Original subtitles

THE CURSES OF THE WITCH Directed by Teuvo Puro

Cinematography: Frans Ekebom

On a bright February day the lake glistened calmly in the sunshine.

Simo Utuniemi was taking his young bride up north to see their home.

Will we see Utuniemi soon?

Not yet, but as we pass that peak, we'll be able to see it.

During the past winter, tree trunks had been taken away from Raakonj�rvi,

at the peak of which was Utuniemi.

Do lumberjacks ever end up in Utuniemi?

Rarely. Though last summer three rude men came by asking for directions.

One of them was that hunchbacked skier who the others called Fat-Sakari.

Selma's future house was there awaiting for its matron.

But waiting even more impatiently was Simo's sister, Elsa.

She had become blind as a child.

Welcome, Selma!

Many people were at the church on the day Simo and Selma got married.

After the wedding Simo decided to get Selma's cow from his father-in-law,

as it couldn't be transported to Utuniemi in the winter.

Should I tell them that you miss them?

Tell them that Utuniemi is a fine place to live in.

Go check the fishnets in Veksalahti.

Farewell now. Don't you miss me!

Selma wanted to seem happy in Simo's eyes,

although she felt that a leaf was about to turn in the book of fate.

At Hanhilahti, a day's travel from Utuniemi, the lumberjacks were hollering.

Simo had no love for the lumberjacks. It was in his blood.

This is why he felt almost a childlike joy

knowing that Utuniemi was far away, beyond many capes and bays.

Hey, old man! Do you have any fish?

I am not fishing out here!

Row to the lumber, boys!

Why was the hunchbacked man so repulsive to Simo?

He pondered this feeling very distraught.

At Rantamaula all the boats of the village were together in a single harbour.

There was Esa, Selma's father, waiting for Simo.

Selma's mother.

Selma sent you her greetings. She said she's not homesick anymore.

There's no reason to be,

if she loves her husband and home and tries to work the best she can.

I just hope nothing happens to her back home.

There are many lumberjacks and vagabonds around,

but Utuniemi is too far away for them.

While Simo was away, Selma grew more fond of the blind Elsa,

who was always happy and content with her fate.

What a wonderful and warm evening!

And a mild wind must be blowing among the birches.

I can't see it, but I remember.

Has Simo told you anything about Jantukka and my blindness?

No. I've heard the story that an old witch from Lapland used to live here.

But that's just a fable.

I wish it was only a fable, but I know.

Come, and I'll take you to the peak of this land.

This is the sacrificial spot of Jantukka, the witch of Lapland.

From here he spread his curses across the world.

My late mother said that this spot is cursed

and anyone who sits on it will be doomed in Utuniemi.

Jantukka was the last of the Lapps around these parts.

He was a famous witch who did much harm to Finns.

Then the Finns got their revenge by coming to these waters.

Look carefully, warlock, at what the sun looks like.

This will be the last time you'll see it.

A curse on you and all of your spawn!

May each generation of your family that settles here be blind!

My mother said on her deathbed that Jantukka's curse is still here.

No need for you to fret. Nothing can happen in Utuniemi.

Tomorrow you'll go and I'll join you with Aapo.

Selma felt lonely and anxious with no other companion than the blind Elsa

who was sick most of the time. What took Simo so long?

Aren't those cries coming from Veksalahti? They are, they are!

Hurry, Simo! The curse of Jantukka. The curse of Jantukka!

So luminous and warm is the night of the north.

The sun beams in the sky and shines as a silver belt on top of the lake.

Out into the great hall of nature, out into its gentle care...

...where the restless thoughts go silent and the mind calms down.

Now she remembered that she hadn't checked the nets in Veksalahti tonight.

In her mind lingered the story Elsa told her of the witch.

Now she suddenly remembered that she was alone with Elsa,

and there was no one else within miles.

What am I, a child? Am I afraid now,

after always going alone into the woods and to the lake?

There was plenty of fuss in the beach of Rantamaula.

It was the first time a passenger with horns passed over Raakonj�rvi.

Well! It's been a while since I was last in Utuniemi.

How odd, that lumber is still in the same place as when I came.

Hey, old man! Where are you taking that bride of yours?

Simo squeezed the oars harder.

He couldn't help feeling his temper rise at the sight of this man.

Get to work, boys! This lumber has to be by the rapids before dawn.

The sweet scent of drying wheat spreads from the old barn in Utuniemi,

as the crops have been plentiful.

Simo hadn't enjoyed the past summer, as he often found Selma crying.

His sister was feeling poorly and spoke of things Simo didn't understand.

Now he thought he understood why Selma had changed. It was fear.

Elsa must have told her of the sacrificial spot and the curse.

Perhaps Elsa's sickness and delusions come from that spot as well.

Tonight I'll go and destroy that enchanted spot.

Isn't that a cry for help from Veksalahti? The curse of Jantukka!

I'll be damned if I can't destroy that spot!

I didn't make it in time to help you...

Stop being delusional, my dear friend.

I'm not delusional. In my dreams I heard your cries from Veksalahti.

Tell Simo everything. You are innocent. It's the curse of Jantukka.

It's winter again. Among the frost and snow skis Aapo from Rantamaula,

delivering medicine to Utuniemi.

There was a fight in the village. Two men were stabbed to death.

I hear one of them was a lumberjack here in Hanhikero last summer.

A fat, hunchbacked man.

That's him. He was called Fat-Sakari.

The curse of Jantukka! Hurry, Simo, hurry!

You are Simo, aren't you?

Be kind to Selma. She loves you. She's innocent.

She's having those same delusions again.

Years have passed. Utuniemi is now a wealthy family farm.

Simo walks among his trees, as today he is expecting a man from the lumber firm

along with Esa from Rantamaula to do some business with.

The fields of his home are now the toddling ground of a sturdy child.

Deep inside Simo suffered due to the undisciplined nature of the boy.

For reasons he couldn't undertand, he had never dared to give the boy

a good, loving, fatherly spanking.

That's what he's become, when you always pamper and never punish him.

Simo felt a strange feeling towards his child, something close to hatred.

Aaprami, go apologize to your father.

Well, aren't you a nice boy now, Aaprami. Dad will take you on his lap.

He's as sturdy as a full-grown man.

Stands tall and mighty like Fat-Sakari used to.

Stands like Fat-Sakari used to.

As of late Simo has been numb. The doubt has grown in his mind.

Many things come back to him...

Be kind to Selma. She loves you. She's innocent.

My God! Why didn't Selma say anything?

Why has she wallowed in her sorrow all alone?

Why must that man be dead?

I'll go check the nets in Veksalahti.

Take Aaprami with you. He'll never be happy now that he's seen you leaving.

You were innocent. I never intended any harm to you.

There were all sorts of rumors about the death of Utuniemi's only heir.

It was said that Jantukka took him away as revenge for destroying the spot.

But the secret that no one could have guessed ate away at Simo day and night.

We should go to Veksalahti. We can talk there.

What difference would it make? I can say that I'm innocent here too.

There were three men. Fat-Sakari grabbed me, and I can remember nothing else.

I didn't dare to speak to you. I was afraid you might kill me or the boy.

You? You're the one who's had to suffer innocently, you poor thing.

The boy was innocent too.

I know who I would've got to first, but others did it before me.

Fat-Sakari is no longer amongst the living, as you know.

If the curses of Jantukka are against us, no human strength can save us.

Jantukka can do nothing to us. It was all my fault.

I left you alone. I will curse my foolishness for all my life.

Tell me everything that's on your mind!

I'm still pondering if you laid hands on him or if he fell by accident.

By accident. How can you even think I could do that to a child?

Selma spent the winter with her mother in Rantamaula.

Spring was coming, and she was waiting for Simo to pick up her and the boy.

These men are police officers from the lumber company.

They're chasing a man who has been secretly selling booze for years.

Like I said, I heard he headed north with a heavy load for a reindeer to pull.

At home Simo carved toys for the child, anticipating him in awe.

This must be Utuniemi?

We once nearly caught up with him, but then snow covered his tracks.

I haven't seen anyone here all winter. Do you know who he is?

He's been seen here. His name is Sakari Kippari, or Fat-Sakari.

An undocumented thief and crook.

You're on the wrong trail. Fat-Sakari was stabbed to death years ago.

He's been stabbed on a damn near daily basis, but he's never been killed.

The next morning, as the crescent still shone on the sky, Simo was ready.

Having heard who was being chased, he offered to be the guide.

I've seen him before and I think we'll run into each other this time, too.

A burning thirst for vengeance pushed him onwards.

He had thought that Fat-Sakari was dead, and now, suddenly, he was told

that the man was alive and hiding somewhere near Utuniemi.

Simo had finally found a trail in Riipinjoki...

...that at dusk led them to the croft of Riipin-Heikki.

Where is your master?

You say you don't know where he is?

What manner of men are you, then?

We're just bag salesmen on our way to trade in lumberyards.

The trail shows that there should be a third man and a reindeer.

Where are they?

Let's have the truth!

One man rode on a sled drawn by a reindeer and the other one skied.

They were afraid of something, as they spoke with our master in whispers.

Was the other man a fat hunchback?

Let's eat quickly and go after him again. We don't want to lose him.

I heard that Simo is tracking him down with police officers in the outback.

Did you give the reindeer some food, or do you just think of your own stomach?

A guest is coming, and I don't want to meet him. Stall him while I flee.

Where is Fat-Sakari?

Your life won't be worth much unless you spew out the truth right now.

He just fled out that window.

God, protect Simo and don't let him make us unhappier than we already are.

A strange languor takes over his mind, coming like a deep regret,

as if a greater force is forcing it upon him.

Within his tired mind he hears a faint whisper:

"Murdering him will never bring you happiness."

From the bottom of his very soul comes a message of peace:

"I thank you, God, for not doing what I intended."

Spring.

As the lakes melt their ice...

...and nature awakens anew...

...Simo has come to fetch Selma from Rantamaula.

Will we call him Aaprami?

Yes, Aaprami it shall be.

Now Utuniemi is finally our home.

I'm no longer afraid of the curses of the witch.

The End

Subtitles by VierasTalo. Revised by Veikko in 2019.