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"Like Wild Strawberries meets Raging Bull – though the bull isn't so much raging as in love." – CineVue
In the summer of 1962, up-and-coming boxer Olli Mäki prepares for the biggest bout of his career to date: a fight against the reigning featherweight titleholder for the world championship. Sparring sessions, photo shoots and press conferences fill his days; however the young contender's heart and mind reside elsewhere, courtesy of his blossoming romance with his girlfriend Raija.
Capturing the pressures of the training process, the complex emotions of falling in love and the conflicts that stem from trying to juggle the two, The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki paints a sensitive, insightful and playfully offbeat portrait of one of Finland's sporting heroes. In his feature debut following two Cannes Cinéfondation-winning shorts, writer/director Juho Kuosmanen bucks the boxing film template, complete with black-and-white 16mm imagery that evokes the news coverage of the period, an endearingly earnest performance from Jarkko Lahti as the titular figure, and a touching cameo from the real-life Olli and Raija.
Winner of the Un Certain Regard Prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
