One Foot Under

Year: 2009

Runtime: 101 mins

Language: Finnish

Director: Johanna Vuoksenmaa

DramaComedy

Visa Vuorio, a 35‑year‑old team leader in Helsinki’s city gardening department, has been diagnosed with a terminal neurological disease and given only months to live. He attends a therapeutic support group for those facing terminal illness. His routine is upended when young reporter Hanna Manninen joins the group, proposing to chronicle his story in a series of articles, prompting Visa to confront his remaining time.

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One Foot Under (2009) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained

Read the complete plot breakdown of One Foot Under (2009), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.

Visa Vuorio, a 35-year-old team leader at the Helsinki city gardening department, is suffering from a terminal neurological disease and has only a few months to live. Because of this, he joins a therapeutical support group for people with terminal illnesses. His life takes a dramatic turn when a young female reporter, Hanna Manninen, arrives at the group offering to write a series of articles about his life.

During a routine consultation, Visa learns there was a mix-up of samples and that, in fact, he is perfectly healthy. He chooses not to share this news with either Hanna or his girlfriend, Riia, because he wants to spare them the shock and also not lose the chance to have his life story chronicled. He only confides in his best friend, Harri, who, unbeknownst to him, is secretly in love with Riia.

Visa and Hanna travel to Copenhagen together, and there they fall in love, though neither dares to admit it to the other. Back in Helsinki, the support group throws a grand party, and Visa is invited to speak. On stage, he reveals that he is perfectly healthy and finally confesses his love for Hanna. Hanna, overwhelmed, turns him down. Hanna’s ex-boyfriend Ilkka then pursues a renewed relationship with her, proposing in a restaurant in Porvoo. Desperate to thwart this, Visa makes a dramatic move, only to realize at the restaurant door that he is sick after all and collapses on the street.

He is taken to a hospital in Helsinki, but seizes the first chance to escape and crashes Hanna’s and Ilkka’s wedding in order to reveal his illness once more and to declare his love for Hanna. He shares a kiss with Hanna, and almost immediately afterward, collapses and dies on the ground.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 10:47

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Bittersweet Romances Shadowed by Mortality like in One Foot Under

Romantic connections that blossom under the dark cloud of a terminal illness.If you liked the emotional mix of love and impending tragedy in One Foot Under, explore these movies where romance is intensified by a terminal diagnosis. These similar stories capture the bittersweet beauty of finding connection when time is short.

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The narrative often follows a character who receives a life-limiting diagnosis, which becomes the catalyst for a new, profound romantic relationship. The story unfolds with a steady pace, focusing on the emotional journey of embracing love while grappling with mortality, typically leading to a bittersweet conclusion that offers both romantic fulfillment and the pain of loss.

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Narrative Summary

The plot is driven by a protagonist who, whether by choice or circumstance, adopts a false identity or tells a major lie that fundamentally alters their path. The narrative follows the unfolding consequences of this deception, creating internal conflict and external tension as the character navigates the web they've woven, typically culminating in a crisis of truth.

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