Acting
Manillaköysi is a cult status holding TV-movie adaptation of the satirical war novel by Veijo Meri. Manillaköysi has an endless list of classic one-liners, but it is still not based on cheap laughs or anything like that. The whole humouristic aspect of it comes from describing the absurdity of war, and the whole military system, by looking it with the eyes of a simple man, who's thrown into it, and who simply does not give a rats ass of it all. The tone of it is not overly preachy or moralizing. If I would have to describe it with one word, it would be: unglamourizing. The main point of Manillaköysi is pretty much compressed in one of the most famous quotes of it: There is nothing supernatural about war, it is just work like anything else.
When Continuation War started in Summer 1941, German soldiers arrived to Oulu. With their charm they conquered women and town boys. Finnish boys communicated with them on many levels: had trades, worked as interpreters, rotated business, spied on German love adventures and fought with each other about the favor of soldiers. In autumn 1944, the war was ending. Germans left Oulu by leaving behind fragile relationships, bastard kids and unfinished businesses. The most shocking of all was the faith of young Jake...
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Masa, a drifter, meets Pikku-Aleksi, whose wife Jenny has just left him penniless on the side of the road. In their search for food, the friends end up at an army barracks, where Masa is mistaken for Major Pikkarainen, who has come for an inspection.
The everyday life of the small village is mixed when a fire breaks out the night after the party. The cooperative manager and fire manager alerts the young judge Heiki to the extinguishing work, but due to the confusion, extinguishing the fire turns out to be more complicated than expected.
An architect, who has recently married a new, younger wife, tries to re-connect with his ex-wife, who is being courted by another man.
A TV reporter is murdered when he is eavesdropping on a secret Finnish-Soviet conference. The National Broadcasting Corporation enlists the help of police lieutenant Palmu, who comes out of retirement for this case. However, some have their doubts about the loyalities of Palmu, seeing that he was spotted in a diplomatic soiree in Moscow just a few weeks before the murder.
In the 1970s, Turku City Theater staged an adaptation of Aleksis Kivi's Seven Brothers, directed by Kalle Holmberg. The premiere was in 1972, and performances continued for three years. The play was the biggest theatrical event of its time and a huge success with audiences. The brothers were played by the stars of the decade, with music by Kaj Chydenius. The TV movie was recorded from two public performances and close-ups were edited in.
