Teuvo Tulio (1911-2000), the master of Finnish melodrama whose career was already virtually over by the mid-fifties, made all his films outside the major companies, including this one. It was filmed in 1943 while the war was still going on, and presented in late 1944 when the war had ended. The film opens on dark night: we see a ship, some swaggering and intoxicated men, a prostitute leaning on the ship rail, and her cynical presence. She has an empty expression, and suddenly gentle music sounds. We are suddenly transported to a meadow at the height of summer; the girl, now pure and innocent, waves out to sea. She then dashes up to her husband: ”I have waited for this evening for four long months! This is true love!”. The drama is powerful: the girl, like war-torn Finland, is defeated and crushed by life, a shadow of her former self – but she has preserved an ideal image of peace and happiness. The four months correspond to the four years in which the women of Finland awaited the return of their men from the front. The passion of Tulio’s melodrama springs from such paralels.

Peter von Bagh