''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 ...

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

* * {{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