Pahan kukat (2016)

Pahan kukat: Directed by Antti Jokinen. With Juno, Viljami Nojonen, Eero Aho, Alma Pöysti. Breathing with the rhythm of street music, Flowers of Evil is an edgy, topical and ragged story of a family trying to survive the pressures of restlessness. The main character Sipe, 14, has a touching relationship with his stepbrother Juno and his family, which is the main focus of our story. The threat is continuously simmering, until the unrest breaks out into a riot – with fatal results. Flowers of Evil is a social commentary on the problems of suburban life in Helsinki. Two young brothers struggle with life on a powder keg housing estate. One chooses punk rock and education, the other crime and confrontation. Caught in the middle and torn both ways, their father tries to hold the family together. But miscalculated actions and police overreaction light the fuse and a typically long, hot, Finnish summer explodes as frustration and despair finally boil over.

“u0026#39;Criminal Mindsu0026#39; at its best (and while it is a show with seasons better than others and all the seasons having a mixture of wonderful episodes and disappointments) is enough to make the show one of my favourite shows.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere are better episodes of u0026#39;Criminal Mindsu0026#39; than u0026quot;Strange Fruitu0026quot;, but it was a decent attempt at doing something different (if not completely coming off successfully) and itu0026#39;s nowhere near close to being one of the showu0026#39;s low-points.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePeople may be disappointed at the relative lack of action and that much of the episode is dominated by interviews rather than profiling and such. To tackle the heavy subject of racism was a bold move, and while there are some harrowing and poignant moments, especially the end, the theme could have been handled with more grace and subtlety, not surprising as it is a subject that can fall into the danger of being heavy-handed.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eKnowing who the unsub is a quarter of the way in, so the case is more a whydunnit rather than a whodunit, does take away from the suspense somewhat as well, and there is not quite enough of the rest of the BAU which robs us of the little character moments and the adorable team dynamic that is a large part of the showu0026#39;s appeal.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOn the other hand, u0026quot;Strange Fruitu0026quot; is a very well made episode as ever, stylish, gritty and quite beautiful, while the music is both haunting and melancholic. The script is thought-provoking, particularly in the scenes between Rossi and Charles, and the story though with the odd sedate spot has plenty of tension between Rossi and Charles and has a powerful ending, in a rare occurrence where one sympathises with the unsub and despises the victims.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe episode is strongly directed, and the performances are very good. Joe Mantegna is a revelation as Rossi, crucial in making the episode work because Rossi takes centre stage and is an interesting character here, and while L. Scott Caldwell and Seth Gilliam are great even great is the brilliant turn of Glynn Turman.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, not completely successful but decent and one of the more interesting episodes of Season 9 (one of the better ones overall too). 7/10 Bethany Cox”