When teenage twins Aava and Iines begin investigating who their father is, their search draws them to Tinke, a man living with a mobility disability, roughed up by life. The encounter reopens wounds from the past but, above all, awakens a delicate hope of fatherhood in him. As in Aleksi Salmenperä’s previous film Bubble, the actions of teenagers force passive adults to act and face difficult questions.
The film resonates with a broader social theme of empathy. Father’s Day highlights people often overlooked in films: those struggling with substance abuse, the chronically ill and residents of assisted-living facilities. The unwavering care of Tinke’s friend Veikko forms the emotional core of the story, demonstrating how caring can restore human dignity even when all other support fails. The 50-year friendship between actors Tommi Korpela and Tomi Lindfors shines through in their performances as warmth and love that are delicately mirrored by the twins, Varpu and Vilja Rantanen.
Father’s Day is a poignant, slice-of-life film in which Salmenperä depicts humanity stripped of all artifice.
Otto Kylmälä