Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Ylijäämänainen

Stulen kärlek / [Surplus Woman]. FI 1951. PC: Fennada. P: Mauno Mäkelä. D: Roland af Hällström. SC: Jussi Talvi. DP: Esko Töyri. M: Tapio Ilomäki. "Otshi tshorni" is the theme song. Starring Asta Backman (Laura Kari), Tauno Palo (Lennart Qvist), Kyllikki Forssell (Ella Qvist), Harri Sinijärvi (department manager Harri Suvanne). 77 min. A 16mm print viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 21 May 2008. - Ok for 16mm. - A poignant, satirical drama of a single woman with relevance to feminism. - Laura Kari's suicide attempt opens the life-story seen in flashback. - Tauno Palo as a ladies' man, for Laura, the great love of her life; for him, she is just one of his lovers. - She works in the Stockmann department store, sexually harassed by her department manager. - The lonely woman sees the happiness of others' families. There is a biting Mother's Day scene with the mothers' anthem "Maan päällä paikka yksi on" ("There is but one place on earth"). - Strong cinematography by Esko Töyri. - The flashback within the flashback takes us to 1939 and a montage of the war years. - Kyllikki Forssell is the frustrated wife of Tauno Palo; she takes the knowing risk of getting pregnant, with fatal results. - "Dark Eyes" is the theme song sung by Tauno Palo with a voice of velvet. - The solidarity of women at the department store. - "Welcome, aunt Laura", a sunny smile at the end of the film. The acceptance of singlehood and childlessness.

No comments: