Tuija Vuolle

The work and life of Finnish police officer Artturi Sakari Reinikainen.

Manne, Harri, and Ville Alfa are rootless twenty-somethings in search of purpose for their banal lives. After Manne steals a priceless painting from a group of petty criminals, Manne and Harri flee from the gangsters across Finland, while Ville goes to Paris. On the road they meet Veera, an old girlfriend of Harri's, and try to avoid the gangsters in pursuit.

Young Alex Sammakko has seen his brothers defy the law in a series of deeds that first land them in jail, and then, after they escape and return to their rural home, land them back in the lap of their locally notorious family. Alex wants nothing to do with them. He is in love with Mirja, whose family is not that different from the Sammakko's, but who shares Alex's viewpoints and feelings. Not helping matters is a police department convinced that all Sammakkos are bad, and the family itself, pressuring Alex to follow in their murky footsteps.

Kerttu is assigned to a gym due to back problems, where it turns out she is a genetic super-talent. Suddenly, she finds herself aiming for an incredible goal: a fitness championship. She is aided by a former genetic prodigy, journeyman bodybuilder Vili, who has lost his purpose in life. The mismatched duo have a lot to learn from each other. Before Kerttu can get into shape for the competition and Vili back on the road to life, both must grow as people and overcome steep prejudices.

The first part of Hella Wuolijoki's family saga. Loviisa comes to Niskavuori as Juhani's young wife. She has to fight for her right to the house and her husband, but finds her own way of life and takes her place as the mistress of the house. Based on Hella Wuolijoki's play of the same name from 1940.

The years have passed and the children have flown from the nest to the world... except they haven't. On the contrary. Jonna and Junnu have been lured back home, with the addition of Jonna's child, by a house that will soon be empty. The parents, who are of retirement age, are about to move to Spain - as soon as the father can tell his employer that he is quitting his job as a taxi driver. But the father's plans are changed when his boss buys his taxi company a new vehicle, a luxury Mercedes with all the bells and whistles. His pension, Spain, wife and common sense all vanish as he is left with one obsessive goal: to get behind the wheel of his coveted Mercedes one single time. Eventually his dream comes true, but at a cost. The father discovers he has put the whole family in such dire straits that the only way out is to steal the dead man's briefcase.

This is a sad story of Eros and Psyche. Sadder than the ancient myth that was only a dream after all. In my story, the characters learn nothing.