Anu ja Mikko (1956) User Reviews

Romeo and Juliet in Karelian dialect

[Petey-10 · 8/10 · 28 August 2006]

This movie is based on a play.Anu's (Marjatta Kallio) mother has died and she has promised to her mother to marry the rich Juno (Matti Ranin).But the poor carpenter (Sakari Jurkka) loves her and she's very fond of him too.Ville Salminen's Anu ja Mikko (1956) is kind of like Finnish Romeo and Juliet.A boy and a girl who love each other have a hard time to have each other.The handsome Sakari Jurkka and the beautiful Marjatta Kallio are perfect for their roles.They're both also very talented.Matti Ranin has always done great job in Finnish movies and so he does in this one.Mirjam Salminen is wonderful as Heti.Pia Hattara is marvelous as Amerikan Mari.There's also the young Pertti Pasanen who became known as a comedian called Spede the next decade.The actors do a great job speaking their lines in Karelian dialect.I couldn't quite understand everything they were saying since I'm Savonian myself.But I did understand most of it anyway so I didn't have a problem understanding the movie.It's wonderful to watch the two beautiful ladies washing laundry in a lake wearing long skirts.That reminds me of old times I never lived, but yet somehow miss them.Also one beautiful scene is Anu and Mikko on a pier with Anu singing beautifully.The movie is 50 years old but isn't too dated.It's a sweet love story and those will never get old.