The Sampo (1959) 6/6

The story of the Sampo, the magical object that produces riches, from a Finnish-Soviet movie from 1959 (=BASICALLY THE FIRST PART OF THE MOVIE, with some abbreviations. The story is based on the Finnish national epic, The Kalevala, that was used as an inspiration for J. R. R. Tolkien among others.

Notice that almost all the characters have some sort of magic or act as shamans. And unlike the women in The Lord of the Rings, the women of the Kalevala also have very strong personality, like Louhi, the sorceress of the Pohyola ('The North-Country'). Pohyola may be thought of as a real place in the north or as a world in a totally different reality.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Suomi
• Finland
• Kalevala
• Sampo
• old
• movie
• film
• legend
• mythology
• Väinämöinen
• shaman
• shamanism
• magic
• magical
• Tolkien
• LOTR
• Finnish
• national
• epic
• Finnland
• iron
• age

[default1976]

This movie is a treasure I newer knew nothing about. I am suspecting there is a conspiracy :)

[willace11]

I hope you people realize that this is an episode of mystery Science Theater 3000.

[charlesek1974]

So I assume that Part 2 is where the U.S. version got the title "The Day The Earth Froze" ?

[kozmon0t]

@LapinPete maybe the lid gives the power to wander around in the snow and herd reindeer



[LapinPete]

@kozmon0t I tried to say that the riches made the land fertile. Pohjola already got his part before. And apparently the lid has some powers too or something.

[kozmon0t]

@LapinPete Sounds like the pohjola got the shit end of the stick then. The Kalevalans get the riches, the Sami get the lid. What use is the lid?

I still say Lemminkainen was stupid.

[LapinPete]

@kozmon0t In the original its stated that when sampo fell to the lake, part its riches enrich land of Kalevala while pohjola get to keep the lid of Sampo. Its a story how in the end all get their fair share and no one got power over others.

[kozmon0t]

I guess that's The End, huh? Louhi wins! The Kalevans don't get the Sampo but Louhi already reaped many riches from it. Sampo for the Sami lol

Since Lemminkainen sank soon after setting off in the raft, the Sampo must be somewhere off the coast near Simo.

Stupid Lemminkainen should have raised an army when he went back. Also how the hell did he carry the Sampo to his raft.

And finally why can't Ilmarinen just make another Sampo?

[Czarine85]

I too would like to see the rest of the film! Then we'd see how Louhi flies.

[wkhes]

Thanks a lot for these! It's fun to watch this film as a curiosity from the past. It's visually great, especially the real landscape sceneries are wonderfull, but one must say that the acting is terrible and "plotwise" this is completely bullshit, has nothing to do with the actual stories of Kalevala.