Juha is a 1999 Finnish film written and directed by Aki Kaurismäki

Aki Kaurismäki

-Career:After studying Media Studies at the University of Tampere, Aki Kaurismäki started his career as a co-director in the films of his elder brother Mika Kaurismäki. His debut as an independent director was Crime and Punishment , Dostoyevsky's famous crime story set in modern-day Helsinki...

. The film is based on a famous 1911 novel by the Finnish author Juhani Aho

Juhani Aho

Juhani Aho, originally Johannes Brofeldt, was a Finnish author and journalist.Aho's literary output is wide-ranging since he pursued different styles as time passed....

 marking this as the fourth time the novel was adapted for the screen. The original story takes place in the 18th century but Kaurismäki's remake is set in the 1970s. It tells the story of a love triangle where a simple peasant woman leaves her husband after falling in love with a modern city slicker

City Slicker

City slicker is an idiomatic expression for someone accustomed to a city or urban lifestyle and unsuited to life in the country. The term was typically used as a term of derision by rural Americans who regarded them with amusement...

. Juha is a silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 shot in black-and-white

Black-and-white

Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...

 with the dialogue coming in the form of intertitle

Intertitle

In motion pictures, an intertitle is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of the photographed action, at various points, generally to convey character dialogue, or descriptive narrative material related to, but not necessarily covered by, the material photographed.Intertitles...

s.

Plot

Marja (Kati Outinen

Kati Outinen

Anna Katriina Outinen is a Finnish actress who has often played leading female roles in Aki Kaurismäki's films.Outinen was born in Helsinki. Having studied under Jouko Turkka during his "reign" of drama studies in Finland, she nevertheless has never been associated with the "turkkalaisuus" school...

) is a simple peasant woman married to her older husband Juha (Sakari Kuosmanen

Sakari Kuosmanen

Sakari Jyrki Kuosmanen is a Finnish singer and actor. He has recorded several solo albums and has also done work with Sleepy Sleepers and Leningrad Cowboys....

). They lead a very simple country life, spending most of their days farming and tending to their livestock. Marja's world is turned upside down when Shemeikka (André Wilms

André Wilms

André Wilms is a French film and television actor who has also appeared in German and Finnish films. Wilms was the winner of the Best Supporting European Actor award at the 1992 European Film Awards for his work in Aki Kaurismäki's La Vie de Bohème.-Partial filmography:* Le tartuffe * Field of...

) comes to the happily married couple asking them for help with his broken down sports convertible

Convertible

A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...

 and a place to spend the night. As Juha works to repair the car, Shemeikka attempts to lure Marja to leave Juha and come to the city with him. A hesitant Marja does not want to leave her husband at first but ultimately gives in to temptation after dreaming of a wonderful new life in a big city. Shemeikka and Marja leave for the city but Marja's dream quickly becomes a nightmare when Shemeikka enslaves her in a brothel.

Cast and characters

• Sakari Kuosmanen
  Sakari Kuosmanen
  Sakari Jyrki Kuosmanen is a Finnish singer and actor. He has recorded several solo albums and has also done work with Sleepy Sleepers and Leningrad Cowboys....
  
   - Juha
• Kati Outinen
  Kati Outinen
  Anna Katriina Outinen is a Finnish actress who has often played leading female roles in Aki Kaurismäki's films.Outinen was born in Helsinki. Having studied under Jouko Turkka during his "reign" of drama studies in Finland, she nevertheless has never been associated with the "turkkalaisuus" school...
  
   - Marja
• André Wilms
  André Wilms
  André Wilms is a French film and television actor who has also appeared in German and Finnish films. Wilms was the winner of the Best Supporting European Actor award at the 1992 European Film Awards for his work in Aki Kaurismäki's La Vie de Bohème.-Partial filmography:* Le tartuffe * Field of...
  
   - Shemeikka
• Markku Peltola
  Markku Peltola
  Markku Peltola was a Finnish actor and musician. He was born in Helsinki and grew up there. He was actively involved in founding and acting with the Telakka Theater in Tampere....
  
   - Driver
• Elina Salo
  Elina Salo
  Elina Salo is a Finnish film, theatre and television actress who has also done work in radio as a voice actor in children’s programming. In her career that began in 1956, Salo has appeared in over 50 films and television shows but she is best known for her work in Aki Kaurismäki’s films. She has...
  
   - Shemeikka's Sister
• Ona Kamu - Shemeikka's Woman
• Outi Mäenpää
  Outi Mäenpää
  Outi Mäenpää is a Finnish television actress.Mäenpää was born in Helsinki. She began her career in theatre as a stage actor between 1984 and 1988...
  
   - Shemeikka's Woman
• Tuire Tuomisto - Shemeikka's Woman
• Esko Nikkari
  Esko Nikkari
  Esko Nikkari was a prolific Finnish actor who made more than 70 appearances on film and television. He debuted in 1974 in the movie Karvat....
  
  - Rural Police Chief