Original subtitles

HELSINKI-FILMI PRESENTS

A FILM BY ALLI HAAPASALO

TELL EVERYONE

Amanda Aaltonen?

Amanda Fredrika Aaltonen.

She has come a long way.

You had nice weather for the journey.

Such a beautiful day given by God.

Socks, shoes, hat, parasol, cardigan.

And 70 marks and 8 pennies.

As soon as the rest of my belongings arrive, I will leave.

Authorized by the doctor at the provincial hospital.

I'm not staying.

Thank you.

All right. Let's continue so you can settle in.

"Prisoner Amanda Fredrika Aaltonen from Turku, unmarried. Age: 26."

"Diagnosis: insania epileptic a menstrualis."

Meaning, menstruation maniac.

Show me a woman who's not.

Well, there are plenty of papers here.

"The documents indicate

that Amanda Aaltonen has been prone to drinking

and has lived a debauched life for at least ten years."

"She has been both in the Turku Spinning House

and different prisons since she was sixteen

for theft and pickpocketing as well as for an idle and debauched life."

"There were signs of moral insanity when she traveled at 13,

to Helsinki, Vyborg and a number of other cities."

"She does not have warm feelings for her mother

who punished her often when she was a child."

"After turning 15, she has rarely lived at home."

"In fear of disturbances, the police have jailed her during the fair."

"Has always been a hotheaded and difficult person."

"While working as a maid, she struck the mistress of the house in the face."

That hag hit me first.

“She is prone to lying

and sugarcoating her mistakes extravagantly.”

God didn't create me to be anyone's maid.

Here, you'll work, no matter what God created you to be.

You'll work in the kitchen, clean and spin yarn.

Work is the best medicine for you good-for-nothings.

The only one we can afford. The doctor comes twice in the summer.

In the winter, he doesn't.

In the winter, I'll be gone.

Obey the rules so you don't end up on the other side.

- What side? - The west wing.

Where all the truly godforsaken patients are.

Get going. We don't have all day.

Get dressed. Chop-chop.

Hurry up.

Time for lice inspection.

When does the mail arrive?

What are you expecting?

Thirteen dresses. Four blouses, four skirts.

A coat, scarf, lace chemise, lace pantalettes.

Two golden rings and a pair of golden earrings.

The mail arrives in a couple of weeks.

Close your eyes.

You shouldn't talk about leaving here.

The others will get upset.

Yoo-hoo?

Yoo-hoo!

Yoo-hoo!

Yoo-hoo!

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you

for all the good things you have given us,

especially these gifts laid upon our table.

We pray for your holy mercy.

As our bodies are nourished,

we pray that our souls will also be revived.

Through your son Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Did you get bruised?

When you fell from the bed.

I'm Josefina.

I've been here about 20 years.

My family was lucky they were able to send me here.

I was good for nothing, scared of everything.

Of cows and the dark and mosquitoes.

I'm a totally useless person.

Where did you come from?

Paris.

How did you end up there?

I flew in a hot-air balloon.

You're lying. Paris?

Yes.

- From Paris in hot-air balloon. - What's Paris?

Silence in the dining room!

What's this noise? Do you want to end up in the west wing?

Get your hands off me!

Damn. I'm disgusted thinking about what you've held in your hand.

- So, when are you leaving? - After the summer.

That's something.

No one's ever gotten out of here.

Some have tried to escape, but it's impossible.

Papers rule in this world. They're more powerful than God's word.

If your papers say you're to be released, you will be released.

How did you get the doctor to write that?

How do you think?

I'm not staying here.

My feet hurt. It's not nice having flat feet.

You have to stretch and rub them.

Nothing helps. They run in my family.

Suominen's mother sent another letter.

She wanted to know how her daughter was doing.

Suominen's mother should've cared earlier, before her daughter killed her baby

and left the body next to a tree stump.

The mother should just forget about her little girl.

A chocolate-brown silk velvet dress with embroidered flowers

and wooden rose-shaped buttons.

- An emerald-green silk dress. - Emerald.

A poppy-red muslin dress with lace details.

A dark yellow silk dress with black warp.

A purple silk dress,

a skirt and jacket.

A sun-yellow shirt with a lace front.

A rusty red wool dress. A chestnut-brown silk cape.

We need help in the kitchen immediately.

- Who wants to come? - Me.

Suominen.

Suominen again.

Come on.

Get back to work, number one spinner.

And everyone else, too.

Continue.

Amanda.

What other dresses?

- A jade-green silk velvet coat. - Yes.

A blood-red silk dress.

- Good morning. - Good morning.

- Morning. - Morning.

Good morning!

- Good morning, Josefina. - Morning.

Amanda.

Edla.

Amanda.

Amanda.

Go pick blueberries.

The cook will make a pie for the financial director's visit.

Me?

Alone?

You're allowed to walk freely, aren't you?

Am I?

That's the impression I got.

Your only problem is that you think you're more special than the others

and once a month you go crazy. Get going!

Have you ever been raped?

Raped how?

Just raped.

It depends.

My little sister had these

white and light blue checkered hair ribbons.

She loved them so much she refused to take them out for the night.

I stared at them and tried to be quiet

so that the other kids wouldn't wake up.

It was my uncle.

That's when you got pregnant?

Mother was so angry.

She told me to get rid of it.

When I started having pains,

I went into the forest, and the baby was born there.

I pressed its face against the moss.

My mother and I lived alone until I turned 15.

Then she found a husband and got a new home, and I was left alone.

Every night I had to find a place to sleep.

There were times when I felt I couldn't go on.

I thought I'd rather kill myself.

Other days, I thought, "You can't break me."

You can't break me!

Do you miss Paris?

Yes, I do.

I'm not sure why, though.

Life there was shit.

Excuse me, miss.

May I trouble you?

Sure.

Is this the way to the head nurse's office?

- I didn't listen to the instructions. - Go through that door.

Up the stairs. Third door on the left. Voilà.

Thank you. I almost panicked. Everything is so new to me.

What a lovely dress, if I may say so.

The gloves, too.

Goatskin.

From Paris.

One shouldn't dream of Paris here. It'll just make you sad.

It might be comforting sometimes.

Maybe.

I'm also coming from a very different place.

But we don't always have a choice.

That you must know.

You have a loved one here?

What if I left with you?

- To where? - Anywhere.

Paris.

Agreed.

Greta!

I better go.

It was nice to meet

one last lovely person wearing beautiful clothes.

You decided to stay after all?

I'll leave soon.

Yes, I was told that's the story you keep telling people.

Tell her.

She thinks I can't leave. Tell her what it says in my file.

I was promised that I could leave after summer.

And I will.

Sofia, read what it says.

Sofia can't read.

It doesn't say anything of the sort.

Of course not.

Yes, it does.

This is no prison or spinning house where you stay a certain amount of time.

Nobody leaves.

Poor girl.

Let go of me!

No! No!

No! Mother!

Good morning, Amanda.

Amanda.

Let's take the shirt off.

Aman...

Next she'll try to run away.

- I'm sure she'll start to settle in... - The mail is here!

Sorry for interrupting. I'll just put these here.

And

voilà.

Surely she will calm down.

Amanda is a bright girl.

Yes, she is.

A lot brighter than many others.

These will make good underpants.

Who are they?

They're rich local boys.

They come here to look for nymphomaniacs.

- What nymphomaniacs? - Women who are out of their minds.

We're so full of lust we'll sleep with any man, any which way.

A nympho's eyes roll, and she can't even talk.

She just moans and pants, all excited, and laughs to herself

when you fuck her as hard as you can.

So those boys will bring us relief.

This is what nymphomaniacs are like.

Come! Come here! We're here!

Why don't you try too.

Come here!

Rescue us!

We're allowed to wear our own clothes. It's in the rules.

Right, Sofia? Big Greta doesn't get to decide.

It'll only create chaos.

The other patients will get agitated if you run around in fancy dresses.

Saarinen gets to wear her butcher's apron.

She was a butcher in her former life.

What profession is your dress for?

The patients are allowed to wear their own clothes

if they're wearable.

We can't afford to throw them away.

- I have a suggestion. - Be quiet.

Is it that late already? Put the coffee on the table.

We'll take a break soon.

Oh, you fixed it already?

It should last you some time. Let me know if you need me to look at it again.

Thank you. You can leave it here.

You have to pay for coffee with your own money.

I can't afford to pay for anyone's coffee.

Don't thank me for this.

Isaksson should mind his own business.

You know someone's a wild girl When she has six boyfriends.

Enough boys for the whole week Every night a new one.

In a bed in the hospital There's a gray blanket.

She picked up a disease in France And left it in the sheets.

You shouldn't sing dirty songs You should sing something else.

The Devil threw A handful of lice on the pussy.

Stop. I'll get bruises.

I'm sorry. I meant to hit Manda.

Excuse me, who?

- Who did you mean to hit? - Manda.

- Say it one more time. - No!

Say it.

- Mandy... - Stop.

Mandy! Mandy!

When we're suffering from syphilis and pubic lice.

We have to go to the hospital And get some cream.

Suffering from syphilis and pubic lice.

Big Greta has to go to the hospital And get some cream.

Fuck!

Fucking cunts!

Wait!

"The right ovary is often swollen and sore."

"The uterus is tilted backwards and seven centimeters long."

That's unusually small, isn't it?

Yes, for a woman who hasn't given birth, it is slightly smaller than average.

Skull dimensions normal.

And the mania starts a few days before menstruation?

Yes.

She also has an intense headache, stomach cramps,

dizziness and ringing in the ears.

This is what it says in the report from Turku Provincial Hospital.

"She becomes agitated, and three people are needed to hold her down."

"After staying awake for several nights,

her gestures and facial expressions change."

"She's pale and depressed. Taedium vitae."

Please note that the right eardrum is ruptured,

probably from being hit several years ago.

It ruptured when a hot-air balloon ascended too fast.

In Normandy.

You can come with me.

But you might have to do something you don't want to.

Hey, listen. I have something to tell you.

I'm giving away these dresses. To all of you.

Come pick yours. You can pick any dress.

Vendla, would this lavender be pretty on you?

Thank you.

Pick one to encourage Josefina to pick one.

- May I take one? - Go ahead.

- Do you have lace? - Yes, I do.

Come. Don't be shy.

Hey, look.

Oh là là.

Oh là là.

Here you go, miss.

Mademoiselle.

Oh là là.

That's enough!

Put away the frills.

Put away the frills, and put your own clothes on.

All right.

Leave them there.

Josefina, help me.

- Help me. - No.

- Take the hat off. - No.

Let's stay calm.

Tiihonen. Tiihonen.

Tiihonen! Tiihonen.

You too! Help me!

Tiihonen!

Get up.

- Why isn't she doing anything? - I don't know.

How does this work?

First, we'll sail to Turku. I'll pay you when we get there.

- What does she want? - She wants us to leave first.

We can't take her with us.

To Turku.

Pay me first. The rest you can pay my friend when we get to Turku.

No, we have to leave here first.

- What the hell? - What the heck are you doing?

- Hold her down. - Move.

Let her go.

Let me go!

Let me go!

Let me go!

"Greta, you're the only thing I miss from Seili Island."

"I wouldn't come back even if you begged me."

"I love having my own home and a husband."

"I'm the luckiest woman in the Grand Duchy of Finland

when I don't have to herd nutheads anymore."

- Stop or you'll stay inside tomorrow. - Yeah, yeah.

Stop sucking on your mitten. You're a grown woman.

You're like a cat with a hairball.

That's enough! Stop, or I'll send all of you nutheads to the west wing.

"Thank God, I found a husband."

"My deepest wish is to soon be expecting a little one."

Big Greta?

Come in.

My daughter Karolina is moving to Nauvo to work as a maid,

so I need a nanny for Serafina.

If you could spare one of your patients, I'd appreciate it.

I've been thinking about who'd be suitable.

And?

Greta Suominen.

She strangled her own baby.

Little Greta is no murderous maniac.

She's a young woman who was a victim of you know what.

She had no choice, so she did what she did.

She had to get rid of her own baby.

She doesn't have to get rid of Serafina.

I will not take responsibility for it.

You don't have to keep an eye on me.

I'm not keeping an eye on you. Is that what you thought?

You can start making porridge now. She wakes up hungry.

The oats are in the cabinet.

You can eat as well, so make it for two.

- Don't waste it. - I won't.

Hello, little girl.

My name is Greta.

Yes.

Clock.

I made porridge for you.

Porridge.

Did you have a nice time?

I've never wanted to have children.

It's quite a miracle I never got pregnant.

Was your baby a girl or boy?

I didn't look.

It's strange that everybody wants these patients now.

First no one wants these godforsaken ones,

and suddenly people are fighting over them.

Who usually mends the broken fishing nets?

Old Mari.

But she's so old that she can't see anymore,

and her hands aren't really working, either.

Well, I can spare Josefina.

Right. Around here, a fishing net is a person's most prized possession.

I wonder if you have someone more skilled

to work on my whitefish net.

Someone who's done plenty of handicrafts.

Why me?

You've spent half your life in the spinning house.

I work at the mangle.

I don't have time to negotiate.

- You'll repair the net, and that's that. - Why can't I repair it here?

Apparently, their nets are so sacred that they can't bring them here.

I wouldn't let them bring those stinking rags here anyway.

Josefina can go.

Come on in.

This net is in tatters.

It's as if a pike or some other predatory fish tore it up.

This is called a net needle.

Press here so that you see a little bit of the central spine.

Pull the yarn under it like this.

Then you turn and do the same at the other end.

Do the same.

Good.

Wrap the yarn around the spacer board.

And push the needle under the thread, creating a loop.

That's it.

Your turn.

It stinks.

You'll get used to it.

Good.

The tune has gone flat.

It's been so humid that the wooden parts have swollen.

There hasn't been anyone who knows how to play.

Until now.

A piano tuner.

- You play the piano? - A little.

The doctor hasn't visited in three months,

but the piano tuner was asked to come.

How is the fishing net fixing going?

Well.

All net menders have their own net needles.

Your own needle will feel the best.

It'll mold to your hand.

- How did you know my middle name? - I asked.

Do you want this? The little spoon.

Or do you want the big one?

Good.

A little porridge.

Shall I help?

I buttered a piece of bread I gave it to my foal.

My foal's no longer fearful And I mounted it.

Has the bruise been cleaned?

You should put resin salve on it.

May I take a look?

- Hello. - Come in.

So this is Old Mari's replacement?

- Is she any good? - The best I've ever seen.

We also have one of the patients working for us.

My wife says she's a very good nanny for our daughter.

- Have you let this one fix your nets? - First thing.

- How did it turn out? - Like new.

I guess I'll let her fix mine then, dammit.

My hands are so sore I can barely braid.

Do you get along with Elsa?

I always get along with people who I can get coffee from.

What's it like at Isaksson's house?

He has a cat.

So do the Holmströms. Two cats.

Isaksson has a cat indoors.

A lap cat.

A lap cat.

He likes to pet it.

Now I've heard it all.

You know what?

We're almost like real people.

We've all come home from work,

and we're talking and eating here and relaxing.

Almost like real people.

You want to go faster?

Shall we glide?

And...

Oh.

Is your mitten coming off?

Greta!

Greta!

Turn.

Turn.

Turn.

Greta!

Greta!

Greta!

Greta!

Fuck.

You piece of shit. You shithead.

Over the cracks in the ice. Are you crazy?

You could've drowned.

Think about Serafina if you don't care about yourself!

I don't care about myself.

We're not real people.

Don't stop.

I just tested it a little now that it's tuned.

Play more. It's beautiful.

Play something.

And sing.

What would you like to hear?

Play “A Summer Day in Kangasala.”

I'm at the highest branch.

On the Harjula Ridge.

As far as the eye can see

I see lakes and bays.

Oh, that's Lake Längelmävesi.

Silvery and gleaming.

And the gentle waves of Lake Roine.

Embracing its shores.

And the gentle waves of Lake Roine.

Embracing its shores.

Like the eyes of a loved one.

So bright and blue.

Lake Vesijärvi glistens.

And its calm waves.

Creep to them.

Their hundreds of islands.

Gently rocking.

Like a mother rocks her children.

Gently rocking.

Like a mother rocks her children.

I'm only a little bird.

And my wings are frail

I wish I was a brave eagle.

So I could soar.

And I'd fly all the way to heaven.

To God's throne.

Humble and pious

I'd sing this song and pray.

Humble and pious

I'd sing this song and pray.

Good night.

Good night.

It was a girl.

She was a girl.

Good night.

- Good night. - Good night. Sleep tight.

Elsa.

Little Greta didn't come this morning.

Hosanna.

Hosanna.

Hosanna.

Hello.

Here! Come, quick!

No.

No!

EIGHT YEARS LATER

One more time.

Touch the ground with your fingers.

Reach up.

Reach down.

Up. Down.

Up.

Touch the ground one more time.

That's it. Stretch properly.

Her name is Julia Nurminen. I heard she's a difficult case.

Couldn't keep a maid's job anywhere. A vagrant girl.

She left her last job

when the family's son entered her room unwelcome at night.

It wasn't the first time it happened.

- Hello. - Hello.

Well, it's a long story. But here's where it ends.

Maria!

Watch the soup.

Father!

Hi.

- Can you carry it? - Yes.

Tell me if you're losing your grip.

There are many boats that come here.

There's the steamboat, a doctor comes, and a merchant boat.

I'm sure you can hide in one.

The financial director has a boat. And the local men have small boats.

Several boats.

It's not that easy to go and take a boat.

People have tried.

Have you? How?

In the summer by a boat. In the winter, across the frozen sea.

How were you caught?

- Did they come after you? - Yes.

I'm not staying here.

Julia.

Let me go!

Don't touch me!

You have no right!

You have no right to do this!

I want to get out!

Let me out!

Mama!

Let it out.

I'd rather die than stay here.

I'm 18.

The new girl.

She makes me go back in time.

You stopped me from getting out.

Twice.

Why?

Why didn't you just let me go?

You have to help me.

Get closer to each other.

What is this?

Greta.

Get closer to one another.

What the hell is this?

Touch her.

Take her scarf off.

Look at each other.

Look each other in the eye.

That's enough.

I'm sorry.

That's enough.

Stop.

Stop.

Stop.

Greta. We can't find Julia anywhere.

Amanda.

What?

Are you the one who knows how to fly?

Father said there's a woman here who knows how to fly. Is it you?

Yes.

Serafina and I practice flying.

Or actually all the girls on the island do.

We also want to learn how to fly.

TELL EVERYONE