A pure lovelorn melodrama of a styling seemingly leftover from the silent era, the reason to seek out and watch this - (despite no copy I've found with English subtitling#) - is that it affords several full frame face shots of the moon faced, saucer eyed, all fluttering eyelashes Finn beauty, Anneli Sauli, as the titular Hilja, in her first main, ergo de facto debut, role - (prior first film was only as supporting bit part player): certainly director T. J. Sarkka must have been completely entranced* by her as we get not only several close up shots of her merely gazing, simpering into the distant nature and at Yrjo the paramour love interest here, but so's to be just seen and hardly heard (at first, anyway) as more or less need hardly utter a word in this, except mainly near the end where she sees off the baddy - (inferred) - rapist with a few choice threats having now got hold of a puuko (ubiquitous knife in Finn mores) to ward him off.
For it's an aging, bulky, previously Finn film heart throb, Tauno Palo, all silent film dark swarthy features bad guy like - the soundtrack orchestration abruptly makes that cue clear - who constantly menaces her - (initially, presumably **) - virginal innocence, through Midsummer almost assaultive dancing, right up to (more) presumably (inferred) rape after breaking into her cabin.
At least, he's shown waking up next a - (still fully clothed though) - inconsolably weeping Hilja / Anneli, with that contemptuous 'was it worth it' caddish look about him as he slinks out the supposedly refuge cabin; indeed, he's such a bad guy cad that on that last threatened, ah, encounter, he'd only just spurned the come on attentions of more buxom, mature doorway bum gyrating wench (Katri? Kirsti Ortola), but to whom he consolation like resorts back to, (well, she is still jiggling her bum at him invitingly!) her cabin, after defiant Hilja successfully threaten him away.
** at least a scene of Hilja (Anneli) afterwards distraughtly returning to understanding Mother seems to infer that she, Mother (Laina Laine) consolingly can - but of course, still never saying it outright - guess what's happened in the Finn village milieu expectations - and acceptances - of how life worked in such times and mores.
But wait, for balancing this is, - well of course - the good guy love interest (Saulo Haara as Yrjo): we know he's good, coz contrastingly, he has a shock of white (presumably, blonde) hair; facially made up (thick brows and eye liner etc; although for its age, understandably, I guess), so much so that to a contemporary audience, could strike as though some prescient transgender and/or 'same sex' paramour.
Whatever, on first meeting, he showers Hilja / Anneli with compliments and chat up lines#, to which she simpers away in true Finnish (chaste female) way of saying virtually nothing, but merely flutters those huge eyes hers mostly decorously downward. Makes a good chat challenge as he cadges a ride beside her - (immediately male in charge taking over the reins) - off to the local railway station to manfully unload the milk churns.
Coz that's another thing to realise in this film; about half of it is focused solely on her milkcart journeys to and forth in the countryside, with another quarter of it is of her traversing it on foot, alone - or being chased; e. G. as when aforementioned baddy Tauno does, but like a good fifties horror film, no matter how fast / slow she runs ahead of him, in his harassing pursuit, nevertheless he consistently (chivalrously?) stays just a few feet (metre or so) behind, never once catches up with her .. until ...!
That is until that fatal cabin invasion .. Hah; yup, what an awful cad!
Blimey, life must have been tough for young countryside beauties in those days in Finland.
Well, all well and good coz that's the plotline title, init: she's a milkmaid, and why we're here watching (init?); for Sarkka the director demonstrates this in the famed scene(s) that focus just as *entranced (lustily) on her, er, 'milk', um, well, assets! Now, bearing (no pun) in mind that just a decade earlier, in the west (Stateside) there had been a huge censorship kerfuffle over Jane Russell's mere cleavage in 'The Outlaw', in just a few years on, a Finnish film could have with almost pop ya eyes out, full on direct cleavage shots of an even bra-less clearly, er, 'pointedly' pert ('raisin' hard!), peach breasted Anneli! (Well, see, she IS a milkmaid, ain't she?).
If unsure / ah, 'overlooked' (not clear?!) this is reaffirmed when in a latter clinch with Yjro, her diaphanous top even then shows (off!) an accompanying areole, too! Now, you might accuse this is just mere hindsight smuttiness**, but think: imagine that on a Finnish fifties huge cinema screen, and I can't believe director (censor) would not have just happened to noted that, er, stand out aspect, too!!
Well, no doubt director Sarkka was extolling the obvious in the title he gave it: (geddit? She's a MILKmaid, isn't she?!); so, ah, right, then really, what would you otherwise have expected?!
** In any case, well, no, it's not prurience, because Yrjo is a sketcher and in one has captured Hilja (Anneli!) in décolletage abandon: one with nipple freeing (exposing) top now undone! And, no problem, coz she herself is shown wistfully relishing after he's given it to her after disappearing away from her mundane country (milkmaid) life whilst he's off to University.
In passing, as a time capsule of Finnish country life, patriarchal assumptions and then, ah, 'approach' to its women, this is quite remarkable in showing, presumably then as just, er, 'natural', expected, how old fat men in particular just seemed to nonchalantly manhandle, harass and generally treat with contempt such young wenches. E.g. As check out the top local bod drinking and dancing - (a form of body pop wrestling a piece of meat style!) - Midsummer sessions scenes, which Yrjo has taken Hilja to, and merely stands by smirking as though her clearly shown distress is all expected and fun! (Although at least at this occasion, Yrjo has finally changed his check shirt, otherwise having worn exactly same throughout; hopefully for 'Hilja' he had several of the same, and 't'was not the same, as then surely summer's stinky shirt he wore with her on each meeting!)
Quite stunning, not just for the numerous fawning Anneli shots, but also, when seen from a modern frame of reference, for the near repulsive awfulness set out beneath the ostensible darling (buds of May like) romance.
# So plot and developments mostly guessed; please no scorn if I got the interpretations wrong; still throughout, whatever Anneli sumptuously shines!
For it's an aging, bulky, previously Finn film heart throb, Tauno Palo, all silent film dark swarthy features bad guy like - the soundtrack orchestration abruptly makes that cue clear - who constantly menaces her - (initially, presumably **) - virginal innocence, through Midsummer almost assaultive dancing, right up to (more) presumably (inferred) rape after breaking into her cabin.
At least, he's shown waking up next a - (still fully clothed though) - inconsolably weeping Hilja / Anneli, with that contemptuous 'was it worth it' caddish look about him as he slinks out the supposedly refuge cabin; indeed, he's such a bad guy cad that on that last threatened, ah, encounter, he'd only just spurned the come on attentions of more buxom, mature doorway bum gyrating wench (Katri? Kirsti Ortola), but to whom he consolation like resorts back to, (well, she is still jiggling her bum at him invitingly!) her cabin, after defiant Hilja successfully threaten him away.
** at least a scene of Hilja (Anneli) afterwards distraughtly returning to understanding Mother seems to infer that she, Mother (Laina Laine) consolingly can - but of course, still never saying it outright - guess what's happened in the Finn village milieu expectations - and acceptances - of how life worked in such times and mores.
But wait, for balancing this is, - well of course - the good guy love interest (Saulo Haara as Yrjo): we know he's good, coz contrastingly, he has a shock of white (presumably, blonde) hair; facially made up (thick brows and eye liner etc; although for its age, understandably, I guess), so much so that to a contemporary audience, could strike as though some prescient transgender and/or 'same sex' paramour.
Whatever, on first meeting, he showers Hilja / Anneli with compliments and chat up lines#, to which she simpers away in true Finnish (chaste female) way of saying virtually nothing, but merely flutters those huge eyes hers mostly decorously downward. Makes a good chat challenge as he cadges a ride beside her - (immediately male in charge taking over the reins) - off to the local railway station to manfully unload the milk churns.
Coz that's another thing to realise in this film; about half of it is focused solely on her milkcart journeys to and forth in the countryside, with another quarter of it is of her traversing it on foot, alone - or being chased; e. G. as when aforementioned baddy Tauno does, but like a good fifties horror film, no matter how fast / slow she runs ahead of him, in his harassing pursuit, nevertheless he consistently (chivalrously?) stays just a few feet (metre or so) behind, never once catches up with her .. until ...!
That is until that fatal cabin invasion .. Hah; yup, what an awful cad!
Blimey, life must have been tough for young countryside beauties in those days in Finland.
Well, all well and good coz that's the plotline title, init: she's a milkmaid, and why we're here watching (init?); for Sarkka the director demonstrates this in the famed scene(s) that focus just as *entranced (lustily) on her, er, 'milk', um, well, assets! Now, bearing (no pun) in mind that just a decade earlier, in the west (Stateside) there had been a huge censorship kerfuffle over Jane Russell's mere cleavage in 'The Outlaw', in just a few years on, a Finnish film could have with almost pop ya eyes out, full on direct cleavage shots of an even bra-less clearly, er, 'pointedly' pert ('raisin' hard!), peach breasted Anneli! (Well, see, she IS a milkmaid, ain't she?).
If unsure / ah, 'overlooked' (not clear?!) this is reaffirmed when in a latter clinch with Yjro, her diaphanous top even then shows (off!) an accompanying areole, too! Now, you might accuse this is just mere hindsight smuttiness**, but think: imagine that on a Finnish fifties huge cinema screen, and I can't believe director (censor) would not have just happened to noted that, er, stand out aspect, too!!
Well, no doubt director Sarkka was extolling the obvious in the title he gave it: (geddit? She's a MILKmaid, isn't she?!); so, ah, right, then really, what would you otherwise have expected?!
** In any case, well, no, it's not prurience, because Yrjo is a sketcher and in one has captured Hilja (Anneli!) in décolletage abandon: one with nipple freeing (exposing) top now undone! And, no problem, coz she herself is shown wistfully relishing after he's given it to her after disappearing away from her mundane country (milkmaid) life whilst he's off to University.
In passing, as a time capsule of Finnish country life, patriarchal assumptions and then, ah, 'approach' to its women, this is quite remarkable in showing, presumably then as just, er, 'natural', expected, how old fat men in particular just seemed to nonchalantly manhandle, harass and generally treat with contempt such young wenches. E.g. As check out the top local bod drinking and dancing - (a form of body pop wrestling a piece of meat style!) - Midsummer sessions scenes, which Yrjo has taken Hilja to, and merely stands by smirking as though her clearly shown distress is all expected and fun! (Although at least at this occasion, Yrjo has finally changed his check shirt, otherwise having worn exactly same throughout; hopefully for 'Hilja' he had several of the same, and 't'was not the same, as then surely summer's stinky shirt he wore with her on each meeting!)
Quite stunning, not just for the numerous fawning Anneli shots, but also, when seen from a modern frame of reference, for the near repulsive awfulness set out beneath the ostensible darling (buds of May like) romance.
# So plot and developments mostly guessed; please no scorn if I got the interpretations wrong; still throughout, whatever Anneli sumptuously shines!
