Vääpeli Körmy
Encyclopedia
Vääpeli Körmy is a character played by famed Finnish comedian Heikki Kinnunen
in a series of five Finnish comedies released between 1990 and 1997. The films each parody aspects of the Finnish Defense Forces but also Finland
's international relations, its presidents
and various political and social aspects of Finnish life.
The films take primarily place in the fictional guerrilla garrison
in Räyhäranta. Being unrealistically small for a standard Finnish garrison it only houses one of each rank of officer between Sergeant Major (Körmy) and Colonel (Tossavainen), as well a group of four sergeants who start off as privates in the first film of the series.
The films have also included a bizarre element of foreshadowing two real-life events that both occurred in 1995. The first film features a joke of Finland winning the Ice Hockey World Championships
against the USSR. Finland would eventually win the championship in 1995
. Also two films in the series poked fun at the idea of women joining the military. In 1995, women were allowed to serve voluntarily in the military.
. However, many of his pranks also backfire instead making Körmy seem like a fool in the eyes of others.
At times Körmy is also the subject of simple rotten luck, such as when his parked army jeep slid down hill and pushed a row of cars into the Gulf of Finland
.
Körmy can however be extremely soft-spoken at times. Sometimes for the sheer gag effect but also genuinely towards higher ranking officers and especially his wife. Körmy is also quick to take action and is generally displayed as being far more competent than most of the officers that outrank him in Räyhäranta. For instance he was quick to track down spies who stole the briefcase of the Defence Minister. He also later tricked the said spies when they tried to intercept an American contact wearing a bowler hat
on a cruise liner, by somehow having several of the other guests wear bowler hats as well.
However, Körmy's initiative has also turned against him when he once chased a man onto a train believing him to be a bank-robber and who then turned out to be the bank's manager.
Heikki Kinnunen
Heikki Kinnunen is a Finnish actor, who became well known in the beginning of 1970s in the comedy program Ällitälli. Kinnunen was known specially for his roles in comedy films and -series...
in a series of five Finnish comedies released between 1990 and 1997. The films each parody aspects of the Finnish Defense Forces but also Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
's international relations, its presidents
President of Finland
The President of the Republic of Finland is the nation's head of state. Under the Finnish constitution, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people of Finland for a term of six years....
and various political and social aspects of Finnish life.
The films take primarily place in the fictional guerrilla garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
in Räyhäranta. Being unrealistically small for a standard Finnish garrison it only houses one of each rank of officer between Sergeant Major (Körmy) and Colonel (Tossavainen), as well a group of four sergeants who start off as privates in the first film of the series.
The films have also included a bizarre element of foreshadowing two real-life events that both occurred in 1995. The first film features a joke of Finland winning the Ice Hockey World Championships
Ice Hockey World Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation . First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual international tournament. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European...
against the USSR. Finland would eventually win the championship in 1995
1995 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships
The 1995 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships was played in Stockholm and Gavle Sweden, from April 23rd to May the 7th, 1995. In the tournament finals, Finland won the gold medal by winning over Sweden 4-1 at the Globen arena in Stockholm. The Finnish goals were scored by Timo Jutila and Ville...
. Also two films in the series poked fun at the idea of women joining the military. In 1995, women were allowed to serve voluntarily in the military.
Körmy
The character Körmy describes himself as "the meanest bastard of a Sergeant Major" to the privates in the first film. His very presence and voice seems to incite fear in those who rank below him. However, Körmy's ire tends to rise more from the private's own actions, such as private (later sergeant) Friman who continually uses Körmy's office to conduct his personal business ventures. Körmy is also prone to playing practical jokes on his privates, some of which could be classified as hazingHazing
Hazing is a term used to describe various ritual and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group....
. However, many of his pranks also backfire instead making Körmy seem like a fool in the eyes of others.
At times Körmy is also the subject of simple rotten luck, such as when his parked army jeep slid down hill and pushed a row of cars into the Gulf of Finland
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...
.
Körmy can however be extremely soft-spoken at times. Sometimes for the sheer gag effect but also genuinely towards higher ranking officers and especially his wife. Körmy is also quick to take action and is generally displayed as being far more competent than most of the officers that outrank him in Räyhäranta. For instance he was quick to track down spies who stole the briefcase of the Defence Minister. He also later tricked the said spies when they tried to intercept an American contact wearing a bowler hat
Bowler hat
The bowler hat, also known as a coke hat, derby , billycock or bombin, is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown originally created in 1849 for the English soldier and politician Edward Coke, the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester...
on a cruise liner, by somehow having several of the other guests wear bowler hats as well.
However, Körmy's initiative has also turned against him when he once chased a man onto a train believing him to be a bank-robber and who then turned out to be the bank's manager.
Soldiers in Räyhäranta
- Sergeant Hakkarainen (Pekka Huotari) - Starting out as a private in the first film, Hakkarainen (for reasons unknown) remains as a sergeant at Räyhäranta for the remaining films. He is often made a fool of by Körmy and the other characters. He has been discharged between the fourth and fifth film but called back into action when the Räyhäranta garrison gets moved to Helsinki as a part of a urban combat exercise.
- Sergeant Sulonen (Pertti Koivula) - Starting out as a private in the first film. He is Körmy's son, however, Körmy apparently has so little love for him that he is forced to use his maiden name instead (against the common marital practice, Körmy adopted his wife's last name). He appears in the first two films before being called back into action in the fifth film.
- Sergeant Friman (Jukka Puotila) - Started off as a private in the first film. Despite having a seemingly successful business as a real-estate broker he remains as a sergeant in the military. He is also a masterful immitator of voices (often impersonating Körmy on the phone) and often the ire of Körmy due to his quirky personality. Also discharged between the fourth and fifth films and returns in the fifth film.
- Sergeant Hönö (Santeri Kinnunen) - A cheery sergeant who first appeared in the third film and is called back into service in the fifth. Actor Santeri Kinnunen is the son of Heikki Kinnunen.
- Guardsman Räikkönen (Jani Volanen) - The guardsman who is often tricked by the soldiers who want or need to sneak off the garrison. He remains the guard of Räyhäranta in all of the movies except Taisteluni where, due to the Finnish military being laid off, he temporarily guards the encampment of a Swedish garrison. In the fifth film he has been discharged but ends up standing guard for the female soldiers' garrison that Körmy's men have to invade as a part of an urban war exercise.
Officers in Räyhäranta
- Second Lieutenant (Nappula/Napero) Pienimäki (Tom Pöysti) - The unlucky Second Lieutenant who is constantly trying to get his authority recognised by Körmy and others but is constantly ignored. Along with his wife (played by Eija VilpasEija VilpasEija Annikki Vilpas is a Finnish actress. She is known of her roles in several Finnish comedy series, for example Fakta homma and Hynttyyt yhteen. She plays Second Lieutenant Pienimäki's wife in the five Vääpeli Körmy films.She has also done voice-over work for Finnish film dubs...
) they also form a comedic depiction of an unhappy and disagreeable Finnish marriage. Pienimäki has artistic tendencies and takes part in amateur theatre. In most of the films he is often plagued by terrible luck. - Captain Y.Y.A. Kuortti (Vesa VierikkoVesa VierikkoVesa Tapio Vierikko is a Finnish actor.Vierikko began acting in 1978 on television working consistently throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He starred in the 2003 film Sibelius working with Finnish director Timo Koivusalo and actors such as Martti Suosalo, Heikki Nousiainen and Seela Sella and Miina...
) - The inept and excentric Captain who obsesses over being promoted to Major. He later marries Lieutenant Sievänen with whom he falls madly in love during her first appearance in the third movie. He also has an affinity for poetry and often quotes famous poets, though altering them to better fit the current situation. - Lieutenant Anni Maria Sievänen (Mari Vainio) - She joins the guerrilla garrison in Räyhäranta in the third movie and immediately becomes the center of attention for Captain Kuortti. She initially leads the group of women that Körmy must give guerrilla training and later begins serving as a full-fledged officer. She doesn't have as many quirks as the other officers but did, as her first innitiative, redecorate the officers' offices in the third movie, something which didn't go over well with Körmy.
- Colonel Tossavainen (Pentti SiimesPentti SiimesPentti Siimes is a Finnish actor. He has appeared in 86 films and television shows since 1946. He starred in the film Miriam, which was entered into the 8th Berlin International Film Festival.-Selected filmography:...
) - An elderly officer who enjoys drinking and flirting with ladies. He is formally in charge of the garrison in Räyhäranta though rarely does anything other than inform of the current developments in the military organisation.
Others
- General Gustafson (Kalevi Kahra) - An extremely absent-minded general who is entirely reliant on his inept assistant, Major Hämärämaa. Gustafson has a tendency of forgetting official orders (which he himself has given) and even the details of his own war stories. Though he is said to have resigned from his post in the fourth movie he has apparently returned to his post in the fifth film.
- Major Hämärämaa (Markku HuhtamoMarkku HuhtamoMarkku Huhtamo is a Finnish actor.Huhtamo entered film in 1977 and has appeared in over 30 Finnish films and TV series between then and the present although mostly in film....
) - A dutiful but extremely inept Major who follows General Gustafson's orders to the letter without ever questioning their consequences. - Samuli Edelman portrays a different character in the first three films. He portrays private Iivanainen in the first, sergeant Jyväntölä in the second and sergeant Edelman in the third film.
The films
- Vääpeli Körmy ja marsalkan sauva - 1990
- Vääpeli Körmy ja vetenalaiset vehkeet - 1991
- Vääpeli Körmy ja Etelän Hetelmät - 1992
- Vääpeli Körmy - Taisteluni - 1994
- Vääpeli Körmy ja kahtesti laukeava - 1997