At the Rovaniemi Fair (1951)

Original title

Rovaniemen markkinoilla

Directed by

Jorma Nortimo

Genre

comedy film

Country

Finland

Runtime

1h 26m

Rated

K-12

Rating

5.0 of 10 from 9 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A group of carefree working-class men head to the Rovaniemi fair. They sing and get into comedic situations along the way.

lightheartedplayfulnostalgicearthycheerfulunpretentiouslivelydown-to-earth

What happens

Rovaniemen markkinoilla (Swedish: Marknad i Rovaniemi, also At the Rovaniemi Fair in English translation) is a 1951 Finnish comedy film directed by Jorma Nortimo and starring Esa Pakarinen, Reino Helismaa and Jorma Ikävalko. The film was inspired by Reino Helismaa's song lyrics "Rovaniemen markkinoilla", and it was Helismaa's first screenplay. The film was shot in Helsinki, Inari and Rovaniemi during the summer of 1951 and its production costs were 7.2 million Finnish marks. The film represents the so-called "Rillumarei films", a comedic song or couplet types films full of the pride of workers' and carefree guys, which were loved by the audience, but very hated by critics. Rovaniemen markkinoilla was also received negatively by critics at the time, but the film's appreciation grew over time, and despite the "shortcomings of the narrative", it has been considered "an honest whole as a record of the times." The film's sequel, Hei, rillumarei!, was released in 1954. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• A Night in Rio (1951)
• Gabriel, Come Back (1951)
• The General's Fiancée (1951)
• Vihaan sinua - rakas (1951)
• April's Coming (1953)
• Two Funny Guys (1953)
• Vain laulajapoikia (1951)
• We Come During Spring (1953)