RATING: A+

A Bufo production in association with Pallas Film, Volya Films, and Zentropa International Sweden. Written and directed by Markus Lehmusruusu. Produced by Misha Jaari and Mark Lwoff. Cinematography by Max Smeds. Edited by Florian Miosge.

Stars Miro Lopperi, Mimosa Willamo, Hannu-Pekka Bjorkman, Roderick Kabanga, Pirjo Heikkila, Eero Ritala, and Ella Mettanen.

A man in a controlled dystopian world finds his world upside down when he encounters the titular animal in Markus Lehmusruusu’s absurdist dark comedy. 

Pasi Toivonen is a young man who lives in a dystopian world where everything, even the pets, is man-made and synthetic. Any sort of anomaly results in an instant decontamination process. He has been plagued with strange dreams as of late and works at a local synthetic pet-toy company where he is asked to upgrade the latest model with something “new”. However, his life is about to take a drastic turn. 

On his way home one night, he sees something strange run away from him, and he freaks out. He reports the anomaly to his personal system, which in turn brings in interrogator Emilia Vala. Pasi soon discovers the object is a squirrel and it is not man-made, but the real thing. He sees it injured and decides to take care of it and learn more about its nature. He eventually bonds with the squirrel, which throws a major wrench in his controlled atmosphere. When he realizes the animal is depressed and wants to go home, Pasi is willing to risk it all to find a natural habitat for the squirrel and will need help from the last one he ever expected: Emilia. 

Finnish cinema has been making waves as of late on the scale of a massive following among those who crave international films. From Jesse Haaja’s Rendel to Diana Ringo’s Indie World Cinema Award-winning adaptation of 1984 and Marko Makilaasko’s homage to 1980s cinema The Creeps, we now have the latest from Markus Lehmusruusu. His previous film, Ricky Rapper and the Strongman, was well-received, but this one really takes the cake. 

The storytelling feels like a Roy Andersson film, along with visuals that feel occasionally like a film Wes Anderson could have directed. The story itself is quite fascinating, in which a man who is used to his controlled environment finds himself and his world not threatened, but turned upside down with the arrival of the squirrel. Inclined to take care of it, he learns that the squirrel is the last one that’s not a part of the synthetic, man-made world he is used to. Kudos to Miro Lopperi for playing such a role that turns him from a nervous man to one who gains confidence through the squirrel.

Mimosa Willamo is excellent as Emilia Vala, who, like Pasi, seems to find herself enthralled with the world as she knows it and how certain things affect her. Working for the government as an interrogator of anomalies, we learn of a quirk she has when she encounters two random people doing the deed. She will vomit as if she is programmed to do so when something is out of whack with the atmosphere she is used to. However, when she encounters Pasi, she begins to have feelings she never imagined having.  

The titular squirrel is the real thing, not CGI like in other films that have gone that route. Using four rescue squirrels from Italy, there is a funny scene where the squirrel is given a cage with a hamster wheel. At first, the squirrel poses as if it is a spoiled brat, looking like it can fold its little arms and pouting, until it relents and finally uses it to Pasi’s happiness and a pivotal scene shows how much the animal means to Pasi. 

The Squirrel is a major surprise from Finland that has a great story and excellent performances from Miro Lopperi and Mimosa Willamo. Markus Lehmusruusu is definitely a filmmaker to keep an eye on!

The film debuts at Fantastic Fest on September 20.