Paksunahka 1958
A man dreaming of becoming a private detective gets suck into an investigation of a crime involving the theft of a secret chemical formula.
A man dreaming of becoming a private detective gets suck into an investigation of a crime involving the theft of a secret chemical formula.
Lasse Pöysti's directorial debut film. And Helena Plays On (1951) is based on Aino Räsänen's second novel of the same name in the Helena series. When the Winter War breaks out, Arttu (Jussi Jurkka), the son of Helena (Irma Seikkula) and Jari Junkkeri (Erkki Viljos), go to the front. Arttu proposes to his girlfriend Elina (Leena Häkinen), but the world events come in between. When he is not heard of at the end of the war, the relatives begin to believe that Arttu is dead - everybody else but not Helena.
A TV reporter is murdered when he is eavesdropping on a secret Finnish-Soviet conference. The National Broadcasting Corporation enlists the help of police lieutenant Palmu, who comes out of retirement for this case. However, some have their doubts about the loyalities of Palmu, seeing that he was spotted in a diplomatic soiree in Moscow just a few weeks before the murder.
Maria Toikka is called to testify in a trial in which her husband Ville is charged. The assurances show the events that led to the trial from the previous fall, when Patron Oppman begins to approach Maria, offering her money in return for services.
An archaeological team unearths a body of a young woman, who was told to be a witch buried in the bog some 300 years ago. Soon a naked woman appears and drives the men of the village crazy...
A former Red Rebellion leader returns home after being imprisoned for his participation in the Finnish Civil War, but soon finds out that wartime mindsets still linger in the heads of people.
A story takes place within one summery day in a place called Putkinotko on the shore of lake Saimaa in the early 20th century. Juutas and Rosina Käkriäinen are poor sharecroppers struggling to feed their ten children, so they run a liquor selling business on the side...
A story of an escaped convict and some funny side stories during the Finnish summer, some stolen clothes and some summer romance thrown in.
The film tells the story of an orphaned Anu and carpenter Mikko trying to make a living in a small Karelian village in the early 1930s.
Täällä Pohjantähden alla is based on the book with the same title. It is a story of the little village. The movie starts in the 1890's and it ends to the Finnish civil war in 1918. Story concentrates around a tenant farmer family, although it gives us a good look at the society at whole. While the class struggle depends, people of the village are driven to bloody civil war.
The story of the first elections in Finland
A rich widow is found dead in her apartment in Helsinki due to gas poisoning. The incident is initially thought to be an accident, but inspector Palmu notices that the murderer made a mistake, and so Palmu, Kokki and Virta begin the investigation: who had come to the apartment through the balcony door and opened the gas tap while Mrs. Skrof was asleep?
Jooseppi Kenkkunen becomes a moonshiner in order to provide for his wife Kaisa-Reetta and his large family during the Prohibition era in Finland.
Directed by Edvin Laine and Viktor Tregubovich, Trust (1976) is a Finnish-Soviet historical drama film that follows the relations between Finland and the Soviet Union. In December 1917, the Finnish delegation, composed of Chairman of the Senate Finance Department P.E. Svinhufvud (Vilho Siivola), Senator Carl Enckell (Yrjö Tähtelä) and State Secretary Gustaf Idman (Yrjö Paulo) arrive in St. Petersburg to meet V.I. Lenin (Kirill Lavrov) to gain recognition for the country's independence.
A man's body is found on Tähtitorninmäki in Helsinki. Palmu starts to investigate the case, but the scandalous newspaper story causes problems for the police.
Evakko is a portrayal of Soviet-Finnish winter war of 1939/40 and the associated evacuations in different parts of the country. It tells the story of a Karelian family along with their whole village who were forced to leave their homes because of the war. The film has a surprisingly perky tone for the subject matter.
Aging professor of mathematics completes his life's work, a research project that has taken him decades, and climbs up from the boiler room (his study) and back to real life. He can hardly recognize his rebellious teenage kids and materialistic wife who hardly seem to notice his existence. The only person who is interested in the professor's work is Marja, his son's girlfriend and freshman at the university. An innocent infatuation flares up between the old man and the young girl, while the professor's family is only interested in the prize money awarded to the professor by an international jury for his academic achievements.
The military farce, directed by Lasse Pöysti, is based on Joel Laikka's novel. The illiterate Nieminen (Pöysti), who starts his military service through mischief and being tempted by other rookies, causes confusion in the barracks. At the behest of colonel (Paavo Jännes), attempts are made to teach him in different ways - the women of the locality are also interested in teaching. Soon Nieminen will be the competing with sergeant major Vasikainen (Reino Valkama) for the affections of the colonel's cook Vieno (Toini Vartiainen).
The title of the Finnish film Elokuu translates to August. Directed by Matti Kassila, one of Finland's premiere filmmakers, Elokuu was adapted from a novel by Nobel prize winning finnish author F.E. Sillanpää. Simply put, the story concerns the decline and fall of a once-proud family, thanks to the alcoholism of its paterfamilias. Toivo Makela delivers a powerfully effective performance as the inebriated protagonist, avoiding the usual "drunken" cliches. The overlong running time, coupled with the downbeat nature of the subject, limited the film's worldwide appeal.