Young Gods (2003)

Why so much hype?

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This film will catch you unawares. I felt that the film would be a risqué and rather typical coming of age film. It has all these variants but to a deeper degree. I actually finished the film and was extremely upset with all the male characters. They were willing to throw away their sufficient lives for the thrills of voyeurism. Jere especially. The other reviewer talked about how the camera was the source of all evil in this movie. After all it was how Tavvi found out the truth about his parents death and was the eventual downfall for two out of the four male characters. This film is not recommended for the lighthearted, and you how you will feel after the movie is totally up in the air. I was rather disgusted with their little game, but just my opinion. As for the way the movie was shot; it was done well the angles, the characters were somewhat believable....a decent film overall.

Young Gods: 7 out of 10: For once I would like to see a teenage drama where careless foolish teenagers get away with being well careless and foolish. Nobody gets hurt, pregnant, married, commits suicide, tragically killed ext… they just act like complete idiots and go off to college. Kind of like real life for a lot of kids.On second thought there are movies like this but they are all have Porky's in the title. Young Gods is unfortunately a teenage drama. Which means no foolish action will go unpunished.Before the drama really kicks in we have a super realistic look at the lives of four teenage boys. The movie nails the attitudes and actions of young males of that age group and the pace while leisurely actually reflects the indifference to time people of that age actually have. (It also reflects the boredom that comes with no school and no job.) The movie also has a surprisingly naturalistic attitude about nudity and sex. Some may be shocked by the young actors' nudity but it felt non-sensationalist and rather realistic.The plot about voyeurism and constant filming is overdone (see drama above) and the results of the boys' actions seem more draconian than real life. But this is after all a movie.Despite being relatively slow placed and occasionally over-dramatic Young Gods is an enjoyable, realistic and fresh coming of age film.

The plot of the movie has been already described pretty well in comments by other people so I won't repeat it so extensively here. The other comments are however (or at least have been so far) quite positive so I thought I'd add my own opinion too since I didn't think this movie was that good.Like I said this movie is based on a good idea. In short it's about these 4 guys who get this idea of a sort of a 'game' where they would video all of their.. well, intercourses and then watch them together afterwards for fun. As most people can probably guess, things end up going very badly wrong and people get very hurt (a girl gets raped and one of the guys eventually kills himself).Sadly, the realization of the movie isn't as good as it could have been. It doesn't feel believable. I just couldn't buy it that these 4 guys would do the things that they are shown doing. The character development feels often unrealistic. It's sort of hard to explain. In the movie 'Traffic' the viewer is in my opinion shown pretty believably how people end up making bad decisions and end up losing control of their lives. This movie fails in that.As a result, I found this movie to be entertaining (often even amusing) mostly because of its general "freakiness" and its shocking subject rather than its quality. This movie reminds me of 'Baise Moi' and 'Mauvaises fréquentations' both of which are these sort of depressing french dramas where peoples lives basically go down the toilet (although 'Hymypoika' has a happier and more hopeful ending). If you like this, check them out. Also the movie 'Piano Teacher' has the same sort of feel (and dysfunctional characters) in it as 'Hymypoika' has.My vote is 6/10. If you haven't seen this you haven't missed anything special.PS. If you want to see finnish movie at its best I would recommend Gourmet Club. It has a funny plot and the cast includes Michael Badalucco (he played 'Jimmy Berluti' in 'The Practice'). Also I can sincerely recommend a very well produced and very entertaining dark comedy short film called 'Rare Exports Inc.' which reveals some amazing facts about the origin of Santa Claus. Reviews of both can be found here on IMDb.

This movie is a tad better than the user ratings indicate. Perhaps some were hoping for porn, and came away disappointed--although there is plenty of nudity, there is nothing to titillate--this is a moving and cautionary tale of spiritual emptiness."Young Gods" is the ironically-titled film that examines the vapid world of mesmerizing images we live in, when there's no guidance for spiritual context. We experience this confusion through the eyes (and lenses) of four Finnish boys, all recent high-school graduates. Taavi has just inherited his deceased father's mansion and wealth, but has blocked out the memory of his death, and moves through life at a distance, viewing everything possible through his camcorder's viewfinder. Jere is emotionally dead. He has a girlfriend and finds comfort in sex, but is unable to open his heart. Sami, homely and overweight, has zero self-esteem. Markus is very immature, but otherwise fairly well-adjusted.The four make an odd pact to film their sexual conquests, and the four find themselves living in an even more illusory meta-world, as their desire to film sex takes precedence over their actual desires, and recording an event becomes secondary to experiencing life. They all seem to lack a father who can teach them about love and loving, and are left to float down a river of sex and imagery without a clue to its purpose. (Jere's father is no help: he's a pornographer, coolly composing loveless sex scenes as though creating a grocery display.) Slowly, the consequences of their pact begin changing them as it brings out the yearning, emptiness, violence, or love that is really within their hearts.