People in the Summer Night

Release Date: 1948-10-09

Overview: A story set over one night in a small rural community we watch various relationships and actions among local people; these include birth, death, and conflicts fuelled by alcohol. The fates of various characters become interlaced over a long and light-filled summer night in the Finnish countryside. Lumberjacks, a deer-eyed young man Nokia, a family of poor farmers, a young girl and her lover. New life is born, old life dies, man is slain in his prime, and his widow continues her life.

Rating: 6 / 10

Cast

Eila Pehkonen

as Helka

Martti Katajisto

as Nokia

Emma Väänänen

as Hilja Syrjämäki

Eero Roine

as Jalmari Syrjämäki

Matti Oravisto

as Arvid

Crew

Valentin Vaala - Director
F.E. Sillanpää - Novel
Valentin Vaala - Editor
Risto Orko - Producer
Lea Joutseno - Screenplay

Reviews

Thomcat:

There seems to be a implicit gay character. The cinematography by Eino Heino is excellent. The film offers a ‘warm-hearted and sensitive’ evocation of the ordinary but compressed for dramatic purposes...