
Urul

Kuinkas sattuikaan, kävin Kaurismäen veljesten sivuilla ja löysin alla olevan leffan..
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Cha Cha Cha
colour 88 mins.
Finnish premiere January 20, 1989
directed and edited by Mika Kaurismäki
screenplay Mika Kaurismäki, Richard Reitinger
cinematography Timo Salminen, Eastmancolor
sound Jouko Lumme
music Anssi Tikanmäki
songs featured
Frenesa (Bullworkers)
Don't Leave Me Again (Pepe Ahlqvist And The Sunset Boulevard)
Miehen elämää (Tuomari Nurmio)
production Mika Kaurismäki / Villealfa Filmproductions. Klas Olofsson, Katinka Faragò / Svenska filminstitutet
cast
Sanna Fransman (Sanna Pöllänen)
Matti Pellonpää (Matti Ojanperä)
Kari Väänänen (Kari Pöllänen)
Siiri Nordin (Siiri Pöllänen)
Soli Labbart (American aunt)
Martti Pennanen (lawyer)
Antti Litja (wino)
Juhani Niemelä (wino)
Esko Nikkari (policeman)
Aarre Karen (bank manager)
Esko Salminen (dance teacher)
Kari Heiskanen (furniture salesman)
Sakari Kuosmanen (croupier)
Hannu Lauri (securities shark)
Eija Vilpas (barmaid)
Marja-Leena Helin (kiosk girl)
Miska (the dog)
Eino Hiltunen (policeman at station)
Jyrki Sinisalo (policeman at station)
Erkki Astala (slick young man)
Irene Laine (barber)
Seija Teinonen (dentist)
Pentti Auer (tailor)
Jorma Marstio (photographer)
Pertti Reijonen (auctioneer)
Eero Tuomikoski (welfare bum)
Lars Lindberg (removal man)
Jaakko Talaskivi (removal man)
Synopsis
A lawyer pays a visit to Matti Ojanperä (Matti Pellonpää), a bum living under a bridge in the Helsinki harbour, to inform him that he is about to inherit an American aunt of his. The sum 1,000,000 Fmk would be his, if only he meets the qualifications set by his aunt.
He must show that he is capable of 'living properly' and possessing a 'respectable occupation and a family he can support'. Otherwise the money would go to a foundation the chairman of which the lawyer himself happens to be!
Initially Matti can't care less about the idea, but his cousin Kari Pöllänen (Kari Väänänen) persuades him to have a change of heart and suggests he teach Matti 'how to lead a decent life and act like a gentleman'. Matti agrees only on the condition that Kari shall take his place among the bums for those two weeks until the aunt's arrival.
So, Matti moves into the Pöllänen household and his training commences. He takes dancing lessons (hence the moniker of the film), visits to The National Theatre, is tailored, enjoys meals at gourmet restaurants etc. This all requires a lot of money, but Matti is persistent.
Meanwhile, Kari has to stick with watching the Seoul Olympic Games on a portable TV with his newly-acquired comrades from under the bridge, as well as the occasional nuisance from the city police.
Gradually Kari grows more jealous, as Matti and Kari's wife Sanna (Sanna Fransman) seem to have so much fun together, which is boosted by the fact that Matti was her boyfriend before Kari married her. Things reach their climax with a fist-fight at the Opera House, where Matti and Sanna attend a gala performance, while Kari is relegated as their chauffeur. He can't bear with this position, and gets completely drunk at le bar du foyer. After a reasonable amount of violence, the men calm down and decide to have a drink together. Sanna shows up and gets really mad, as Matti made a promise not to touch liquor during these two weeks, and Kari never had interest in drinking anyway. She takes Matti home and Kari back under the bridge.
Finally, the aunt arrives to check up on Mr. Ojanperä. He is posing as the perfect family man, with Sanna acting as his wife. After some nervous chatter, the aunt decides that Matti is worthy of the long-awaited inheritance, then the lawyer announces that after deducting debts, costs, expenses and what not, Matti shall receive 250,000 Fmk. This is a jaw-dropper to Matti and his friends, as his training cost them a whole lot more. And the final blow is yet to come: a bailiff, assisted with a policeman, arrives on the scene to collect the Pöllänens' cumulative debt of 350,000 Fmk. Handing over Matti's inheritance and the Pöllänens' family car they manage to get rid of their debts.
In the final scene Matti invites the family to have a dinner 'at his place' under the bridge. Everybody is happy grilling some Finnish makkara by the open fire and chatting away.
Comments
Actually, the film is a lot better than the plot promises. A nicely flowing low-budget blitz production, which still holds a welcome freshness after repeated viewings.
Notes
Kari Väänänen appears bald in the film because at the time of the shooting he was playing Gollum in an adaptation of J.R.R.Tolkien's Lord of the Rings by Ryhmäteatteri in Suomenlinna, Helsinki.
http://www.sci.fi/~solaris/kauris/main.html