The first review "This won't do..." says almost everything about this movie and its numerous problems. The most glaring problem is of course that this project lacked a competent screen writer. Koivusalo can pehaps be described as a mostly competent director who can wring out a workable result - even if you on a few occasions in this film ask yourself: "was that really the best take?". But a screen writer for a biographical film Koivusalo most certainly is not. Afraid of missing anything "important", he makes the beginners mistake of trying to cram "everything" into the movie - instead of trying to find one or two strong story archs, and limit the time periods to a few formative periods of Sibelius' life.
Koivusalo is of course not alone. Screenplays in finnish films often seem hastily written - which is a shame, as the technical aspects like cinematography and editing often are quite good.
To be fair, it is watchable, mainly due to nice and accurate set designs, and of course the music. It it gets a bit better towards the end. If anybody after this film gets inspired to visit (or revisit, as myself) the Sibelius catalogue, the film has at least achieved something, even though the film in itself is not on the same masterpiece level as many of Sibelius' compositions.
