Heart of a Lion

"Fatherhood or fatherland. Love or hate."

2013 1h 39m FI

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 78

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Neo-Nazi falls in love with a woman who has a black son and finds himself fighting with conflicting feelings.

“Fatherhood or fatherland. Love or hate.”

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Cast

Peter Franzén
Teppo
Laura Birn
Sari
Jasper Pääkkönen
Harri
Yusufa Sidibeh
Rhamadhani
Jussi Vatanen
Kulmala
Timo Lavikainen
Olli
Pamela Tola
Tolli
Mikko Neuvonen
Daniel

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Dome Karukoski
Writers: Aleksi Bardy
Languages: Finnish
Countries: Finland, Sweden

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Finland, Sweden.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Dome Karukoski, shot by Henri Blomberg. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jean-Paul Wall. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Harri Ylönen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Peter Franzén and Laura Birn and Jasper Pääkkönen carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Fatherhood or fatherland. Love or hate.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Dome Karukoski directs. Henri Blomberg behind the camera. Jean-Paul Wall scores. Harri Ylönen cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Finland, Sweden. Dialogue in Finnish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Released 13 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: Finland, Sweden.
4Directed by Dome Karukoski, shot by Henri Blomberg. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Jean-Paul Wall. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Harri Ylönen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Peter Franzén and Laura Birn and Jasper Pääkkönen carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Fatherhood or fatherland. Love or hate.".
9IMDB entry: tt2343617 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 78 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.