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Finland, Sweden · 2020
1h 56m
Director Zaida Bergroth
Starring Alma Pöysti, Krista Kosonen, Shanti Roney, Eeva Putro
Genre Drama
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World War II is over and life begins again for Finnish painter Tove Jansson. When she meets theatre director Vivica Bandler, she falls in love. At the same time, her creativity begins to take unexpected paths and she starts writing the story of the Moomins.
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.
Tove has great charm, craft and a warming glow.
The New Yorker by Anthony Lane
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.
San Francisco Chronicle by G. Allen Johnson
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.
The Hollywood Reporter by Leslie Felperin
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.
The New York Times by Teo Bugbee
The soft-focus cinematography is beautiful but drippy, and this general tendency toward mushy melodramatics presents an unflattering contrast to the sharp-lined vivacity that Jansson brought to the page.
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