Rahutud (2000) Online
An old dog has a hard time learning new tricks in this drama set in Turku. Ari, a paramedic, is a chronic womanizer; he makes it a point of pride to never sleep with the same woman twice, and his nights are a long series of brazen one-night stands. But when Ari meets Tiina (Laura Malmivaara), something unexpected happens - he falls in love. For the first time, Ari finds himself pursuing a long-term relationship, and he makes a genuine effort to remain faithful to her. But old habits die hard; Tiina introduces Ari to her circle of friends and temptation arises as he encounters Hanna-Riikka, a theology student, and Ilona, who is soon to be married. Despite Ari's feelings for Tiina, he begins having affairs with both Hanna-Riikka and Ilona, leading to an unpleasant revelation on the day of Ilona's nuptials.
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
 | Mikko Nousiainen | - | Ari |
 | Laura Malmivaara | - | Tiina |
 | Petteri Summanen | - | Stig |
| Matleena Kuusniemi | - | Ilona |
| Valtteri Roiha | - | Riku |
 | Irina Björklund | - | Hanna-Riikka |
 | Samuli Edelmann | - | Roope |
| Vilma Melasniemi | - | Piia |
| Eija Nousiainen | - | Arin äiti |
| Jaana Järvinen | - | Helena |
| Pertti Sveholm | - | Pera |
| Niina Kurkinen | - | Päivi |
| Kirsi Tarvainen | - | Tipi |
| Wanda Dubiel | - | Tupu |
| Jere Viitanen | - | Roopen ja Pian poika |
The film is a loose adaptation of Albert Camus' novel "The Stranger" set in present day Helsinki, which turns the story into an erotic drama.
This film was a school project for director Aku Louhimies, writer Aleksi Bardy, and editor Samu Heikkilä. They all graduated from Helsinki University of Art and Design in December 2000.
Actor Matleena Kuusniemi said she was unfairly treated during the promotion of the film, refusing to participate on the film's press tour. Kuusniemi felt she was the victim of sexual objectification and that the production company didn't listened to her at the time (in the interview in 2015, Kuusniemi revealed that Solar Films' publicist Rampe Toivonen later apologized to her about the marketing). In March 2018, Kuusniemi confronted director Aku Louhimies during a live broadcast of the series A-studio (1971). Louhimies admitted the poorly executed marketing and apologized Kuusniemi several times. Louhimies and Kuusniemi have worked together before and since Levottomat (2000) (most recently in Vuosaari (2012)).
The second time assistant director Ray Corbett has worked in Finland as a part of the location film crew. The first was White Nights - Nacht der Entscheidung (1985) 15 years earlier, including scenes shot in Helsinki, Parainen and Pori (to stand in for Leningrad and Siberia). Levottomat (2000) was shot in Turku.
The original cinematographer August Jakobsson was replaced by Mac Ahlberg after a few weeks of shooting in July, 1999. Jakobsson retains a screen credit for second unit cinematography.
The first synopsis, loosely based on the novel "The Stranger" (L'Étranger) by Albert Camus, was written around 1996, when director Aku Louhimies and writer Aleksi Bardy pitched different ideas to the Finnish Broadcasting Company. Producer Kari Kyrönseppä from Yle TV1 channel commissioned a television movie based on the synopsis. Production company MRP Matila Röhr Productions came aboard and seven drafts later Kyrönseppä felt the script was ready. The Finnish Film Foundation felt otherwise and without their funding, also Yle reduced its commitment. In 1998, Bardy sent the script to producer Markus Selin from Solar Films. Selin agreed to produce the film in a condition that Louhimies would also direct some episodes of the soap opera Tähtitehdas (1998). Louhimies also had similar back-end deal with the actors (a reduced salary, but a share of the film's profits). The funding was finally secured in April 1999, screen tests begun in May and the production in July (after almost 20 drafts later). After Yle left the project, the commercial channel Nelonen secured the television rights. The film premiered in January 28, 2000.
The production company Solar Films promoted the film as "the 2000 version of Tannenzapfen unter dem Rücken (1966)" due to the similar themes of both films. Levottomat (2000) features actor Vilma Melasniemi, the daughter of Kristiina Halkola and Eero Melasniemi (who both appear in "Käpy selän alla").
After the success of Levottomat (2000), Solar Films released two films that were promoted as a part of the "Levottomat-trilogy", Minä ja Morrison (2001) and Lust auf Sex (2004). Aku Louhimies wasn't happy with the marketing strategy, later calling it a "short-sighted deception of the viewer".
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