在这部最后的牛仔剧情片中,A family drama about unfortunate brothers who are a Finnish version of Cain and Abel. Eighteen-year-old Rupert still suffers from the nightmares of what his abusive father made him do when he was little. To him, his father is a curse. To his younger brother Evert, however, father is still father. Trouble and conflict slowly brews between the brothers with contrasting characters, and the situation climaxes to a tragedy even Rupert does not want.
The film displays a strong narrative based on an emotional story. In contrast, the plot itself is on the calm side. There aren’t any experiments and it doesn’t depart from the mainstream filmmaking methods. Still it examines the wound and its healing in an extraordinary manner, due to the sentiments and touch specific to female directors. The beautiful leading actors, their characters, and their acting also exhibit a feminine image. So far, the films made by the Aki & Mika Kaurismäki brothers have been celebrated as the best in Finland. Now, it’s time to remember the name of this newcomer. In many aspects, it’s worthy to be called the discovery of Finnish films.
In 1972, Rupert, 8 and Evert, 6 are two lovable and wildly imaginative brothers, lost in their cowboys-and-Indians fantasies and in the playground romances with the neighborhood girls. In the background is the warm but explosive and unstable mother, and the charming but unreliable father. The family has moved to a new house, the future looks bright. Everything starts to fall apart when Rupert finds a hidden letter. There are terrible fights and hushed whispers, then mom is taken somewhere to rest for a while. Later on there is confusing talk about a new mom. The brothers make a blood oath: One can't lie or die or one has to pay the other a million or more for the rest of his life. Rupert tries to hold the family together. But finally things get too complicated, and real tragedy waits in the wings of the fantasy plays. In 1982 the guilt-ridden 18-year-old Rupert tries to remember and understand the events of the past amidst the chaos of the present. If he doesn't find absolution, the family tragedy will be repeated and the curse will live on. Dad is coming home and the blood oath is about to be broken.
