RIGA IFF online: Raķete

Miia Tervo
The Missile
Ohjus
FI, EE
2024, 114’, fi, en
Age 16+

 

Christmas 1984 is coming up. As Niina, a single mother, is picking out a Christmas tree in a snowy forest with her sons, nothing indicates that the festive season will bring a Chaplinesque incident and a new job. Soon she starts working as a journalist at the local paper – its most successful article so far has been on a sock falling into an ice hole during an ice fishing competition. Suddenly the news of a Soviet nuclear missile landing in the local lake engulfs the village. As she hooks up with Kai, a pilot, and investigates the incident, Niina finds herself facing a clash of personal and national interests. Which boundaries are inviolable, really?
 
The Twin Peaks of Lapland moves to the beat of 80s snow disco against a backdrop of the Cold War. This dramedy is based on a true story – on December 28, 1984, a missile boom was heard around Lake Inari, followed by diplomatic collisions and an international media frenzy: is the Soviet Union attacking Finland? After her debut feature Aurora (2019) Tervo returns to RIGA IFF with an absurdist detective story about a small Finnish town, revolving around a Dana Scully of X-Files lookalike and moods reminiscent of Top Gun, nuclear weapon-themed menus and a very unexpected black eye. The truth must be out there after all.