"OSTROBOTHNIA, FINLAND The 1800s" "Violent knife-fighters cause restlessness and fear." "The local authorities have given up on trying to restore order." "It is customary that a farm owner's eldest son inherits everything - and the others make a life for themselves empty-handed." "This is the time ruled by the knife." "PERIFERIA" "Hello, Antti." "Aino and I came to have a look at your tar-burning." "How's our Matti doing?" " Doesn't look like he's giving in." "So the boy has learnt something." "Calmer near the shore" "Pretty and slender she needs to be My sweetheart evermore" "Let's run away together." "I'm going to talk to your father." " And say what?" "What else can he say but a polite no?" "I'll ask my father to give me a plot of land." "It's no harm to anyone." "Do it quickly then." "If we continue hiding for long " "I'll have to start looking for a younger wife." "Where's your eldest?" "Esko is rarely around to do the work on the farm." "Do you know what just happened?" " What did you just do?" "Do you know me?" " You're Esko Valitalo." "Wrong!" "Everyone knows who Esko Valitalo is." "Yes, and they're saying, without a grain of truth - that he's killed seven men with a knife." "Right?" "You know what?" "What?" "Not only am I that Esko Valitalo, I'm your king." "Your father may be - but he doesn't know what's being done in his name." "Well said." "I didn't start this." "Everyone can see that." "I am what I am." "I can't help myself." "We have a God-fearing neighbour as a witness." "Wasn't it a fair fight?" "And I didn't start it, did I?" "No." "That's what you asked for your horse." "And if there's talk afterwards..." "Those who want to stay alive and not burn in their houses - remember that it was a stranger from Nykarleby who swung his knife here." "And then he was gone." "Good evening, Mother." "We may need more barrels." "We dug a bigger pit." "All the way to the back!" "How do you know that a man is still young?" "A boy doesn't understand - that if he doesn't do anything, his name isn't worth mentioning." "Does a man like that even exist?" "Matti, you look as if you're about to be hanged." "I'm not bearded enough to leave my mother's side." "Good evening, Father." "I found a rare horse, good and cheap." "And a new farmhand too." "Valtteri!" "Valtteri is an orphan." "We have enough hands." "If only everyone would come to work." "Valtteri is a good and thorough lad." "Esko, leave the recruiting to the head of the Valitalo house." "We can't take it back once it's been promised." "He's drunk!" " Not too much." "Well... the lad can stay, on probation." "I'm going to the tar pit tomorrow, unless you have work for me here." "Work doesn't end without working." "And not even by working." "Your beard needs cutting." "Valtteri, you haven't heard this yet." "Matti and I used to play here when the ice was breaking up." "Once I was jumping on thin ice and fell into the water." "The icy water would've been the end of me." "But that boy, only just ten, jumped after me and saved me." "I was able to climb out." " I've often regretted my bravery." "Why doesn't such a man walk beside his big brother- fighting and chasing maids and farmers' daughters?" "We'd be a pair of brothers to watch out for." "Goddammit!" "When will you learn how to swim, Kalle?" "Yesterday." "The sauna is ready!" "Don't even think about it." "You're not the eldest." "No farm, no farmer's daughter." "Those things end up in tears." "Girls, come and wash some real men's backs!" "You'd have to be made of something better." "Is that so?" "One doesn't want to go to sleep." "It's good to be here." "All of us Valitalo men have a big wheel inside us." "Bigger than many others have." "When you use it right, you can do a lot of good." "Like everything you see here." "This used to be a forest." "And the other way round." "The wheel can also turn in the wrong direction." "Are you sure about this, Antti?" " Yes." "LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT" "Maria!" "Matti!" "I need to talk to you." "You're passing over your firstborn!" "One should always improve one's inheritance." "This farm can't be run drunk." "or from prison, for that matter." "The firstborn's birthright isn't a law!" "It's just a custom that's neither wise nor fair." "How about we split it in two?" "That would be right." "Where's the sense in that?" "Neither of you could live on that." "One half would still be one of the biggest farms." "Did you come up with this?" " No, I did." "You can see where this is headed!" "Matti doesn't drink or fight." "He'll make the house better for future generations." "If you do this to Esko, where can he show his face?" "I've made my decision." "The Notary has a copy of the will." "Esko needs a plot where he can provide for his family." "You'll do as you see fit." "We'll tell Esko about this tonight and talk things through." "It's up to you to prove that I did the right thing." "I'm here to ask for a hand." "Aino's hand." "We can celebrate the wedding after the harvest." "Your future wife has quite a mouth on her." "I've noticed that." " Let's have some coffee." "And then you're going to work." "You're not running the biggest house in the parish yet." "Did Esko agree to this easily?" " Antti will talk to him tonight." "Esko doesn't know yet?" "Esko Valitalo." " Notary Valgard." "Are you coming from our house?" "Yes." "Well..." "I stopped by your neighbour's too." "What was your business?" " Land tenancy." "Antti wanted to ask about the law." "There's nothing about tenancy in this." "I have two children." "There's been no will made in the Valitalo house." "If I hear from you again, you know what'll happen." "I'll slit your throat." "Will the future Mrs. Valitalo open her door to a knock at sunset?" "If it's the future head of the house who knocks... then yes." "The Notary." "Hello!" "Isn't it dangerous for a blind man to check fish traps?" "Greetings from Notary Valgard." "He told me he'd been here." "He was." "On land tenancy business." "Yes..." "Well, no." "I was going to talk to you this evening." "Where's that paper?" " In a safe place." "Now I have two of these." "You know that this is the only reasonable solution." "You didn't consider what I would do when I found out?" "No?" "You should know your son a little better." "I'm ashamed that I acted behind your back - but the decision was mine." "Matti wants to give you a share." "You've always looked down on me, Father- and always been kind to Matti." "You could've done anything, before you let loose that whatever it is that's possessing you." "You're uncontrollable!" " I wonder why." "Let's forget the whole thing." "I'll write another will." "As many as it takes!" "Is that so?" "Say you're sorry." "No." "Say you're sorry!" "I wrote what I wrote." "Father!" "I found him by the shore, face down in the water." "He must've been checking the fish traps." "And you found him?" "Did you find the Notary first?" "There's a place for you in my house - if you're willing to settle for your position." "As a farmhand?" " As a brother." "Mother?" "You know, Mother." "Why don't you say anything?" "Say something, Mother!" "You don't waste time, do you?" "You've even bought rings." "You may keep your clothes." "just walk away." "And don't look back." "Who's wearing the other ring?" "Not that it's any of your business, but Aino Kantola." "That knife belongs to the farm owner." "You didn't stay." "I don't think the new owner and I would get along." "I brought us something to eat." "And something else." "The Notary..." "He must tell everyone the truth." "He took his belongings and rushed off." "He didn't say where." "Not even to his own brother?" "He had a knife in his leg." "No, he hurt it on a branch stub." "Why was the Notary rushing his family toward the ferry boat?" "Pull!" "They're coming." " Stop the ferry boat!" "Pull faster!" " I need to talk to you!" "Antti is dead, and the will has disappeared!" "You need to tell people how things really should be!" "Pull!" "Faster!" "A little more." "Faster!" "Fasten it quickly!" "Matti!" "What are we doing now?" "Aino!" "You father won't let you marry a nobody who has nothing." "Just uncertainty." "I can't guarantee anything- but if a good worker can make a living, so can I." "I know." "But everything's open." "To the west." "Sweden may not be enough." "I may have to go farther." "Rings aren't slipped on fingers for amusement - but once in a lifetime." "I'll take some things with me." "A promise is a promise." "Don't worry." "I 'll write." "Aino." "Hey, hey, my shiny knife Hey, hey, with it I'm strong" "I have an axe and cusswords too With them I'm sure to get along" "Why didn't your mother say anything?" "Who knows about you women?" "Why don't you find out?" "Hey!" "Don't let her climb on top of you." "You can't have offspring until we've settled down." "If things start looking bad, I'll lie down between you!" "Well, well." "There's an eternal Midsummer on this side - but you'll have to settle for your fate." "Midsummer here, frost there." "Midsummer here, frost there!" "How about it, Aino?" "Since we're already so close..." "I see." "Let me know if you change your mind." "Esko will let you know about the funeral." "This is going to be hard for Aino." "I wish Antti had been given more time." "Antti and I agreed on my debt in conversation." "There's nothing on paper." "I hope Esko will believe how things are." "Sakari!" "They'll row us to the ship after loading." "You didn't stay to bury your father." " That wouldn't bring him back." "Climb onto the cart, Aino." "We're going across, by fair means or foul." "That just won't do." "I'm not happy about this, and fighting won't comfort anyone." "Our rings will remain, whatever happens." "This is your money." "I'll have to manage without it." "Esko destroyed the wills and scared the notary away." "He probably even killed his own father." "Father gave the house to me." "I wish things were different." "The truth doesn't always win." " One shouldn't surrender to lies." "Your father..." "I would've gone into the lion's mouth after him." "You're a lot like him." "We'll get through this." "We still have our lives to live." "We'll be all right." "We're carefree boys." "Shall we go to Sweden?" "We're going to the funeral." "You're going to suggest that Esko give you your own place?" "A plot to farm and a forest with enough wood for a house?" "Antti lost his sight at the battle of Koljonvirta." "On the front line, as always." "We should meet in private - about the financial business that I agreed on with Antti." "All right, we'll do that next week." "I hear you have a tarring pit of your own." "Yes." "Soon we'll deliver the tar to Vaasa." " A good payday for you." "How are you, Matti?" "We need to talk about Father's will." "What?" "His last will." "He left so suddenly that he didn't make it known." "Part of the Karkku forest, the bog, and the Laitamaa fields." "You can build a house there." "You'd give me a plot and become the head of the farm yourself?" "Do I have to spell it out?" "It was what Father wanted." "You've always had a lively imagination." "Mother read the papers." "Why don't you say what Father wanted?" "Do we have to live on a lie?" "What would it look like if we started fighting about it?" "You and that knife thief should know that the farm won't be split." "Even" "Stay out of my way." "There's room for another coffin in Father's grave." "It might be carved to your size." "You should go and forget about everything here." "It's best for all of us." "Was that your plan?" "A full-on attack, face to face?" "I was sure your brother would stab you." "I never dreamed that you would ask for it!" "If you don't put on weight, the wind will be your fate." "Think of something." "Promise me." "I promise." "Was I afraid?" "Well, no." "Who saw it?" "Did everyone see it?" "Everyone..." "Esko can't fill Father's boots any better than I can." "I didn't take the blood money." "Why wait?" "I'll cut his throat." "Matti's name will be worth mentioning too." "We're not going back." "Hey..." "Matti!" "It's me, Kalle." "It's all right." "Don't..." "Correct me if I'm wrong." "You've seen my brother play with his knife." "You know as well as I do that he deserves a ball and chain." "Let's get him a long sentence, and we'll all be better off." "You have an axe to grind, Matti." "If I find other witnesses, will you come to the court?" "If you find four others, you can count me as the fifth." "Let's wait at least until we're sober." "My head is perfectly clear." "Dip yours in a well if you can't handle your liquor." "Oh... the younger Valitalo." "May I have a word?" " Speak away." "I'll bring five witnesses to court if you arrest Esko Valitalo." "Is that so?" "Manslaughters, stabbings, theft..." "Half of what he's done is enough to send him to Siberia." "You don't know what you're talking about." "You should go now and not beg for unnecessary trouble." "What do you mean, Chief'!" "Matti..." "With a gun, you don't have to get close." "You can do your job from afar!" " Are these made for women?" "If it isn't my brother." "Why are you calling on the Police Chief this early?" "Well?" "I told him I'd bring five witnesses to court - and arrange a ball and chain for you." "Yeah, and a trip to Siberia." "I see." "You've laid some big sins on me." "With no less than five witnesses, face to face." "At least this makes a fine sound." "Let me see you do the same." "When will you realise that you're in over your head?" "You'll have trouble finding five men who'd go against their king." "Well... we're two of a kind." "It's like looking in a mirror sometimes." "Two of a kind..." "The fault may lie in the mirror or the one looking in it." "At 15, Esko still showed Mother what he'd produced in the outhouse." "If a musician wrote a verse - in which Esko Valitalo has mercy on his brother" "would it mean that Esko is soft?" "Ora verse in which Esko can't talk horseshit - because of the knife in his throat." "Take the gun back to the Chief." "Kalle has nothing to do with this." " Orphan Kalle?" "That's true." "Father's knife belongs to me." "Come and take it." "Kalle carried him away." "Esko will only become worse." "Someone has to put a stop to their rampage!" "Let's wait until the dust has settled - and we'll see the matter in a different light." "With the tar, we can settle our debt with them." "Is that the most important thing?" " What else?" "Are you men or cowards?" "Do you need a real man to show you what to do?" "We have all our eggs in one basket with that tar." "One could build a big mansion with stolen timber." "We're doing this a bit too close to home." "Don't worry." "Goddammit!" "Where will Kantola's tar be loaded?" " On Alinen's shore." "What a misfortune." "Did you lose it all?" "It's still burning." "So I thought..." "Maybe I could pay you just the interest for now." "Until we get back onto our feet." "So things are that serious at the Kantola house." "I've sort of counted on you paying off your debt." "But I can think of one solution." "Aino..." "Esko wants to talk to you." "Damn." "I'm not good at talking about the affairs of the heart - but what I have in my chest is beating for you." "I'm talking about an engagement." "I want to take care of you." "Just look into your heart." "Take your time." "I already know..." " Take your time." "Think it over." "Your father and I have already come to an agreement." "You'd sell me to become a murderer's wife!" "I wouldn't if the situation wasn't pressing." "Never!" "If we don't do it, our farm will go under the hammer." "Kalle and Matti are in a barn near 0nkeloinen's bog." "Hello." "Are you back on your feet?" "I'm hungry as a wolf." "I ran into Kantola's maids." "I told them where we are." "I have to marry Esko." "Otherwise we'll lose everything." "But it's you I love." "Take your clothes off." "A worker's hand." "But not a farm owner's." "It's wonderful that you're the way you are." "If the law doesn't come to Esko, we need to bring Esko to the law." "Jump onto another cart, Valtteri." "I'll follow you later." "Young love is oblivious of time and place." "Be quiet." "Leave me some liquor." "Have you thought about it?" "Yes." "Well?" "Is a bought wife enough for you?" " Is your heart on offer too?" "I know which way the wind blows." " Now it's taken a complete turn." "It takes time for the heart to follow the head." "There's no rush." "We have all the time in the world." "I seem to have a rival." "Shall we kill him?" " I was seen." "Let's sink him." "That wouldn't do." "We'll take him to a boat and to the province capital." "We're doing what's right." "We 're going to America And get some proper work there" "We'll find handsome sweethearts And come back to show them off" "You can always hear my voice Although I can't be seen" "I'm just a rotten charlatan A tiny boy, but mean" "My heart is big and pounding hard For my little sweetheart" "If I could lie down next to her I'm sure we 'd never part" "Let him drown!" " I'll untie his hands!" "Aino, it's all right." "I'm taking her ashore." "You're going to the other side." "Matti, there are two of us!" "No..." "We have a score to settle!" "Is everything all right, Aino?" "You're not cold?" "It's all right." "Must've been terrible when they forced you against me." "Everything's all right now." "Your fancy words about the heart following the head..." "Do you think it's happening?" "I want to tell you one thing before you answer." "I would never hurt you in any way." "Never!" "But I can't stand the sight of any man who has your heart." "Can you understand that?" "It's important to me that you can." "I don't have a ring right now, but all the same..." "Will you be my wife?" "Where's the Notary'!" " Didn't we already..." "Where?" " The men have some business." "I don't know." "I can pummel you all night." "I have nothing to lose." "I'll tell you!" "No!" "He's in jokikulma." "Wouldn't less have been enough?" " I didn't have time to try." "Good morning!" "Aino and I came to show off our rings." "They're wide and thick - so people won't have to guess whether we're engaged or not." "Aino came to get her things." "She'll begin to settle in our house." "Esko is a sick animal." "He needs to be locked up." "You have to do something!" "Life can take you where you don't want to go." "Esko is good to his own people." "Your heart will follow, if you're patient." "Are you ready?" "We'll send for you to celebrate the engagement." "Valgard!" "Come outside." "It's Matti Valitalo." "Father, come outside!" "Shall I go and get him?" "No." "Hello, Matti." "I hoped you would come." "I've been ashamed of howl ran away." "I've been thinking." "I'd be glad to tell the authorities in the capital- how things really are." "We'll get a bigger one, once we go to town." "Esko?" "Tapola's younger brother is here." "He wants to talk to you." "These damn things aren't easy." "How to tell when it's right to mind just your own business?" "Things you can reach with your own hand." "To do what you have to, so you get what you want." "And when should you know how to look further?" "To bear responsibility for things you have to stretch for." "I believe we all must weigh up those things sometimes." "One's own good and that of others are rarely the same thing." "And everyone makes their decision on their own." "There are not many around here who can set an example." "I need to piss like a fire brigade's horse." "Why don't you go inside?" "I'll be right there." "Christ!" "Your face is droopy like a wet nurse's tit." "Everything will be fine." "Except for Aino." "You think she did it of her own free will?" "Sometimes I think you're a little stupid." "Stop that." "Even a fire brigade's horse doesn't piss this long." "I've seen this so often that there's no room for doubt." ""I've seen this so often that there's no room for doubt."" "He slipped the rope around his own neck- climbed onto the railing and stepped down." "Esko has bought that man." "We should shove him into a crack in the wall." "We should've taken the longer route." "What are you doing?" "Finding out how tough a fighter Esko Valitalo really is!" "The cognac ran out at the wedding $0 we started drinking liquor" "We were dancing at the wedding And all I got was leftovers" "I picked a fight with Esko Valitalo And started to run riot" "Esko just laughed at me And stabbed steel into my belly" "I was lying on the floor My guts were in my lap" "I waited for life to escape my body It's a handsome way to die" "Look at you." "I'm surprised you didn't stab me in the back." "Not everyone is like you." "I've noticed that you're quite a competent man - even though you're an orphan." "There's a place for you here, if you want it." "I do... but the head of the house needs to be replaced." "I see." "If you can survive him, I'll think about it." "Here we go." "Esko Valitalo hung a bay on the wall Who was wet behind the ears" "You should've stabbed me in the back." "Did you come to celebrate the engagement?" "Is Kalle here?" "Oh, you're running after a man We're not the same after all." "Is he here?" "Now that you're here, you should congratulate my bride." "Aino!" "Come and say hello to your brother-in-law." "We're cleaning up the place for guests." "Hello." "What's this?" "What's this?" " One has to follow one's heart." "I never would've guessed what was in store for me." "Are you here of your own free will?" "Yes." "Yes, I am." "Get the coffeebread ready." "Aino?" "Aino!" "How are you forcing her?" "I'm sorry things turned out like this." "It's all right." "I'll wipe it up." "Yes, about Kalle..." "I think there's someone round the corner." "How does it feel when no one loves you?" "Do you feel like ripping heads off?" "Or stabbing a knife into flesh and twisting it a little?" "You think you're better than me?" "You're just the same." "You won't believe it until you've gone to the other side." "Sooner or later, you'll do that." "And there's no turning back." "Come and brag about it then." "I don't know if we're the same." "But a man isn't measured by his words - his thoughts, or his feelings." "He's measured by his deeds and the reasons for them." "And those will never be the same with us." "You'd like to try out who's who, wouldn't you?" "Do you think I'd start playing with knives with you?" "Who would do such a thing at their engagement party?" "Valtteri?" "Take a horse and get the Police Chief." "He needs to arrest a murderer, whom I caught red-handed." "Witnesses saw him stab a man to death." "You're going to Siberia, Matti." "Who knows what else you've done?" "It's a good thing that Father isn't around to see this." "For your own and Aino's sake, if there ever was anything - forget it all." "Why are you doing this to me?" "What's wrong with me?" "I froze my heart because I knew I'd lose you." "How can any mother be so selfish?" "Never mind." "I should be patient." "I'll wait until the priest has done his job." "Good night." "Don't be long." "Aino!" "I'm coming in." "I come in when I feel like it." "I don't ask for permission." "You'll bear a son for me and keep yourself fair - so you're presentable even after childbirth." "Do you understand?" "No one can be trusted." "Except for you, Mother." "No matter what, I can always count on you." "Goddammit!" "I understand that you have to say goodbye." "Or things will bother you." "That can't happen between us." "I came to say goodbye." "So you promised yourself to Esko." "After everything we talked about." "Yes." "There's no use for this now." "Take care." "Esko sent his brother to Siberia" "Away from under his knife" "He even took his brothers bride As his own sweetheart" "I need to go." " You can piss right there." "I'll fall off if I start crouching with these chains." "May I go behind a bush?" " Make it quick then." "Valitalo?" "Can't you cut it off?" "Do you need a knife?" "Matti has escaped!" "He managed to open his shackles somewhere after Kankaanpaa." "Do you have to raise hell about it?" "Every man would escape, especially a Valitalo - if there was a chance and even if there wasn't." "Let's surprise Aino and get the priest to marry us right away." "Aino?" "In case you think of going somewhere or harming yourself- or you drive a pair of scissors into my lungs, I'll give an order." "Lehto?" "If that happens, make sure - that Aino's mother will bury her husband, son, and daughter." "I'd be happy to." "Mother?" "I'm going out." "In the meantime, try the wedding crown on Aino." "Good afternoon." "We need the priest at our house." " I'll come after I'm done here." "We need you now." "Don't you feel any shame?" " This is a deathbed." "So you don't need a priest but a gravedigger." "The priest will come when he's good and ready." "Your family don't have a replacement for you." "You don't want both the child and his father to die?" "The priest is needed right now." "Get the hell out of my way!" "Was that the priest?" "I don't understand you." "I hope you'll have only one son yourself." "Well?" "I can't marry anyone before the banns have been read." "Here's part of the congregation, so read the banns - and do it three times, so you'll get it right." "In the name of the Holy Trinity - and in the face of this congregation..." "I hope he has the good sense to stay away from here." "Matti." "Here comes the first guest!" "Give the Police Chief a generous wedding drink." "What are you celebrating?" " The King's wedding." "No..." "Don't bother to resist." "It'll be easier that way." "I'll kill myself." " You're just nervous." "I understand." "You're going to run a big household." "You're so beautiful." "My ring isn't enough to tell you how my heart is about to burst." "I do." "I ask you, Aino Kantola, Sakari's daughter- in the name of the Holy Trinity and in the face of this congregation - do you take this Esko Valitalo, Antti's son - as your husband, and love him in sickness and in health?" "Do you even have to ask?" "There's always room for a crasher at a Valitalo wedding." "What's an escaped convict doing here?" "If I'm the last man standing, you'll tell the whole truth." "And if I'm the last?" "I suspect I'll be carried away lifeless." "What the hell!" "Iron may break, but a man's word is not fake." "Make room, so we can dance." "The boy didn't even bring tools with him." "Throw some steel to the poor thing, Koskela." "You've saved my life twice." "Was it worth it?" "Your soul isn't white either, whatever you may think." "Father, Valgard, and Kalle!" "Many mothers are crying because of the both of us." "We're the same." "We're the same, Matti." "Look at that." "More wedding guests." "That's fine." "There's plenty of room." "You're quite a small crowd." "I see you've brought wedding presents too." "It's time to restore law and order in this parish." "There is a law here, my law." "I'm your king." "That time is over now." " Says who?" "Is my father-in-law your leader?" " This is a common cause." "I see." "Is that so?" "Common cause..." "Who else wants to end up in the churchyard?" "No one?" "No one?" "We're not the same!" "The wedding will continue in a moment." "So now you're feeling remorse?" "Let Matti go!" "The priest will finish the ceremony." "Esko!" "Don't do it!" "All right." "The groom changed on the ﬂy at the Valitalo wedding." "That's a good line for my song." "You'll get yours too." "Although it doesn't matter anymore - tell everyone about Father's will." "What will?" "Do it." "Don't hesitate." "From ear to ear." "Go on." "Matti is telling the truth." "Matti is telling the truth about everything." "Esko is lying." "Matti is telling the truth about everything." "Esko is lying." "Be quiet, Mother." "He probably killed his father too." "You're both my sons." "Watch out, Matti!" "The axe!" "Two of a kind." "FARM OWNER ANTTI VALITALO" "FARMHAND KALLE ESKO VALITALO, ANTTI'S SON" "May God protect your coming in and going out- now and forever." "Will you give up the Devil?" " I will." "And all his deeds?" "I will." "I baptise you, Kalle Valitalo, Matti's son- in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." "Subtitles:" "Minna Franssila Broadcast Text International"