Synopsis: Juha (Sakari Kuosmanen) and Marja (THE MATCH FACTORY GIRL's Kati Outinen) are simple country folk who spend their days farming cabbage, tending to their livestock, and living life nice and easy--until city slicker Shemeikka's (André Wilms) sporty convertible breaks down and he comes to... Juha (Sakari Kuosmanen) and Marja (THE MATCH FACTORY GIRL's Kati Outinen) are simple country folk who spend their days farming cabbage, tending to their livestock, and living life nice and easy--until city slicker Shemeikka's (André Wilms) sporty convertible breaks down and he comes to them for help. While Juha is working on the car and sleeping with his wrench, Shemeikka is trying to lure Marja to leave her husband and come with him to the big city. Marja dreams of what life in the city would be like, and the temptation ultimately proves too strong. She leaves Juha and the farm behind but soon finds out that her future with Shemeikka is not at all what she expected. Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki's 1998 black-and-white silent film is a marvel. Aside from the sound of one door closing and a musical number, the film's only soundtrack is Anssi Tikanmäki's amazing score, which jumps from being cheerful and romantic to sinister, dangerous, and epic, enhancing the mood created by the wonderful overacting by a stellar cast. JUHA, based on Juhani Aho's 1911 novel, is a modern-day SUNRISE, using the old-fashioned conventions of the early silent era to tell an age-old story like it has never been told before, this time in the late 1990s. JUHA is a vastly entertaining throwback from a master filmmaker who never shies away from taking risks in his challenging, intelligent, and highly rewarding work. [More]