The Good Son (Hyvä poika)

Year: 2011
Country: FINLAND
Run Time: 87 minutes

With stunning performances by both veteran Elina Knihtilä and newcomer Samuli Niittymäki, THE GOOD SON details the disturbing relationship between a self-absorbed, washed-up actress and the son she has raised as a bodyguard, servant, and unseemly companion. Leila Manner needs constant attention, and she knows how to get it. When she escapes with her two sons to her lake house after a bad publicity ordeal, it is quickly revealed not only how unstable she is, but also how it has affected both boys—Ilmari, a jealous, protective, hostile teenager who seems to be under Leila's spell, and Unto, a distanced existential young boy who spends most of his time behind a camera lens. When Leila invites a new man named Aimo into their home, tension between him and Ilmari gradually builds until it reaches an uncomfortable, foreboding precipice, threatening to send Ilmari over the edge. Will Leila realize what she has done before it's too late? (In Finnish with subtitles) – M.M.

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