The Harvest Month

(1956)

★ 6.7 IMDb · 11 votes

Genres: Drama

Year: 1956

Runtime: 94 мин

Country: Finland

Director: Matti Kassila

Cast: Toivo Mäkelä, Emma Väänänen, Rauni Luoma, Aino-Maija Tikkanen, Rauni Ikäheimo, Senni Nieminen, Heikki Savolainen, Tauno Kajander, Sylvi Salonen, Topi Kankainen

Plot

The title of the Finnish film Elokuu translates to August. Directed by Matti Kassila, one of Finland's premiere filmmakers, Elokuu was adapted from a novel by Nobel prize winning finnish author F.E. Sillanpää. Simply put, the story concerns the decline and fall of a once-proud family, thanks to the alcoholism of its paterfamilias. Toivo Makela delivers a powerfully effective performance as the inebriated protagonist, avoiding the usual "drunken" cliches. The overlong running time, coupled with the downbeat nature of the subject, limited the film's worldwide appeal.