Milka: A Film About Taboos (1980)

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.
- Released
- 1980-12-19
- Genres
- Drama
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Status
- Released
- Directed / written by
- Rauni Mollberg, Seppo Heinonen, Veikko Aaltonen, Rauni Mollberg
- TMDB rating
- 5.8/10 from 14 votes
Cast
- Irma Huntus as Milka Sierkkiniemi
- Leena Suomu as Anna Sierkkiniemi
- Matti Turunen as Ojanen
- Eikka Lehtonen as Malmström
- Esa Niemelä as Auno
- Hellin Auvinen-Salmi as Villager
- Voitto Harju as Villager
- Sonja Joensuu as Young Milka
- Kerttu Juusela as Villager
- Toivo Lampela as Host of Laanila
- Jussi Lappalainen as Villager
- Tauno Lehtihalmes as Dean