Väinö Linna’s Täällä Pohjantähden alla (Under the North Star) begins with a powerfully compelling prologue for modern-day Finland: how we, as a nation, have arrived at where we are today. Under the direction of Lauri Maijala, Linna’s beloved trilogy is transformed into an intense, beautiful, and moving historical drama about the birth of a nation and its growing pains.
Hunger and hopelessness, bitterness over unjust income distribution, extreme political polarization, and a chaotic global situation... These were among the ingredients that ignited a chain of events culminating in the Finnish Civil War of spring 1918—a war that was one of the bloodiest of its kind in Europe. A tragedy whose wounds are reopened time and again whenever silence is imposed upon them.
Through the fates of the novel’s many vivid characters, more than half a century of Finnish history unfolds— from the Grand Duchy under Russian rule to post-war independent Finland. At the heart of the story are two families, the Koskelas and the Salpakaris, whose intertwined narratives reveal the nation’s turning points from both the common people’s and the elite’s perspectives.
Maijala’s direction of this great Finnish classic stands with its feet in the mud but its gaze fixed on the brilliance of the stars. It reminds, shocks, and comforts us — those living in today’s world—of how small and helpless an individual can be in the face of great historical upheavals.
Production Team
Cast Katariina Kaitue, Jani Karvinen, Kasper Korpela (Näty), Aksa Korttila, Maria Kuusiluoma, Petri Liski, Esa-Matti Long, Pirjo Luoma-aho, Petri Manninen, Pirjo Määttä, Toni Nikka (TeaK), Pyry Nikkilä, Harri Nousiainen, Helmi-Leena Nummela, Lauri Qvick (TeaK), Sulo Rahman (Näty), Wenla Reimaluoto, Otto Rokka, Carl-Kristian Rundman, Paula Siimes, Timo Tuominen and Juha Varis
Direction and adaptation Lauri Maijala Set design Kati Lukka Costume design Auli Turtiainen Lighting design Kalle Ropponen Sound design and music Jani Rapo Music Markus Fagerudd Video design Pyry Hyttinen, Kati Lukka and Kalle Ropponen Make-up design Minttu Minkkinen Dramaturgical assistant and director's assistant Ada Sallinen