Kari Rydman

Acclaimed Finnish director Rauni Mollberg made several scandalous yet widely appreciated films. Former co-worker Veikko Aaltonen’s eye-opening documentary The Dinosaur looks at the relentless, often disturbing directing techniques behind Mollberg’s art and success.

The boisterous good humor of Jurmala, the nickel-mine owner, is, if anything, only barely dented by the raging battles in Finland before, during and after World War Two. In fact, everywhere he goes, he meets prospective customers on all sides of the conflict with his all-inclusive greeting "Friends, Comrades." Indeed, the resource he is wrenching from the earth's bowels is necessary to all forms of industrial activity, and is especially necessary for military applications. Thus, he has no reason to fear that he will ever run out of customers. This doesn't prevent him from using every possible means to entice them. At home, his relationship with his wife is not so prosperous, and they resort to some extraordinary means to try and keep on an even keel.

A portrait of the Finnish filmmaker Rauni Mollberg who made a notable splash on the international festival circuit in 1974 with his feature debut, “The Earth Is A Sinful Song”, based on a novel by Timo K. Mukka, one of Finland’s most controversial young writers.

A French cultural research group arrives in Finland. From Helsinki, the group travels to Saimaa to participate in Midsummer rituals, where the summer night celebrations overwhelm the researchers.