Hamlet Goes Business (1987) review

Kaurismäki takes one of Shakespeare's greatest works and sets it in his native Finland, and those who skimmed the play in their freshman year of high school should recognize many of the names: Hamlet (Pirkka-Pekka Petelius), whose pop was murdered, inherits the majority of the shares of his dad's company, he falls in love with Ophelia (Kati Outinen), Ophelia's father Polonius (Esko Nikkari) is shot, Ophelia drowns herself (in a bathtub), Hamlet's mother Gertrude (Elina Salo) eats a poisoned chicken leg, etc.  While I have no issue with anyone "borrowing" from The Bard and trying something different with it - it's what keeps the original texts fresh and timeless - all Kaurismäki does here is present it in a truncated manner using his typically dry aesthetic, adds a few quirky touches (rubber ducks?) and that's about it.  It feels like he made it as part of some sort of "intellectual challenge," but then quickly became disinterested and rushed through the rest so he could get back to the buttery-bar.