The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (Hymyilevä mies) Reviews
March 25, 2020
There's just something cozy and delightful about the whole thing that has left me glowing in the time since I watched it.
December 7, 2019
An appealing and harmless film that slyly subverts a genre long known for its unshakable touchstones.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/5
October 9, 2019
The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki succeeds as a unique endeavor because Kuosmanen elides formula.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/5
April 3, 2019
A hidden gem in this year's Cannes lineup, Olli Mäki offers both visceral boxing thrills and as delightful a love story as you'll see in a film of any genre.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
August 28, 2018
An elegant tale of personal desire and the sometimes lonely life of an athlete.
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| Original Score: 4.8/5
August 21, 2018
Olli Mäki has its own sublime view of the world where love is not easily attained nor abandoned.
June 1, 2018
Breathtakingly original, as it feels like we are time-travelling to watch the events unfold... Performances are offhanded and almost startlingly natural.
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| Original Score: 4/5
March 28, 2018
This film is an exquisite breath of fresh air... [Full review in Spanish]
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| Original Score: 4/5
December 29, 2017
Viewers who come under the apprehension that this is any kind of sports film are bound to be thrown by the wryly funny, mild-mannered yet deeply felt movie they find here.
December 29, 2017
It's no Raging Bull. It doesn't want to be. If director Martin Scorsese was aiming for grand opera in his 1980 classic, Happiest Day is more like a breezy jazz riff.
June 15, 2017
The film is a fresh-out-of-the-gate triumph for young writer-director Juho Kuosmanen, starting with his casting of Jarkko Lahti.
June 13, 2017
It's an unusual boxing movie, and it comes without the many clichs of the genre.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/5
June 3, 2017
We don't see too many biopics in this country about guys who think winning isn't everything, the only thing, or even that much of a thing.
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| Original Score: 3/4
June 2, 2017
J.P. Passi's hand-held black-and-white cinematography cries out for big-screen viewing.
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| Original Score: 4/5
May 30, 2017
For Kuosmanen, The Happiest Day... is really a love story, and the low-key attitude is what makes it such a winning film.
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| Original Score: 4/5
May 10, 2017
This is a very small film, with a big heart.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/4
May 5, 2017
Performances are effective throughout. Lahti, in the title role, is completely believable as both a talented athlete and a humble soul.
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| Original Score: 3/4
May 4, 2017
The major reason the film works is because [screenwriters Mikko] Myllylahti and [director Juho] Kuosmanen don't see this as a love story or even a story about boxing...
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| Original Score: 3/4
May 4, 2017
The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mki is a portrait of a man who is ultimately a nurturer rather than a destroyer - in spite of punching people for a living - and it's one of the best films of the year.
April 24, 2017
Imparts an understated beauty to otherwise predictable truisms.
Full Review
| Original Score: 6/10