Milka: A Film About Taboos

Milka: A Film About Taboos (1980) is a drama film directed by Rauni Mollberg rated 5.8/10.

Based on a novel by the late Finnish writer Timo Mukka, this simple story focuses on what happens when Milka (Irma Huntus), a girl barely out of childhood, gets pregnant by Ojanen (Matti Turunen) a rustic fieldhand. Her own mother had been hoping to marry Ojanen, and her daughter's pregnancy turns their lives around. Set in the Lapp country of northern Finland, the scenery is breathtaking, made even more so by the isolation of the region. A sense of natural solitude is underscored by a slow-moving dialogue interspersed with long silences, and the connection between nature and the dialogue is underscored as the young Milka recites poetry while out in the countryside. The fate of Milka and her mother, however, is connected to the decision that Ojanen makes at the end.

Cast

Irma Huntus

Milka Sierkkiniemi

Leena Suomu

Anna Sierkkiniemi

Matti Turunen

Ojanen

Eikka Lehtonen

Malmström

Esa Niemelä

Auno

Hellin Auvinen-Salmi

Villager

Voitto Harju

Villager

Sonja Joensuu

Young Milka

Kerttu Juusela

Villager

Toivo Lampela

Host of Laanila

Jussi Lappalainen

Villager

Tauno Lehtihalmes

Dean