WillSushyMedia
This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
SeeQuant
Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction
BelSports
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Phillipa
Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
Max_cinefilo89
Juha is the last silent film of the 20th century. And a truly great one, I might add. Adapting a Finnish literary classic (already brought to the screen three times), Scandinavian master Aki Kaurismäki (whose movies have always had limited dialogue, mind) tells a cruel, touching story of love, loss and revenge.Weirdly for a Kaurismäki movie, Juha seems to open on a happy note: we witness the everyday life of the eponymous farmer (a never better Sakari Kuosmanen) and his wife Marja (the consistently astounding Kati Outinen). The two don't lead the easiest of lives, but somehow they manage to survive and keep an optimistic view on existence.That's when Shemeikka (André Wilms, whose previous work with the director includes Bohemian Life and Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses) enters the game. He comes from the big city, and is forced to spend the night at Juha's because of a lousy car. The following morning he returns home, only this time he's got company: he has seduced Marja, promising her a better life. Sadly, she'll come to regret her choice as it turns out that Shemeikka actually runs a brothel. All she can do is hope her husband will forgive her and come to the rescue.The audacious aspect of Juha is not the fact that it's shot in black and white (Kaurismäki does that quite often), but the fact that there's no sound at all. Dialogue is shown through title cards, and the rest of the action is left to the strength of the performances: Kuosmanen shows a staggering intensity as the leading man, Outinen is at her most vulnerable playing his wife, and Wilms is perhaps the best villain the Finnish director has ever come up with. Utterly cold and repulsive, he really makes sure you won't like him.Juha works thanks to its honesty and raw power: it's not a pastiche of silent movies, but a serious, endearing tragedy, and further proof of Kaurismäki's high rank among Scandinavian film-makers.
jesko
but a masterwork in any case! This film is one of the many ones based on the novel "Juha", written by one of the most talented finnish writers ever, Juhani Aho. In my opinion, this is the interpretation to watch, as the clever humor hidden in the scenes is most refreshing. For a Finn even the subtlest jokes in the film become evident!
webber.hu
That film was really cool!! The music of it was great! It's just perfect for the past and great for the current time. I felt special after watched this film! Maybe, the girl in it wasn't so beautiful, but she acted well. As the man , who played Juha. The end of the film will be a little bit sad (that everybody killed by other one) but it is great! See this film - and get some advice about the Finnish mentality and life. XXX
bungle-2
"Juha" is a finnish silent-movie in black and white about a farmer called Juha. This is probably the least commercial tag-line in 1999. However, if you, by any chance, manage to overcome your own prejudice, and see this film, you will experience 70 minutes of marvellous movie-making. It's poetic, it's warm and it has tons of careful, naïve humor. It is another masterpiece from the finnish master Aki Kaurismäki. See it.