"Badding"
Badding

Available on DVD

Finland 2000 colour 103 min Fennada Filmi Oy

****

Drama, musical

cast: Janne Reinikainen (Rauli "Badding" Somerjoki), Karoliina Blackburn (Mari), Pertti Koivula, Peter Franzén (Ossi), Ilkka Koivula, Vappu Jurkka, Puntti Valtonen
credits: dir. Markku Pölönen (also script with Heikki Metsämäki), DOP Kari Sohlberg

Rauli "Badding" Somerjoki was a singer. A nerd looking guy who sung lika an angel. The cause of his death was mainly the boozing. All that's fact. This movie starts with a text: "This is not true, this is a fairy tale." Unlikely the film claims, Mr. Somerjoki never had a friend like Ossi and there was never brothers Hilton. But when I first saw brothers Koivula (Ilkka and Pertti) looking like somebody in Rocky Horror - well, I thought this could be something different. And it is.

The whole movie is like a drunkard's dream. It seems to me that he (Badding) wakes up at times but his reality is too hazy and so he goes everywhere half-dreaming his life. Maybe it's all naďve, but the dream is better for him, 'cause it's just so lovely. Mr. Reinikainen really looks like Badding. He goes deep inside into the character and brings the dead singer back alive. Some other actors act like they would be in circus but that's not so bad as it could be in "non-dream" movie.

"Thank you, Rauli!" OK. Maybe Badding gave something to Mr. Pölönen, but still that text looks stupid at the end of the film.

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