This fall at Scandinavia House, experience Nordic comedy at its darkest with “Svart Humor”! “If there’s a dead body in Denmark, someone is going to make a joke about it,” director Anders Jensen once said; Nordic comedies are as known for their deadpan, dry wit as for their occasionally noir subject matter, celebrating the “svart/sort” (dark) side of life’s hilarities.
On October 25, see the Finnish dark comedy The Woodcutter Story (Metsurin Tarina, dir. Mikko Myllylahti,Finland/Netherlands/Denmark/Germany, 2022)! Pepe (Jarkko Lahti ) is a woodcutter in an idyllic small town in northern Finland, who deeply believes in a better tomorrow. Over the span of a couple of days, however, a series of events gradually destroys the quiet and happy life he once had.
But as chaos, and strife, and surreal adventures are repeatedly thrown at him, Pepe remains smiling, optimistic, and determined to the look on the bright side of life. As if he knew a secret to existence that no one else did…
Anchored by a riotously deadpan lead performance and a wild cast of characters (including a child barber, a singing psychic, and a talking fish), this absurd and hilarious fable from The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki writer Mikko Myllylahti is an ode to optimism despite losing everything.
Selected for L’Atelier Cannes in 2019 and labs such as Next Step in 2018, Torino FeatureLab in 2018, Toronto Filmmaker Lab in 2018, Jerusalem Film Lab in 2016 and Berlinale Script Station in 2015.
“A Kaurismäkian variant on Twin Peaks, with a soupçon of Fargo“—Screen International
“The Woodcutter Story might be the most terrifying movie of the year”—The Playlist
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Mikko Myllylahti was born and raised in Northern Finland, in a small town called Tornio. He has a background in poetry yet graduated as a MA in Screenwriting and Fiction Directing from ELO Helsinki Film School. He has written four collections of poetry that have been published in Finland and have won prizes and gained critical acclaim. His short films include THE TIGER (Cannes Critics’ Week 2018) and LOVE IN VAIN (Locarno 2009).
His first feature script was Juho Kuosmanen’s debut THE HAPPIEST DAY IN THE LIFE OF OLLI MÄKI, which won the Prix un Certain Regard in Cannes 2016. His feature film directorial debut THE WOODCUTTER STORY has been selected to L’Atelier Cannes 2019 and labs such as Next Step 2018 (Next Step Award 2018), Torino FeatureLab 2018 (TFL Production Award 2018), Toronto Filmmaker Lab 2018, Jerusalem Film Lab 2016 and Berlinale Script Station 2015.