Directed by Mikko Niskanen / 1972

This long unsung landmark of Finnish cinema, inspired by an actual 1969 event, is the magnum opus of the virtually unknown (in the U.S.) writer-producer-director-actor Mikko Niskanen. He delivers a shattering performance as Pasi, a farmer who struggles to support his family through occasional odd jobs and who seeks aid and comfort in alcohol—making it, selling it, drinking it—which creates for his family, brings him into conflict with the law, and leads him on a gradual slide toward oblivion.

Presented here in its original four-chapter format as made for Finnish television in 1972, this monumental vision of human endurance is the rare, great epic woven from the fabric of ordinary life. Restored by Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation, with funding by the Lucas Family Foundation, it will be screened once only in its entirety.

In Finnish with English subtitles. (5 hours 16 minutes, plus intermission) Crystal Gallery Café will be open during intermission.

“The crowning achievement of Finnish filmmaking and one of the masterpieces of European cinema.” –Aki Kaurismäki