Ihmiset suviyössä (film)

Ihmiset suviyössä
Directed by	Valentin Vaala
Produced by	Risto Orko
Written by	Lea Joutseno, Usko Kemppi, Valentin Vaala
Based on	Ihmiset suviyössä
Starring	Eila Pehkonen Matti Oravisto Martti Katajisto Emma Väänänen Eero Roine Kaisu Leppänen
Music by	Taneli Kuusisto
Cinematography	Eino Heino
Edited by	Valentin Vaala
Production company	Suomi-Filmi Oy
Distributed by	Suomi-Filmi Oy
Release date	9 October 1948 (1948-10-09)
Running time	66 minutes
Country	Finland
Language	Finnish

Ihmiset suviyössä (People in the Summer Night) is a Finnish film from 1948. Directed by Valentin Vaala, it is based on Frans Eemil Sillanpää'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.^[1]

Reception

Ihmiset suviyössä 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.^[2]

The film received four Jussi Awards; 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 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

References