A Moment in the Reeds

This Finnish drama stars Janne Puustinen as Leevi, the prodigal son of failing businessman Juoko (Mika Melender), who disapproves of his son’s academic life in Paris, which includes studies in French literature. Despite their conflicts and Juoko’s awareness that Leevi blames him for the death of the latter’s mother, Juoko brings the reluctant young man home to help make repairs on the family’s rustic, lakeside cottage. Their truce is brief, and Leevi’s lack of handyman skills annoys Juoko, forcing the older man to hire Tareq (Boodi Kabbani), a Syrian refugee and architect performing manual labor until he masters the Finnish language. Leevi and Tareq both speak English (Juoko barely does), allowing for a sudden sexual and passionate relationship to flourish when dad has to leave for a couple of days. Filmmaker Mikko Makela brings an admirable restraint to much of the story, allowing the intensity of crossfire emotions between the three characters to rumble rather than rage, while also giving the actors plenty of room to explore their quiet desperation (although the sexual scenes are rather intense). But aside from those positive qualities, the story proves to be rather predictable. Optional. (T. Keogh)