The Potato Venture (Finnish: Peruna, lit. 'Potato') is a 2020 Finnish comedy film directed by Joona Tena and written by Pekko Pesonen. The film follows Untamo (Joonas Nordman), a 17th-century startup entrepreneur attempting to introduce the potato to Finland, where the turnip is the reigning root vegetable.
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Production
Potato was filmed in Lithuania in the autumn of 2019 with a budget of €2,000,000, €787,745 of which came from the Finnish Film Foundation.
Release
Potato was initially set to premiere on October 14, 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new release date was announced as December 25, 2020. It was shown in preview screenings in early 2021 and officially released on August 13, 2021. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD in November 2021.
Cast
Joonas Nordman as Untamo
Mikko Penttilä as Axel
Alex Anton as Magnus
Kari Hietalahti as Kalevi
Linnea Leino as Killisilmä
Lasse Karkjärvi as Untamo's father
Petteri Pennilä as Lord of the Castle
Mimosa Willamo as Twin
Linda Manelius as Twin
Kari Ketonen as Advisor
Antti Tuomas Heikkinen as Wheelbarrow Brother
Hannes Suominen as Bucket Brother
Antti Luusuaniemi as Lars
Mikko Kouki as Copper Tycoon
Ville Myllyrinne as Bishop
Helmi-Leena Nummela as Village Prostitute
Eero Herranen as Birger the Great
Marc Gassot as Jester
Tommi Korpela as Archangel Michael
Lauri Maijala as Liquor Emperor
Ilmari Kujansuu as Young Untamo
Reception
The film received positive reviews.