The fourth instalment of the Grump series, based on the novels by Tuomas Kyrö, opens with a scene in which the sons of the title character (Heikki Kinnunen) take the self-harming grump to a nursing home. The father, however, is not prepared to spend the last part of his life in an institution singing hymns, but runs away to return home. At the checkout counter of a local market, the old man meets Saimi (Jaana Saarinen), a cheerful but penniless photographer. Slowly, their unlikely relationship develops into something deeper than friendship.
Mika Kaurismäki’s second film adaptation of The Grump is a warm-hearted comedy that evolves into a love story between two original personalities who have already lived a lifetime. In addition to the romance, the film reflects the paternalistic and even selfish attitude of an adult child towards an elderly parent.
Rather than senile and foolish, Kaurismäki’s film presents his protagonist as a conscious actor who, despite his advanced age, has a life to live, with its joys and sorrows.
Joonatan Nikkinen