The Animals of Farthing Wood follows a group of animals who are forced to leave their homes due to human destruction of their habitat. They set out on a journey to find a safe place to live, facing various challenges and dangers along the way. Together, they must learn to work as a team and overcome their differences in order to survive in the wild.
All That Heaven Allows is a melodrama about a wealthy widow, Cary, who falls in love with her younger gardener, Ron. Their relationship faces opposition from Cary's family and friends due to the class differences between them. Despite the disapproval, Cary and Ron must navigate their love for each other with the challenges that arise in a 1950s suburban neighborhood.
During the Continuation War, a Finnish soldier struggles with war weariness and friendships while fighting on the Eastern Front.
Rauta-aika (The Age of Iron) is a dramatic four-part miniseries completed in 1982 by Finnish broadcast network Yle TV2. The production attempts to adapt the national epic of Finland, the Kalevala, for the television audience by way of humanizing the mythological characters whose thoughts and actions drive the narrative. The protagonists of Rauta-aika, Väinö, Ilmari and Lemminki, have been inspired by the tales in the Kalevala and go in search of a woman, eventually finding themselves at war with the Nordic people, and in the end pay dearly for their pursuits.
Tale of a Lake is a documentary that delves into the secrets of a Finnish lake and its surrounding ecosystem. It explores the seasonal changes, the diverse wildlife, and the rich mythology associated with the lake. From the formation of the lake during the ice age to the present day, the film takes viewers on a captivating journey through the beauty and complexity of nature.
Eight Deadly Shots (1972) is a TV mini-series based on a true story. Set in a rural Finnish village, it delves into the life of a farmer and the challenges he faces with unemployment, poverty, and alcoholism. The story revolves around the protagonist's relationship with his alcoholic father, the seasonal changes in the village, and his struggles to make a living. As the plot progresses, the narrative touches upon religion, bootlegging, and the violent consequences of alcohol problems. With a melancholic and revenge-driven undertone, Eight Deadly Shots sheds light on the harsh reality of rural life in 1970s Finland and the impact of alcoholism on a large family.
Vaarala, a reserved romantic photographer, has an odd artistic vision of loneliness: he takes serial photos of an empty park bench in remote spaces of nature. When he meets and falls in love with the spirited, unruly Ansa, his ‘bench’ is suddenly filled. But in order to be with her he has to not only overcome his own frailties, but also the impending danger of Ansa’s volatile ex-con ex, and then Ansa herself, a woman prone to impulsiveness and impetuousness.
Follow siblings as they construct a tree house and endure the triumphs and hardships of the changing seasons, capturing both the splendor and ruthlessness. Witness their journey through struggles and moments of bliss.
A delicate stroll through the Russian wilderness at different times of the year.
An anthology of stories about the indigenous nomadic people of the Russian tundra under modern Communist rule. Finland's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2000
An ant works to prepare for winter while a drunken grasshopper plays his violin and dances away his time. When the snow arrives, the grasshopper pleads with the ant for shelter and is turned away to die.
Complex, short animation film that divides the screen into eight small windows. To the music of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and with appropriate colours, seasonal stories are told in the small frames. Every now and then, the isolated events cross their borders and the scenes start interacting.
A documentary that unveils the primeval forests of Northern Finland, some of Europe's sole remaining, old-growth forests. The main characters of the film are the various inhabitants of the forest: the bears and the elk, the snakes and the owls, the ants, the frogs and the flying squirrels, the ancient soul birds such as the Siberian Jay, the Lapland Owl and many, many others.
Here, Beneath the North Star is an epic movie set in Finland during the turbulent years of the Finnish Civil War. It follows the story of a small farmer's family and their struggles against oppression and inequality. The movie depicts the harsh realities of class conflict and the fight for social change.
Sami dance students Birit and Katja Haarla dance through the villages and lost woods of Sápmi all the way to where the important decisions are made. The polarity of Nature and the Western way of life is filtered through sharp humour.
Life in Canada is reflected by people's comments on trees as a tree is shown undergoing seasonal changes.
With a keen sense of visual beauty, director Markku Lehmuskallio has created a thought-provoking, aesthetic film about a married couple and an old man living in a remote part of Finland. The young husband goes out hunting but only to support himself and his wife, not to kill off hordes of animals. He sets traps, and that gets him in trouble with the police who proceed to ticket him for using the devices. The forest cycles themselves are intimated when an old tree is shown falling to earth -- perhaps a reflection on the old man's passing years. In contrast to these few people living off the land and basically keeping the ecological balance intact, a highway construction crew is shown at work felling trees. Soon the antagonism grows between encroaching civilization and the quiet life of the young couple and elderly man.
Young farmer Paavo's wife dies in childbirth, and their baby soon after. The wife's family claim back the dowry she brought to their marriage, but Paavo has already used most of it for improvements at the farm. Paavo's life starts going downhill as he resorts to drinking.
Follows the life of a pauper child Vike Nilonpoika from the early 1900's to the 1960s. During this time he works as a lumberjack in Lapland after running away from the despotic master. He soon becomes familiar with hookers, card hustlers and alcohol.