Although Edvin Laine is best known for the iconic epic classics The Unknown Soldier (1955) and Here Under the North Star (1968), he directed a good number of comedies as well. I have enjoyed at least Myöhästynyt hääyö (1960) as well as Opri (1954) and the 1962 societal tale Pinsiön parooni is fairly watchable too.
The heart and soul of the film is the titular "Baron" Taavetti Nurmi (Eero Roine), an elderly widower living by himself in an old cottage in the rural village of Pinsiö. One time he decides to pay a visit to the family of his nephew Heikki (Eino Kaipainen) in Tampere to help them to sort out their financial and residential problems. At first the stressed working class family doesn't like the idea, but soon warms up to the lovable old man who never lets go of his laid-back view of life.
The movie starts out as a straight comedy but eventually gains more serious tones as we examine the inflamed situation at Heikki's workplace where a dishonest boss has cheated the workers out of their promised salaries, prompting them to arrange an illegal strike. The family's difficulties at getting an Arava loan are also a serious source of worries and could have provided a promising premise for social commentary about class differences in a modern urban setting, but ultimately the writers have been content with little more than light drama-comedy. I'm all for featherweight entertainment, but I wish they had concluded the serious story lines in a more convincing way since now the drama feels somewhat half-hearted.
The story lines of the romantic troubles of the family's kids Pasi and Ritva (Seppo Mäki and Liisa Roine) are pretty ordinary, but the young couples are cute and provide many chances for the Grandpa Nurmi to share his amusing words of wisdom with the family. Kirsti Saraheimo as the youngest and loudest kid Pirkko is more annoying than funny though, although certain amount of overacting is a given in this type of movies. The Nurmis' two female neighbours Holopainen and Moisio are well portrayed by Elsa Turakainen and Elna Hellman, the latter being responsible for most of the humour along with Eero Roine as the Grandpa.
To recap, I enjoyed the movie alright despite its plot-related shortcomings. In addition, it is nice to see films set in Tampere too as opposed to Helsinki that is typically "The City" in most Finnish movies. The point is, I think anybody who enjoys the traditional style of Finnish Golden Era comedies is not very likely to absolutely hate Pinsiön parooni; I definitely thought it was a fun watch.
