Finnish director Ulla Heikkilä chose the “best actors she could think of” for sophomore feature “Summer is Crazy,” featuring “Fallen Leaves” star Jussi Vatanen, Aamu Milonoff (“Girl Picture”), Jani Volanen (“Hatching”), Pirjo Lonka and Bruno Baer (“Light Light Light”). “They brought their general ‘bestness’. It’s simply a luxury to work with such intelligent, skillful and charismatic actors.
They are all very good at showing human condition in a bold and ‘naked’ manner,” she told Variety . In the upcoming “Summer is Crazy,” set in the Finnish archipelago during the Midsummer week, one family – as well as their friends and lovers – deal with disappointments and dream of a better tomorrow. After the bankruptcy of their fine-dining restaurant, the Eerolas are stuck in a seaside village.
In the shadow of the father’s depression, both the mother and the teenaged daughter rebel against their stagnant life – each in their own way. “I play a man who doesn’t really know how to be a father, but he loves being a dad. If you try to be a role model to someone you don’t know at all, that creates strange, funny and tragic moments,” said Vatanen, underlining that everyone “brought their own flavor to this heartwarming but slightly manic Midsummer fiesta.
” Prior to his work with Aki Kaurismäki, Vatanen became a household name thanks to the popular “Lapland Odyssey” franchise. “What’s the secret of making comedies? I don.