The Midwife (2015)

A Finnish midwife falls in love with a German-Finnish SS-officer during the Lapland War, in the middle of WWII.

Director:

Antti Jokinen (as Antti J. Jokinen)

Writers:

Antti Jokinen (screenplay) (as Antti J. Jokinen), Katja Kettu (screenplay)

Stars:

Krista Kosonen, Lauri Tilkanen, Pirkka-Pekka Petelius

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Krista Kosonen	...	Helena Alatalo
Lauri Tilkanen	...	Johannes Angelhurst
Pirkka-Pekka Petelius	...	Jouni
Tommi Korpela	...	Gödel
Leea Klemola	...	Aune
Seppo Pääkkönen	...	Björne
Johannes Brotherus	...	Aleksei
Elina Knihtilä	...	Heta
Tiina Weckström	...	Haataja
Jade Viljamaa	...	Lispet
Ylermi Rajamaa	...	Jaakkima
Armi Toivanen	...	Kristiina Alatalo
Kaarina Hazard	...	Keskimölsän akka
Anneli Karppinen	...	Pöykön emäntä
Kati Rausch	...	Concentration Camp Guard (voice)

Storyline

A Finnish midwife falls in love with a German-Finnish SS-officer during the Lapland War, in the middle of WWII.

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Plot Keywords:

year 1944 | nudity | bare breasts | german | affection | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

For her role, Elina Knihtilä cut her long hair and went on a diet and after this she weighted over 10 kg less.

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Connections

Referenced in Sukuni salat: Krista Kosonen (2021)

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Soundtracks

Terveiset ulapalta
Written by Georg Malmstén
Lyrics by Roine Richard Ryynänen
Arranged by Jaakko Salo

User Reviews

Average finnish war drama with same spices and clichés

This is just another finnish war drama which are made every year with the same clichès and spices. The package is just a bit different every time. I wonder when they'd stop supporting patriotic films and put the focus on different kind of films that are completely absent in Finnish cinema. There's so much talent that gets wasted if they make the same stuff over and over again.

Knowing the director's background in music videos, it doesn't really surprise that the film seems like a two hour long commercial music video rather than a film about love and war. The problem is that it doesn't touch at all when it should. Character development is non-existent and characters are left vague. All the atrocities are bypassed quite swiftly just as if nothing bad had ever happened. The main character is pregnant but the development of pregnancy is not shown at all. As a viewer i was left with a role of an observer. I was supposed to just admire the scenery.

The film is technically perfect but that's all there is to it. The sex scenes are actually so amusing and lack a good taste so much so that i think it will never get an international release.

To sum it up it's an average finnish war drama from a capable director who gave us Puhdistus some years earlier. It remains as his best film in my opinion. Finnish audiences who've seen war films over and over again might find this film quite tiring. I find Puhdistus more awarding to watch than this.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

Finland

Language:

Finnish German

Release Date:

4 September 2015 (Finland)

Also Known As:

A bába

Filming Locations:

Kilpisjärvi, Finland

Box Office

Budget:

EUR1,803,780 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,460,914

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nordic Productions, Solar Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1