''Red Line'' ( fi, Punainen viiva) is a 1959 Finnish

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Matti Kassila. It is based on the 1909 novel of the same name by

Ilmari Kianto Ilmari Kianto (7 May 1874 – 27 April 1970), also known as Ilmari Calamnius and Ilmari Iki-Kianto, was a Finnish author. He was born in Pulkkila, Northern Ostrobothnia, and is best known for his books ''Punainen viiva'' ("The Red Line", publis ...

. The film was entered into the 1st Moscow International Film Festival; however, the reception at the film festival was poor due to the exaggerated character of a

social democratic Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

agitator (played by

Jussi Jurkka Jussi Tapani Jurkka (15 June 1930 – 9 April 1982) was a Finnish actor. He was born into a family of actors. His parents, Eino Jurkka and Emmi Jurkka, were theatre leaders and actors. Also his brother Sakari Jurkka and sister Vappu Jurkka worked ...

) and weak quality of the film's subtitles.Punainen viiva
' - National Audiovisual Institute, ''Finna.fi'' (in Finnish) In 1959, the film won five

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 the following categories: Best Screenplay (Matti Kassila), Best Original Score ( Osmo Lindeman),

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to th ...

(Holger Salin), Best Supporting Actor (Jussi Jurkka) and Best Supporting Actress (

Rakel Laakso Rakel Laakso (1904–1985) was a Finnish film actress.Hammer p.117 She was married to the actor Uuno Laakso. Selected filmography * ''A Night in Rio ''A Night in Rio'' (Finnish: ''Rion yö'') is a 1951 Finnish musical comedy film directed by V ...

Plot

The film dates back to critical points in

Finnish history The history of Finland begins around 9,000 BC during the end of the last glacial period. Stone Age cultures were Kunda, Comb Ceramic, Corded Ware, Kiukainen, and . The Finnish Bronze Age started in approximately 1,500 BC and the Iron Age s ...

, until 1906, when a new law guaranteeing universal and equal suffrage was enacted, and until 1907, when the Finnish people went to the parliamentary election for the first time to draw a "red line." The main characters are Romppainen's couple, Topi and Riika, who live in a backwood cottage with their five children. The knowledge of the election and the hope for change will bring faith to the future of the poor family at Christmas.

Cast

Holger Salin Holger Salin (18 September 1911 – ) was a Finnish footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a striker. Career Salin was born in Finland and played football with HIFK. Salin was the first-ever top goalscorer in the ...

as Topi Romppanen * Liisa Nevalainen as Riika Romppanen *

Petri Tanner Petri is a surname derived from Latin Petrus, and may refer to: Surname * Adam Petri, Renaissance printer who founded a Basel publishing house * Alexandra Petri, humor columnist for ''The Washington Post'', daughter of Tom * Carl Adam Petri ...

as Sake *

Jukka Eklund Jukka () is a common Finnish given name for males. History Jukka is an old variant of the name Johannes, a biblical name spread over to Finland through Sweden with the introduction of Christianity. Jukka remained a nickname for people registere ...

as Vesteri *

Marianne Eronen Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed in ...

as Petti * Terhi Virtanen as Iita Linta Maria *

Tiina Jokela Tiina is an Estonian and Finnish feminine given name. People named Tiina include: *Tiina Ala-aho (born 19??), Finnish Paralympic track and field athlete *Tiina Benno (born 1961), Estonian politician *Tiina Intelmann (born 1963), Estonian diploma ...

as Pirjeri *

as Agitator Puntarpää *

as Kunilla *

Tarmo Manni Tarmo Manni (30 July 1921, in Saarijärvi – 24 September 1999, in Helsinki) was a Finnish actor. He worked for the Finnish National Theatre 41 years of his 44-year career and appeared in 65 films between 1944 and 2000. Manni was known as a fl ...

as Simana Arhippaini * Pentti Irjala as Shoemaker Raappana * Tyyne Haarla as Cupper Kaisa * Toivo Mäkelä as Jussi Kettuvaara

References

External links

* * 1959 films 1959 drama films 1950s Finnish-language films Finnish black-and-white films Films directed by Matti Kassila Films based on Finnish novels Finnish drama films Films about socialism {{Finland-film-stub