Review: Matkalla Porkkalaan

Antti Litja dazzles
In the play Porkkala

“Yes, but don’t now, my God, but occupy it!”, says Minister of the Interior Kaarlo Hillilä (Heikki Sankari), frightened by the dissatisfaction expressed by the chairman of the Control Commission, Andrei Zhdanov (Antti Litja).

Sami Keski-Vähälä’s new play takes place in November 1944 in Helsinki, in the circles of Hotel Torni and on the Lauttasaari bridge.

On the way to the Porkkala rental area, a Red Army officer has been shot in the twilight of the night. The Control Commission orders the Finnish government to investigate the murderer within two days.

Keski-Vähälä has written a stunningly imaginative detective story about the course of that critical time.

Milko Lehto’s strong directorial vision detaches historical figures into fictional characters. The play is a strong, bloody jumble of genres that requires acceptance from the audience. It is worth getting acquainted with history in books in the field!

Ilkka Heiskanen as Officer Räsänen returning from the war finds himself in an unbearable situation. Heiskanen is in a big, joyless lead role all the time in a sweat of pain. His drinking buddy Martikka is played by Oskari Katajisto.

The complete opposite of the Finns’ anguish is voyeurism at the vodka-smelling everyday work of the Control Commission.

Litjan Zhdanov is an insanely good role, even if you refuse to believe the colonel general to be a short-tempered lunatic and a despot. You can do this too, in art. The character’s role models can be found in the fiction films of Chaplin and Woody Allen .

An equally fine caricature is Joachim Wigelius’ Savonenkov.