Foreign Film Friday - Dog Nail Clipper (2004)

Also known as Koirankynnen leikkaaja

Ever seen a motion picture starring a Finnish Spitz? Dog Nail Clipper is a Finnish movie from director Markku Pölönen, filmed in Joensuu, Finland, also a filming location for the classic WWI drama Doctor Zhivago (1965).

Dog Nail Clipper tells the story of a British soldier who suffers a brain injury in World War Two and finds himself in the Finnish countryside looking for work. A friend tells him of the trouble he’s having with his dog’s overlong dewclaws and soon worries of the dog fill his mind as much as the war.

The film is available in the U.S. and Canada with English subtitles on a PAL format DVD.

Produced by Fennada-Filmi

Foreign Film Friday - Myrsky (2008)

Also known as Stormheart

Finland’s most famed film animal trainer, Tuire Kaimio, began work on Myrsky four years before the movie was eventually to be released. From selecting the perfect puppy to raising and training the perfect behaviors, Kaimio’s careful preparations brought the star performer, a Caucasian Shepherd Dog, to vivid life.

The story takes place around the fall of the Berlin Wall. A Finnish father is visiting East Berlin when he runs into an adorable fluffy puppy he can’t leave behind. He takes the dog home to his two daughters and the mysteries of Myrsky’s past start emerging as he takes over the home and grows. And grows. With him, grows his devotion to the family’s youngest girl and Myrsky begins crusades to protect his young charge, sometimes leading them both into trouble.

Luckily, Myrsky can be found on DVD outside of Finland and Germany with English subtitles, though you’ll need to be able to watch region 2 (PAL) format. Trailer below.

Produced by Stormheart Oy