Oi, muistatkos...

"Rillumarei" movies were never popular among critics but the genre had its own classics and less successful titles like any other type of cinema. Jorma Nortimo's Oi muistatkos… from 1954 is clearly not among the greatest classics of Finnish comedy cinema, but personally I don't think it is as bad as many say.

Reflecting the era of post-war rebuilding, Oi muistatkos takes place in the village of Kitkakoski somewhere in Finland. A new power plant is being built near the village but a stubborn farmer Junnila (Eero Roine) refuses to participate in the efforts in any way, particularly warning the brisk construction workers about coming near his two daughters, the beautiful Hillevi (Helena Salonius) and the uptight spinster Hilma (Mirjam Kumpulainen). A determined Finnish-American diner hostess Emma (Emmi Jurkka) takes it upon herself to convince Junnila to change his mind, while the construction men and Junnila's farmhands have their own plans about winning the hearts of various women (and vice versa).

I liked many aspects in the movie, such as the abundance of songs and some charismatic performances, but it really must be noted that as a whole Oi muistatkos is not a very well made film – indeed, it was shot in just two weeks. The hastily written plot is totally secondary to separate scenes of silly incidents (Emma's massage sessions, a beauty contest, Junnila's rock carrying fits etc) and nothing out of the ordinary is ever even attempted, but at least the songs are entertaining, notably the theme tune "Emma", an old folk melody that still remains popular today. As already mentioned, certain actors are fun to watch too, most importantly Emmi Jurkka as the Finglish-speaking Emma and Rauha Rentola as the romance-hungry but very spirited farm maid Saara.

As for myself, I have a special fondness for movies, especially musicals, chronicling old times, so I was reasonably entertained by the movie all the way through although I'm happy it is not any longer than 90 minutes. Of 1950s Finnish musical comedies I would rather recommend titles like Me tulemme taas (1953), Nuori mylläri (1958) and Kaunis Veera (1950), but to more seasoned fans of the genre Oi muistatkos can be a fun watch as well.

A new factory mixes up the whole village and everyone suddenly happens to need a spouse along one's side.

When voice became a standard in a movie it made farce to rise the most popular genre straight away. As it led to many great classics still some works were totally out of the picture just trying to catch easy audience.

This Jorma Nortimo's work is definitely one of the last ones described. Scenes are totally empty and shot like a stage play. Acting is terrible. The viewer might just find funny to look at the angry father carrying a stone of irritating Marlene repeating the same lines.