Synopsis
Helsinki, 1945. The end of the war brings a new sense of artistic and social freedom for painter Tove Jansson. While focusing her artistic dreams on painting, the enchanting tales of the ‘Moomin’ creatures she told to scared children in bomb shelters, rapidly take on a life of their own, bringing international fame.
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Cast
- Alma PöystiTove Jansson
- Krista KosonenVivica Bandler
- Shanti RoneyAtos Wirtanen
- Eeva PutroMaya Vanni
- Joanna HaarttiTuulikki Pietilä
- Jakob ÖhrmanSam Vanni
- Robert EnckellViktor 'Faffan' Jansson
- Kajsa ErnstSigne 'Ham' Jansson
- Wilhelm EnckellLasse Jansson
- Liisi TandefeltLandlord
Recommendations
- 80
Screen Daily
Tove has great charm, craft and a warming glow. - 80
Variety
Marking her fifth feature, Bergroth flexes her considerable cinematic powers, conjuring vibrantly expressive visuals and confident performances from her talented cast, especially the petite theater thesp Pöysti, who excels in her first leading film role and strongly resembles the real Tove. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
Poysti’s subtle, layered performance conveys Tove’s complex dilemma with sweetness and pain. This is a portrait not of a lady on fire, but of a woman struggling to strike the match. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Along the way, parallels with key characters from the children's stories and their adventures are gestured at vaguely. But the film doesn't particularly require in-depth knowledge of Moominism and can be enjoyed for its bright performances, on-point costumes and sets, and empathic portrait of young love. - 70
The New Yorker
Whereas Cruella sent me back to Dodie Smith, as a blessed escape from what Disney has done to her creations, Tove dispatched me down a rabbit hole, or through a Moomin door. I recommend the trip. - 60
The Guardian
Where biopics often end up with a cardboard-tasting blandness, the focus on Jansson’s interior world gives this film moments that really come to life. - 60
Empire
A solid if slight look at the quicksilver, complex character behind one of children’s literature’s most beloved creations. - 60
The Irish Times
This is a rather conventional artist’s biopic for an unconventional person and it’s a film that ends as suddenly (and frustratingly) as it begins.
