Milka: A Film About Taboos

Based on a novel by the late Finnish writer Timo Mukka, this simple story focuses on what happens when Milka (Irma Huntus), a girl barely out of childhood, gets pregnant by Ojanen (Matti Turunen) a rustic fieldhand. Her own mother had been hoping to marry Ojanen, and her daughter's pregnancy turns their lives around. Set in the Lapp country of northern Finland, the scenery is breathtaking, made even more so by the isolation of the region. A sense of natural solitude is underscored by a slow-moving dialogue interspersed with long silences, and the connection between nature and the dialogue is underscored as the young Milka recites poetry while out in the countryside. The fate of Milka and her mother, however, is connected to the decision that Ojanen makes at the end.

Billed Cast

Irma Huntus

Milka Sierkkiniemi

L

Leena Suomu

Anna Sierkkiniemi

M

Matti Turunen

Ojanen

E

Eikka Lehtonen

Malmström

E

Esa Niemelä

Auno

H

Hellin Auvinen-Salmi

Villager

V

Voitto Harju

Villager

S

Sonja Joensuu

Young Milka

K

Kerttu Juusela

Villager

T

Toivo Lampela

Host of Laanila

J

Jussi Lappalainen

Villager

T

Tauno Lehtihalmes

Dean