Markus Lehmusruusu’s Finnish Oscar Entry ‘The Squirrel’ Earns Aki Kaurismäki’s Stamp of Approval: ‘He Said It’s Like ‘2001: A Space Odyssey,’ but Better Because It’s Full of Humanism’

Sep 16, 2026 2:39am PT Markus Lehmusruusu’s Finnish Oscar Entry ‘The Squirrel’ Earns Aki Kaurismäki’s Stamp of Approval: ‘He Said It’s Like ‘2001: A Space Odyssey,’ but Better Because It’s Full of Humanism’

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• Markus Lehmusruusu’s Finnish Oscar Entry ‘The Squirrel’ Earns Aki Kaurismäki’s Stamp of Approval: ‘He Said It’s Like ‘2001: A Space Odyssey,’ but Better Because It’s Full of Humanism’ 20 minutes ago
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Orava Max Smeds (Courtesy of Bufo)

Markus Lehmusruusu’s futuristic drama “The Squirrel” has just been selected as the Finnish Oscar submission, and it already has a notable fan.

“Aki Kaurismäki called it a masterpiece. He said it was like ‘2001: A Space Odyssey,’ but better because it’s full of humanism. I really loved that,” the director tells Variety.

“I hope that it can work on two levels. It’s full of humanism, but it also shows that as humans, we shouldn’t always put ourselves first.”

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