''The Boys'' ( fi, Pojat) is a 1962 Finnish war drama film directed by

Mikko Niskanen Mikko Johannes Niskanen (31 January 1929 – 25 November 1990) was a Finnish film director, actor, producer and screenwriter. He directed more than 40 films between 1956 and 1988. His most acclaimed films include '' The Boys'' (1962), ''U ...

. It is based on a 1958 novel by

Paavo Rintala Paavo Rintala (born in Viipuri, Finland on 20 September 1930 – died in Kirkkonummi, Finland 8 August 1999) was a Finnish novelist and theologian. He also wrote theatre pieces, radio plays and prose. Rintala has won the ''Kirjallisuuden valtio ...

. It was entered into the

3rd Moscow International Film Festival The 3rd Moscow International Film Festival was held from 7 to 21 July 1963. The Grand Prix was awarded to the Italian film ''8½'' directed by Federico Fellini. Jury * Grigori Chukhrai (USSR - President of the Jury) * Shaken Ajmanov (USSR) * S ...

. The second lead role, Jake, was played by 17-year-old

Vesa-Matti Loiri Vesa-Matti "Vesku" Loiri (4 January 1945 – 10 August 2022) was a Finnish actor, musician and comedian, best known for his role as Uuno Turhapuro, whom he portrayed in a total of 20 movies between the years 1973 and 2004. According to Yle Ne ...

, who received the

Jussi Awards The Jussi Awards are Finland's premier film industry prizes, awarded annually to recognize the achievements of directors, actors, and writers. History The first Jussi Awards ceremony was held on 16 November 1944 at the Restaurant Adlon in Hels ...

certificate of honor for his role as a young actor.Arto Pajukallio: Elokuvat, page D 7. ''

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...

'', 2 February 2012. (in Finnish) The story conveys the life of school boys in the turbulent period of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

in northern Finland. The young men, in the absence of their fathers who have gone to war, are fascinated by war and the German Army soldiers and dream of heroic deeds.

Cast

* Pentti Tarkiainen as Ilmari Kaarela, "Immu" *

as Jaakko Hoikka, "Jake" (as Matti Loiri) * Uti Saurio as Paavo Harju, "Pate" *

Hannu Vironmäki Hannu, Hennu or Henenu was an Egyptian noble, serving as ''m-r-pr'' "majordomo" to Mentuhotep III in the 20th century BC. He reportedly re-opened the trade routes to Punt and Libya for the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. He was buried in a tomb in Dei ...

as Matti Korpi * Markku Söderström as Urkki * Heikki Rissanen as Kaaleppi (from Tuira) *

Ilkka Liikanen Ilkka may refer to: * Ilkka (given name) Ilkka is a masculine Finnish given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ilkka Alanko (born 1969), Finnish musician * Ilkka Auer (1930–2013), Finnish middle-distance runner * Ilkka Hakalehto (193 ...

as Martti (from Tuira) *

Martti Isosalo The IV District, also known as Martti (Finnish; ''Martinsbacken'' in Swedish), is one of the central districts of Turku, Finland. It is located on the east side of the river Aura, between ''Tervahovinkatu'' in the west and ''Betaniankatu'' and ...

as Topi (from Tuira) * Reima Eskelinen as A boy from Tuira *

Jorma Valtanen Jorma can refer to: *Jorma (name), Finnish given name *Jorma (album), released by Kaukonen in 1979 *Jorma (wine), a Finnish wine *nowadays in Finnish language ''jorma'' is a very well-known slang word that means penis A penis (plural ''p ...

as A boy from Tuira *

Liisa Nevalainen Liisa Nevalainen (2 May 1916 – 10 December 1987) was a Finnish actress. She appeared in more than 30 films and television shows between 1934 and 1973. Selected filmography * ''Substitute Wife ''Substitute Wife'' (Finnish: ''Vaimoke'') i ...

as Jake's mother *

Kauko Helovirta Kauko Kustaa Helovirta (Hellström, 21 October 1924, Juupajoki – 13 September 1997, Helsinki, Finland) was a Finnish film actor. Helovirta entered film in 1950 and made about 40 Finnish films between then and 1995. Helovirta starred in the ...

as Capt. Fritz Mayer ("Uncle Fritz") *

Olavi Ahonen Kauko Olavi Ahonen (21 July 1923 in Tikkakoski – 1 September 2000 in Helsinki, Finland) was a Finnish film actor. Ahonen first appeared in film in 1954 and made many appearances in Finnish film between then and 1997. He also appeared in ma ...

as Priest Pisa

References

External links

* 1962 films 1960s Finnish-language films Finnish war drama films Films based on Finnish novels 1960s war drama films 1962 drama films Finnish World War II films {{Finland-film-stub