Vares?Private Eye

Running time: 91 mins

Fans of high-octane action will not want to miss Vares ? Private Eye, a stylish adventure film and the first movie adaptation of the popular Finnish books by Reijo Maki, whose trademark qualities (great characters, edgy humor, brutality tempered with humor) make it to the screen with dazzling bravura.

The title character, played by Juha Veijonen, is a detective who takes time from hanging out at the pub with his buddies to help Eeva, a mysterious femme fatale with a deadly bunch of Russian mobsters on her trail. Just when he thinks it will be an easy case, Vares is faced with a gallery of outlandish characters, from elusive master criminals to police officers working on both sides of the law to two darkly hilarious killers right out of a Guy Ritchie movie.

Directed with confidence and style by Aleksi Makela, Vares ? Private Eye is a blast from start to finish, mixing razor-sharp wit and slam-bang action in killer doses. Even those unfamiliar with the books will have a great time.

Fernando F. Croce

EMERGING MAVERICKS / NEW VISIONS