Girl Picture Movie Review Trailer Cast Crew

The title of “Girl Picture,” Finnish director Alli Haapasalo's charming coming-of-age film, is deliberately simple. It seems to say: here is a snapshot of what it is like to be a teenage woman, nothing more, nothing less. The film, which premiered at the World Dramatic Film Competition at Sundance, lives up to this promise by unraveling a conventional but hugely endearing story of three teenagers in Finland sorting out their feelings about love and sex.

We meet Mimmi (Aamu Milonoff), an impulsive teaser, as she gets into a fight with a fellow student in gym class. Her sullenness is so off-putting that she might be lonely if it weren't for her best friend, Rönkkö, whose quirky intellect balances Mimmi's quick wit and short temper. Whether at school or the smoothie shop at the mall where they work, the pair are almost inseparable. But while Mimmi could bear to calm down, Rönkkö is looking to heat things up: despite her attraction to men, she has trouble having an orgasm with them. "There's something wrong with me," she tells Mimmi, who assures her that it just takes time and the right person.

Positive energy, emotional honesty and a trio of strong central performances are the main draws of Girl Picture, which focuses on passion and desire as it plunges into the lives of three Finnish teenagers for three Fridays in a row. Director Alli Haapasalo's second solo outing, following 2016's Love And Fury, is written with candid freshness by Ilona Ahti and Daniela Hakulinen, though they struggle at times to keep all its moving parts in balance.

Director: Alli Haapasalo

Writers: Ilona Ahti, Daniela Hakulinen

Stars: Aamu Milonoff, Eleonoora Kauhanen, Linnea Leino

The film has its world premiere at Sundance before heading to the Generation 14plus section in Berlin, where it seems likely to catch the eye of other festivals looking to program films for older teen audiences. Winning performances and Haapasalo's careful attention help offset the sometimes frustratingly fragmented nature of the storytelling.

While this is structured as an ensemble piece, Mimmi (Aamu Milonoff) is at the heart of Girl Picture. Outspoken and smart, she also quickly establishes herself as a bit of a hothead, though her equally smart friend Rönkkö (Eleonoora Kauhanen) is always there for her. The pair exchange gossip at the smoothie joint where they work and the writers are amused by the puns on offer, including It Takes Two to Mango and Lime of Passion. This is where the pair cross paths with ice skater Emma (Linnea Leino), a dedicated athlete about to go to the European championships if she can perfect her triple lutz.

There is an immediate spark of attraction between Emma and Mimmi, with the two actors bringing the perfect blend of shyness and warmth to the encounter, and the pair, who are completely comfortable with their own sexuality, strike up a passionate relationship. Meanwhile, Rönkkö is just trying to find the perfect spark with a guy, as he meets her in her bedroom, though all consensual, never ending with the explosion she craves.

Shot in a 1.33:1 square aspect ratio by Jarmo Kiuru, giving it additional intimacy, the film takes the emotional terrain of women seriously as it gradually reveals their individual hopes and fears around relationships and commitment. Haapasalo packs a satisfying erotic kick in the bedroom scenes between Mimmi and Emma without getting too explicit, and while Rönkkö just can't get any satisfaction, you never fear for his safety, as is often the case in these kinds of coming-of-age movies. .

It is the ambition of the writers that traps them as, trying to tell several stories in a single movie with a short running time, they have to make sacrifices in terms of plot. Oddly for a film featuring three main characters, there are hardly any scenes where the three of them interact, and while domestic backgrounds are offered for Mimmi and Emma, ​​including some nice Emma moments on ice, Rönkkö falls short. compared. The Rönkkö story, in general, often feels like a short film that we keep drifting in and out of, rather than an integrated part of the larger narrative. The film is also so focused on the ins and outs of the trio's relationship that, beyond Emma's skating, there's little sense of what they all want in general from life, with the director often picking up the slack in narrative terms by advancing the story. with mount.

 Girl Picture Movie 2022 Trailer