The Earth Is a Sinful Song (1973)

An earthy, naturalistically erotic and blood-soaked tale of young Martta's ill-fated affair with Oula, a womanizing reindeer herdsman in the Finnish Lapland of the late 1940s. When the 19-... See full summary »

Director:

Rauni Mollberg

Writers:

Pirjo Honkasalo, Rauni Mollberg

Stars:

Maritta Viitamäki, Pauli Jauhojärvi, Aimo Saukko

5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maritta Viitamäki	...	Martta Mäkelä
Pauli Jauhojärvi	...	Juhani Mäkelä
Aimo Saukko	...	Old man Mäkelä
Milja Hiltunen	...	Alli Mäkelä
Sirkka Saarnio	...	Elina Pouta
Niiles-Jouni Aikio	...	Oula
Veikko Kotavuopio	...	Kurki-Pertti
Jouko Hiltunen	...	Hannes
Osmo Hettula	...	The preacher
Maija-Liisa Ahlgren	...	Aino Liinukorpi
Kauko Jauhojärvi	...	Antti Lanto
Irja Uusisalmi	...	Anna Kurkela
Eelis Tiensuu	...	Poudan isäntä
Elsa Kellinsalmi	...	Poudan emäntä
Toivo Lampela	...	Outakodan vanhaisäntä

Storyline

An earthy, naturalistically erotic and blood-soaked tale of young Martta's ill-fated affair with Oula, a womanizing reindeer herdsman in the Finnish Lapland of the late 1940s. When the 19-year-old girl turns up pregnant, her alcoholic father is outraged and a series of tragic events follows.

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Plot Keywords:

lapland | male frontal nudity | village | sexuality | sami people | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Finland

Language:

Finnish Saami

Release Date:

2 November 1973 (Finland)

Also Known As:

The Earth Is a Sinful Song

Filming Locations:

Finland

Company Credits

Production Co:

RM-Tuotanto

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Assistant director Pirjo Honkasalo worked closely with Mollberg for two years and was exhausted after the production wrapped. The film crew consisted of only seven people, so Honkasalo wore several hats during the production. After the film she took a break from the film Industry and worked as provincial artist laureate in Central Finland.

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Connections

Featured in Molle: Ohjaajamuotokuva akateemikko Rauni Mollbergista (1991)

User Reviews

The simple life, the hard way

Maa on syntinen laulu (The Earth is a Sinful Song) is an earthy tale about a girl living in a peasant community in northern Finland before the Second World War. The film depicts without flinching the utter destitution and squalor of the life of the rural poor before the advent of modern times reached this remote area. So much so, in fact, that modern day Finns of the mobile phone generation do not recognize themselves at all in the story and tend to reject it. They cannot imagine that this was actually how their grand parents (may have) lived.

The protagonists in this tragic tale are mostly ugly, dirty and unshaven (including the women) and of questionable morals. The interaction is rough and at times violent, especially against animals. The only escape the people have from their abject poverty is religious zeal, liquor and sex (sometimes consumed in combination). All in all it is not an easy film to digest, but as a document of life in the olden days it stands firm.