''Rahti'' (''Cargo''), is a Finnish eight-part crime drama

television miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

, which was broadcast on

Yle TV1 Yle TV1 (, ) is a Finnish television channel owned and operated by Finnish public broadcaster Yle. It is the second-oldest television channel in Finland, after TES-TV, and is the oldest currently existing television channel in the country. More ...

from 3 September 2021. The series is based on an idea by Matti Kinnunen, who is also the director and a scriptwriter. It was co-written by

Veikko Aaltonen Veikko Aaltonen (born 1 December 1955) is a Finnish director, editor, sound editor, production manager and film and television writer and actor. Aaltonen was born in Sääksmäki. He began his career in the mid-1970s working as a sound editor ...

and . Filming began in 2020 but was delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Scenes were shot in Finland, Italy and Malta. ''Rahti'' was nominated for Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize for best screenplay of a Nordic drama series. The main protagonist, Kiki (), is an

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

n refugee, who is fleeing local soldiers. On her journey to Finland, where her father Sammy () lives, she is separated from her husband Aman (Geoffrey Erista) and daughter Liah (Ariela Francis). In Finland, Riku () steals Sammy's van without knowing it has a refugee family hidden inside.

Plot

Kiki is discovered harbouring her deserter sister-in-law from the authorities, which leads her to flee

with her family. They head towards Finland, where Kiki's father Sammy lives. Sammy, who is a

people smuggler People smuggling (also called human smuggling), under U.S. law, is "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries' laws, ...

, gets his van stolen by scrap yard dealer Riku. Sammy had hidden Syrian refugees Bushra, Jawad and Rayan inside, and Riku and his brother Joni house the refugee family. Kiki is separated from her husband Aman and daughter Liah as they leave Africa. Kiki travels across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy and thence to Germany. Sammy tracks down Riku and hires him to collect Kiki, but gets arrested by police. Human traffickers led by Sharif transport Aman, Liah towards Finland with other refugees, while Riku brings Kiki to Finland. Aman drowns, but Liah is taken by Sharif's associates Jorge and Yonah. Yonah is Sammy's nephew who tells his girlfriend Barbara to take Liah to Sweden to be sold online as orphan "Lilly". Riku leaves seriously ill Rayan at a health centre, where they determine he requires a kidney transplant. Refugee lawyer Maria becomes Rayan's legal guardian against the wishes of his parents Bushra and Jawad. Bushra's brother Kamal approaches Sharif for money to fund Bushra's immigration to Sweden. Sharif promises to give the money, but requires Kamal to take in unregistered refugees as boarders in his apartment.

Cast and characters

Sources: * as Kiki Selam: former

n army staff sergeant, café owner; becomes a refugee * as Riku Railo: scrap yard owner, car thief * as Sammy: Kiki's father, Finnish resident, people smuggler * as Maria Korpi-Heikkilä: Refugee Protection lawyer * as Joni: Riku's younger brother, student * Yasmin Ahsanullah as Bushra Hanano: Syrian refugee, mother, held by Riku * Boodi Kabbani as Jawad Saleh: Bushra's husband, refugee, held by Riku * Jalal Hajali as Kamal Hanano: Bushra's brother, Maria's interpreter *

Ona Huczkowski Ona Serafiina Huczkowski (born 6 February 2002 in Barcelona, Spain) is a Finnish actress. Her film debut was in the 2020 youth drama film ', but she got her first leading role in the 2023 western comedy film '. In addition, she has acted in Yle' ...

as Sarah: Aman's sister, army deserter, killed by soldier * Geoffrey Erista as Aman: Kiki's husband, dies by drowning * Ariela Francis as Liah / "Lilly": Kiki's four-year-old daughter, sold as Lilly by traffickers * Rufaro Rwambiwa as Yonah: Sharif's henchman, Kiki's cousin, killed by Jorge * as Petteri: Maria's husband * Janette Hirvonen as Jenna: Joni's love interest * Robin Kawa as Jorge: Sharif's henchman * David Kozma as Sharif: human trafficking crime lord * Ladwn Shakarchi as Rama Saleh: Bushra's daughter * Luka Pajuhi as Rayan Saleh: Bushra's son, left by Riku at health centre, * Emilia Neuvonen as Barbara: Yonah's girlfriend, works for Sharif * David Leguesse as Samir

Reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''s John Hopewell described ''Cargo'' as "compelling, edge-of-the-seat series charting the desperate plight of illegal immigrants, in line with other taut social issue thrillers". Leena Reikko of ''Kulttuuritoimitus'' observed that ''Rahti'', whilst well-made, did not address vital issues about human trafficking: "Some riminalsmove these people, some direct the cargoes that carry them. Who? They are not the guys who, in ports, shove those who have bought their voyages into unseaworthy vessels. Nor are the cargoes controlled by a long chain of petty criminals who get their own crumbs from this tray. However, someone is controlling this, and some are profiting from it."

Episodes

References

External links

* {{IMDb title , tt15361062 2021 Finnish television series debuts 2020s crime television series Finnish drama television series Yle original programming Works about refugees in Finland Finnish television miniseries