The Song of the Scarlet Flower

Olavi is a farmer’s son. After a quarrel with his father he leaves home. He then joins the loggers and works on the rivers. He does not settle anywhere, and nothing lasting comes of his relationships with women either. The film does not offer that wandering as a story of freedom. What becomes of those left behind is the real subject. The story is adapted from a novel. It comes from the melodrama vein of Finnish cinema in 1938. The hundred and ten minutes are given to a long account of wandering. Kille Oksanen and Rakel Linnanheimo take the leads, with Mirjami Kuosmanen also in the cast. Teuvo Tulio’s Finnish film was completed in 1938.