Three Wise Men – Kolme viisasta miesta (2008)

Directed by: Mika Kaurismaki | 105 minutes | drama | Actors: Kari Heiskanen, Pertti Sveholm, Timo Torikka, Irina Björklund, Tommi Eronen, Elena Spirina, Pirkko Hämäläinen, Riitta Havukainen, Aake Kalliala, Peter Franzén

With Christmas Eve in sight, things don’t look too good for three men. Matti has terrible troubles with his heavily pregnant Russian wife, while the preparations for the feast do not really go smoothly. Erkki doesn’t like it anymore and considers drastic steps. Rauno’s family life, after all, resembles one big ruin. His son hates him and his ex-wife has come to her conclusions in a nasty way. Not really the friendly atmosphere you would expect at this Christian festival. The three, who are old friends, decide to huddle together in misery and wallow in self-pity. The setting for this is an abandoned karaoke bar where they contemplate on past times and their own failed lives. This is accompanied by the necessary alcohol and in a way that only Finns can: locks of vodka flow freely.

As it gets later and the drink takes hold of the men, it turns out that they still hide a lot of secrets from each other. Secrets that are slowly coming to the surface through which the real lives of the soul legs manifest themselves. The way in which Mika Kaurismäki lets his protagonists bare their souls during a karaoke number is nice, but the unexpected visit that also grabs the microphone and the somewhat strange contribution of some tenor at the end gives you the impression that you are going to half are watching musicals. This requires the necessary effort and patience from the viewer. Nevertheless, this remains an acceptable actor’s film. One by one, the protagonists hold their own in the somewhat one-sided location.

Yet the decor of the karaoke bar fits perfectly with this drunken evening. The interaction between the three is allowed and creates verbal sparks. The biting questions about living together and the suspicion threaten to degenerate the reunion. ‘Three Wise Men’ is a realistic lesson that life doesn’t always go the way we want it to. But sometimes we can actually do something about it.