(''People in the Summer Night'') is a Finnish film from 1948. Directed by Valentin Vaala, it is based on

Frans Eemil Sillanpää Frans Eemil Sillanpää (; 16 September 1888 – 3 June 1964) was a Finnish writer. In 1939, he became the first Finnish writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature "for his deep understanding of his country's peasantry and the exqui ...

's 1934 novel of the same title.

Plot

The film concentrates on the destinies of a small group of people during one summer night. All events in the film are told from two different perspectives. During the night people are falling in love, fighting drunk, dying, and being born. Nature is just as important a part of the movie as the actors are. The novelist Sillanpää himself had told Vaala to keep in mind that there should be only one main character, and that is the summer night.

Reception

received mostly positive reviews from Finnish critics. They especially praised Eino Heino's cinematography, stating that such beautiful and sensitive capturing of Finnish nature had never before been seen in domestic films. The film received four

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 Hel ...

; in addition to actors Martti Katajisto, Eero Roine and Kaisu Leppänen, also Valentin Vaala and Lea Joutseno were awarded for the screenplay.

Main cast

* Eila Pehkonen as Telirannan Helka *Martti Katajisto as Nokia *

Emma Väänänen Emma Väänänen (22 December 1907 – 20 February 1970) was a Finnish film actress. She appeared in 49 films between 1941 and 1969. She was a member of the jury at the 1st Moscow International Film Festival in 1959. Selected filmography * ...

as Syrjämäen Hilja *Eero Roine as Syrjämäen Jalmari * Matti Oravisto as Arvid *Toivo Hämeranta as Telirannan isäntä *Tyyne Haarla as Telirannan Martta-emäntä *Maija Nuutinen as Telirannan vanhaemäntä *Kaisu Leppänen as Mettälän Santra *Matti Lehtelä as Mettälän Jukka * Tarmo Manni as Iivari Pietilä

Commentary

The character Nokia is considered to be the first gay character in Finnish cinema.

References

1948 films Films based on Finnish novels Finnish drama films Finnish LGBTQ-related films 1948 drama films Finnish black-and-white films 1940s Finnish-language films 1940s Finnish films 1940s LGBTQ-related films Suomi-Filmi films Finnish-language drama films {{Finland-film-stub