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.
Cast
Irma Huntus
as Milka Sierkkiniemi
Leena Suomu
as Anna Sierkkiniemi
Matti Turunen
as Ojanen
Eikka Lehtonen
as Malmström
Esa Niemelä
as Auno
Hellin Auvinen-Salmi
as Villager
Voitto Harju
as Villager
Sonja Joensuu
as Young Milka
Kerttu Juusela
as Villager
Toivo Lampela
as Host of Laanila
