The Finnish thriller directed by Teemu Nikki, first screened to favourable reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017, is Finland’s nominee for the 2018 foreign-language Oscar Award.
Finland’s Oscar committee based their selection by describing the film, called Armomurhaaja in Finnish, as having a strong personal voice and went on to say that it has an original story that allows for many interpretations.
The main character, a grumpy middle-aged man, played by actor Matti Onnismaa, offers to euthanise people’s pets -- but not without first telling the owners what’s wrong with them.
Film industry bible Variety magazine called the movie, “a distinctively dark Finnish tale of karma and tough love” and went onto sum up the plot as “a black-market side job (that) turns a mechanic into an odd champion of animal welfare in Teemu Nikki’s dark comedy.”
The final Oscar nominations will be announced on January 22, 2019, with the gala taking place on February 24, 2018.
'Euthanizer' picked up five Jussi awards in Finland's own version of the Oscars. At the Tokyo International Film Festival in November 2017 director Teemu Nikki won the Best Screenplay Award for Euthanizer.