Leena
“Tukkijoella” (Log River – 1928). Films of this genre gave the Finnish cinema and the viewing public one of its most popular characters – the lumberjack (tukkijatka, tukkipoika, tukkilainen) who at his most heroic hour becomes the log-roller or the shooter of rapids (koskenlaskija). The significance of this character in Finnish film is comparable to that of the Cowboy on American cinema. He is the pioneer, the wanderer, the adventurer. He negotiates the frontier, he is an embodiment of the conflict between wilderness and civilization.
Alma Hoving
The melodrama Sylvi (1913), directed by Teuvo Puro, is the first Finnish full-length feature film. It is also the first film adaptation of Minna Canth’s play of the same name (second 1944). Orpo Sylvi (Aili Rosvall) is married to his older guardian Aksel Vahli (Teuvo Puro), but passionately loves his childhood friend Viktor Hoving (Teppo Raikas). A difficult situation drives Sylv to desperate deeds. A approximately 27-minute version of the film’s surviving scenes, with the most explanatory text, has been reconstructed.
