Subtitles:Finnish
Very painful and SLOW movie about a women and her family living at the turn of the century (late 1800's). Her life is dominated by a hard drinking and womanizing husband who barely holds on to a job.
She finds an interest in photography but as expected from her medieval minded husband, he resents her interest in anything other than having babies and sewing, and she accedes to all his wishes. This may have been the truth in the world of the early 20th century, but it is very hard to see it happen on the screen. Almost like torture.
From Rotten Tomatoes: (Received Good Reviews)
In a series of remarkable events inspired by a true story, Maria Heiskanen stars as Maria Larsson, a Finnish mother and housewife who devotes all of her attention, care, and consideration to the well-being of her family -- but, like many homemakers, does so at the expense of her own identity and self-awareness. Not that her dockworker husband, Sigge (Mikael Persbrandt), particularly deserves such consideration; a brutish, alcoholic lout, his evenings consist of making life hell for Maria and their daughter with tyrannical, abusive behavior. Then, as the dockworkers go on strike and the family's economic situation plummets, a ray of hope appears, in the form of a Contessa camera won in a local lottery. Unsurprisingly, Maria at first attempts to pawn it to reel in extra monies, but store owner Sebastian Pedersen convinces her otherwise; he teaches her how to use it, and she begins taking gorgeous, haunting photographs with the unaffected, instinctive perceptions of a young child. As the woman's self-discovery builds and her identity takes on form and definition, Sebastian unofficially takes her on as a protégée and quietly witnesses romantic feelings for her building inside of him. Meanwhile, Sigge's life falls to pieces when the authorities connect him with the catastrophic explosion of a British vessel.
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