Miehen työ (2007)

A Finnish film is incomplete without awkward silences, naturalistic naked bodies, suicide attempts and/or death, heavy drinking, men whom nobody understands. Miehen työ (2007) boasts all these ingredients. And more of the same. Yes, there are hints of a tongue in cheek, yes, certain moments are relieved by black humor but hell, this is such a traditional Finnish movie it's almost ridiculous.
During the first twenty minutes of Miehen työ, I couldn't stop thinking about L'adversaire. A man, Juha, is made redundant from his robust factory job. He feels his wife can't bear to hear it, so he acts as if he goes off to work every morning. He comes to take up a job that he cannot talk to his wife about. He offers women "services". The rest of the film is dedicated either to embarrassing or terrible moments between Juha and his customers, his increasingly difficult relationships with his buddies and, finally, the dramatically charged revelation.
Miehen työ could have been an interesting film had it focused on that which the title promises. "Miehen työ", "a man's work", is a concept connected with expectations about what a real man is supposed to do and, even as importantly, how he is to relate to his work. A real man wears a stained overall or a greasy suit. A real man has the stamina to make gruesome sacrifices (like Juha). A real man dies a little while at work. A real man toils and asks no questions.
Juha impersonates this ideal about male sacrifice in greates detail. His new job might be "untypical" and he finds it degrading. Just as degrading as he finds telling his family about having been sacked from his job. The film tries hard, real hard, to show us how disgusting some women are and how natural it is that he finds them repulsive. But he has to keep up appearances to prove that even he, a prostitute for Christ's sake!, remains true to the ideal. Stern-faced and white-collared, he commits himself to whatever service these women ask him for. In the face of the moment of revelation, he simply tries to reassure his wife: "I did it for you!" But this kind of exploration into the darker sides of Finnish work morale seems like an excuse to explore even seedier stuff. This theme is almost completely overshadowed by the Drama - and because of this, Miehen työ remains one of those conventional Finnish movies in which every man tries to kill himself and every woman is a nagging bitch.
Indeed, we don't know much about the wife. She is just that nagging bitch at home with the kids. You guessed it, she is mentally instable. Juha's job enrages her. But why? The director of the film, Aleksi Salmenperä, is not interested in looking into that question. It's funnier to create a poignant scene involving a hammer and an ankle joint.
Miehen työ revolves around male shame. But is Salmenperä really clear about the role of shame in Juha's life? Why is unemployment something beyond an economically strained existence - why is it considered shameful? What, exactly, is the film's perspective on Juha's failure in being a "breadwinner"? I am sure (I hope) he doesn't want to say that shame is the reaction of a person who has failed in sacrifice-as-responsibility - I mean: either there is sacrifice or there is shame.

"Tommi Korpela risteyttää Jeesuksen ja Speden loistavassa tulkinnassaan nurkkaan ahdistetusta miehestä, jonka uhrauksia vaimo ei ymmärrä oikein." Thank you and good night.