A Lion", four times nominated to the Jussi Awards (the Finnish equivalent of the BAFTA) in 2014. In addition to the actors' amazing performances (Peter Franzén is superb), the movie sensitively shows the trouble in having a normal life when we want to be an active representative to an ideology like nazism. Despite some tough moments and Dome Karukoski's accuracy to show how this extremely violent environment is, there is room for light in this Finnish movie. Little by little, Teppo finds his humanity and humbly realizes the limits of far-right ideologies that are indeed quite popular in Northern countries. Even though Finland is going to celebrate the first century of its independence, immigration is still rare and attachment to the roots and the national history are essential. Although the director says that "Heart of a Lion" could have been set anywhere, the story is the more legitimate and realist in Finland. This film sends us a beautiful moral: complicity, wiseness and reason can win against ignorance, exclusion and violence that, as shown by the movie, are synonyms of decay and degeneration instead of progress and growth. Full review on our blog Los Indiscretos : https://losindiscretos.org

probably-just-me77 I find this movie very enjoyable. Character interactions, emotions, scenes, dialogues and so on. The only problem with it is that it doesn't belong in this world. There are no people like this. I've spent most my childhood surrounded by right wing skins (many of them still my best friends). Then I've spent nearly 10 years being an immigrant and surrounded by people of very mixed origins. Again I repeat - people are not like that. What this movie does is it perpetuates harmful stereotypes and prejudice on both sides in the name of universal love and leftie brainwash. Use with caution.The director is very talented but should rely more on his own life experience when telling stories rather than doing his liberal homework to get praise from his Starbucks friends. I think it would take him to another level.

pontus-randen OK. I must admit: I have not seen to many Finnish movies. But the few that I have seen has been either really boring or, if it is a comedy, really boring.But this one. WOW! Nothing short of stunning, with great performances all over. Not just from Peter Franzén but also from the rest of the crew, the Nazi fellows not the least. Jasper Pääkkönen (try saying that name really fast ten times) playing the brother in the film is equally good.The movie has a message. But it is not made "down your throat". Just as the Nazis in the movie are acting stupid, so is the black father and the gypsies. So lots of people with different colored skin and different backgrounds, acting stupid. Not just one part. As often in the real world.Makes me wonder if there are more good Finnish movies. At least this one gives me a certain hope that there might be. Or at least some to come.