Tuhlaajapoika (The Prodigal Son)

Veikko Aaltonen is one of the most distinctive talents emerging from the shadow of the Kaurismäkis in Finland. The Prodigal Son deals with sadomasochism in a spare, formal manner. A wealthy man hires a young ex-con to beat him. Aaltonen distills this ritualistic relationship to a point at which the little-seen violence is secondary to its exploration of revenge and redemption. (National Film Theatre) "A dark thriller mixing S&M mind games with Yank genre elements, The Prodigal Son is a real original that bites like a coiled rattlesnake". (Variety).