''The Marshal of Finland'' ( fi, Suomen Marsalkka) is a
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
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Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
n fictional film based on the life of
Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. The film is produced by
Yleisradio
Yleisradio Oy (Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founde ...
in cooperation with Savane Productions and Filmistuudio Kalevipojad. It is directed by a Kenyan Gilbert Lukalia. The film's world premiere was on
The Helsinki International Love & Anarchy Film Festival on 28 September 2012.
Plot
The story of the film focuses on Mannerheim's private life from 1905–1918. It tells about a failed marriage with Anastasia Arapova, and love affair with Kitty Linder after the
Finnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...
. According to Gilbert Lukalian, "It's an universal story about a man who has difficulty reconciling family life and career."
Cast
* Telley Savalas Otieno as
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
* Beatrice Wangui as Anastasia Arapova
Production
In winter 2012 Yle reported on a forthcoming Mannerheim film, which would be an international production. Information of the film being filmed in a foreign country became to public, before Yle had time to organize a press conference on August 16, 2012.
Erkko Lyytinen got the idea for the film in Kenya from an Estonian producer Ken Saan. Saan had asked from Lyytinen if he had any project that could be filmed at Kenya. According to Lyytinen, Saan's aspect at the production was a major success of the movie filming. The screenplay was written by a Kenyan work group. Yle gave to scriptwriters the necessary facts, but the group created the portrait of Mannerheim themselves. Originally the film was going to be a war film, but turned out to be a biographical film, because it was too hard to shoot the war scenes at the bad circumstances.
The film was shot around
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...
in May and June. Gilbert Lukalia was chosen to be a director of the film in just 12 hours before the start of filming. They also made a six-part documentary of making the film called ''Operation Mannerheim'', which cost about 100,000–150,000 €, even though the movie itself cost only 20,000 €.
Reception
Stir before the premiere
The film sparked a debate even before it was published. The Finnish media raised a stir about a black actor performing Mannerheim. Producer
Markus Selin
Markus Selin (born 16 March 1960) is a Finnish television and film producer.
Career
Selin was born in Vihti. His first feature was conceived in the mid-1980s. At a party in Los Angeles, he was introduced to fellow Finn Renny Harlin. The two c ...
said that the film is a "spoofing", and director
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 ...
wondered why Yle had given a license for the description.
Jörn Donner
Jörn Johan Donner (5 February 1933 – 30 January 2020) was a Finnish writer, film director, actor, producer, politician and founder of Finnish Film Archive.
Biography
Born into the Donner family of German descent, Jörn Donner was the son of ...
believes that the film is "a bluff", and said that Yle is trying to cash in on the Marshal's reputation.
External links
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*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshal Of Finland, The
2012 films
Finnish biographical films
Films set in the 1900s
Films set in the 1910s
Films set in Finland
Films shot in Finland
Cultural depictions of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
Films shot in Kenya
Kenyan drama films
English-language Kenyan films
English-language Finnish films
2010s English-language films