Tag: Finland

The Squirrel (2026) | Fantastic Fest 2026 | REVIEW

Pasi (Miro Lopperi) admiring the titular creature in Markus Lehmusruusu’s THE SQUIRREL. Image provided by Fantastic Fest. Courtesy of Cinematic Red PR.
Pasi (Miro Lopperi) admiring the titular creature in Markus Lehmusruusu’s THE SQUIRREL. Image provided by Fantastic Fest. Courtesy of Cinematic Red PR.

Directed by Markus Lehmusruusu – Screenplay by Markus Lehmusruusu.

Hot on the heels of this month’s announcement that it is Finland’s official submission for the Best International Feature category at the upcoming Academy Awards, Markus Lehmusruusu’s The Squirrel just had its international premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. The feature – an international co-production between Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden – had its world premiere in Finland earlier this year, and it marks the second feature film from Lehmusruusu. It is also relatively unique as it is a Finnish science-fiction film. I had the chance to see the film, and I can say that I think it works quite well despite some pacing issues.

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‘Fallen Leaves,’ ‘C’mon C’mon,’ ‘The Salesman,’ and ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ | Bite-Sized Reviews

Top Row (L-R): FALLEN LEAVES (B-Plan Distribution / Pandora Film); C’MON C’MON (A24).
Bottom Row (L-R): THE SALESMAN (Film Iran / Memento Films); The Dead Don’t Hurt (Scanbox Entertainment).

In this post, I’ll give you my thoughts on my first Aki Kaurismäki experience, a 2-time Cannes award winning Farhadi film, an underseen Joaquin Phoenix film, and Viggo Mortensen’s latest film as a writer-director.

Continue reading “‘Fallen Leaves,’ ‘C’mon C’mon,’ ‘The Salesman,’ and ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ | Bite-Sized Reviews” →