''Red Line'' ( fi, Punainen viiva) is a 1959 Finnish

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Matti Kassila Matti Kassila (12 January 1924 – 13 December 2018) was a Finnish film director who achieved fame as one of the most prominent Finnish filmmakers in the 1950s and 1960s. He is most famous for the series of four Inspector Palmu movies, based on ...

. It is based on the 1909 novel of the same name by

Ilmari Kianto Ilmari Kianto (7 May 1874 – 27 April 1970), also known as Ilmari Calamnius and Ilmari Iki-Kianto, was a Finnish author. He was born in Pulkkila, Northern Ostrobothnia, and is best known for his books ''Punainen viiva'' ("The Red Line", publishe ...

. The film was entered into the

1st Moscow International Film Festival The 1st Moscow International Film Festival was held from 3 to 17 August 1959. The Grand Prix was awarded to the Soviet film ''Destiny of a Man'' directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. Jury * Sergei Gerasimov (USSR - President of the Jury) * Antonin Br ...

; however, the reception at the film festival was poor due to the exaggerated character of a

social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

agitator Agitator may refer to: Politics *A person who carries out political agitation; see agitation *A member of the Agitators, political movement and elected representatives of soldiers during the English Civil War * Levellers, also called Agitators ...

(played by Jussi Jurkka) and weak quality of the film's

subtitles Subtitles and captions are lines of dialogue or other text displayed at the bottom of the screen in films, television programs, video games or other visual media. They can be transcriptions of the screenplay, translations of it, or informati ...

.Punainen viiva
' - National Audiovisual Institute, ''Finna.fi'' (in Finnish) In 1959, the film won five

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 ...

in the following categories: Best Screenplay (Matti Kassila), Best Original Score (

Osmo Lindeman Osmo Uolevi Lindeman (16 May 1929 – 15 February 1987) was a Finnish composer and music pedagogue. Lindeman worked as a jazz and dance musician, with piano being his instrument. He became known as a pioneer of Finnish electronic music. Lindeman a ...

), Best Actor (Holger Salin), Best Supporting Actor (Jussi Jurkka) and Best Supporting Actress (

Rakel Laakso Rakel Laakso (1904–1985) was a Finnish film actress.Hammer p.117 She was married to the actor Uuno Laakso Uuno Laakso (1896–1956) was a Finnish film actor. He was married to the actress Rakel Laakso. He is buried in the Hietaniemi Cemete ...

Plot

The film dates back to critical points in

Finnish history The history of Finland begins around 9,000 BC during the end of the last glacial period. Stone Age cultures were Kunda, Comb Ceramic, Corded Ware, Kiukainen, and . The Finnish Bronze Age started in approximately 1,500 BC and the Iron Age star ...

, until 1906, when a new law guaranteeing universal and equal suffrage was enacted, and until 1907, when the Finnish people went to the parliamentary election for the first time to draw a "red line." The main characters are Romppainen's couple, Topi and Riika, who live in a backwood cottage with their five children. The knowledge of the election and the hope for change will bring faith to the future of the poor family at Christmas.

Cast

* Holger Salin as Topi Romppanen *

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 Riika Romppanen * Petri Tanner as Sake * Jukka Eklund as Vesteri * Marianne Eronen as Petti * Terhi Virtanen as Iita Linta Maria * Tiina Jokela as Pirjeri * Jussi Jurkka as Agitator Puntarpää *

as Kunilla *

Tarmo Manni Tarmo Manni (30 July 1921, in Saarijärvi – 24 September 1999, in Helsinki) was a Finnish actor. He worked for the Finnish National Theatre 41 years of his 44-year career and appeared in 65 films between 1944 and 2000. Manni was known as a fla ...

as Simana Arhippaini *

Pentti Irjala Pentti Irjala (23 September 1911 – 25 June 1982) was a Finnish actor. Career Since 1959, Irjala worked for the Finnish National Theatre. He appeared in over a hundred films, making him the actor with one of the longest careers in Finnish film ...

as Shoemaker Raappana * Tyyne Haarla as Cupper Kaisa *

Toivo Mäkelä Toivo Mäkelä (26 September 1909 – 20 April 1979) was a Finnish film actor, appearing in more than 50 films between 1951 and 1979. He won a Jussi Award for Best Actor in 1978 and was awarded a Pro Finlandia medal in 1960. Partial filmo ...

as Jussi Kettuvaara

References

External links

* * 1959 films 1959 drama films 1950s Finnish-language films Finnish black-and-white films Films directed by Matti Kassila Films based on Finnish novels Finnish drama films Films about socialism {{Finland-film-stub