Premiere Criticism – Film Plus Criticism – An online magazine for film, film and television

by Christian Close

distance Dogs don’t wear pants. and the SM scene, distinguished Finnish director Yuka-Pekka Valkepa explores another hard-to-reach subculture: a group of Finns aliveexpats living in sunny Spain with no strings attached, settling into seedy Marjaleenas tavern (formerly Miss) ex-husband worm which is still rooted. The life of the alcoholic and carefree is about to end when Worm is released from prison and he wants to claim his property and get rid of the crazy gang. When a drunkard Miko discovers a huge pile of hidden banknotes that appears to have been lurking under the bar for 20 years, a bloody game of cat and mouse ensues with Worm and his men.

“Hit Big” reveals Valkeapää as an auteur director in his original style, who looks at nothing but its “ordinary” protagonists with a mixture of wink, amusement, and earnest interest. It is not “politically correct”, but it is not bad either, but an expression of a worldview, an approach to the world, clearly recognizable here. The high-quality production and focus on characters and dialogue, but also the narration and staging style make Hit Big and its director close to Tarantino-esque filmmaking. The only problem left is that this over two-hour black tragicomedy is way too long.

classification

(72/100)

Hit Big was seen at its international premiere as part of the PÖFF – Black Nights Film Festival Tallinn.

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