This past week felt more like December than March. Meteorologists will no doubt have a lame explanation for this, but I know it’s really the witch Louhi causing this mayhem. Check out The Day the Earth Froze and see if you agree.
This 1959 film from Russia and Finland begins by reminding us about the great storytellers of the world: The Brothers Grimm from Germany; Hans Christian Andersen from Denmark. But we are about to go a few rungs further down and hear a tale from 19th-century Finnish storyteller Elias Lönnrot.
In a remote village, the people work the land day after day, always in good spirits. It is foretold that someday, as a reward for their labors, someone will build a Sampo, a magical machine from Finnish mythology that brings good fortune to its holder; in this case, it will be able to create gold and silver — as well that ever-popular substance, salt.
Furthermore, it is said, if the blacksmith’s sister, Annikki, falls in love, the blacksmith will be endowed with the know-how to construct the Sampo.
Enter the young woodsman Lemminkäinen, who is intent on wooing Annikki and saving the day, and the witch, Louhi, who wants the Sampo for herself. As witches sometimes do, she employs a wizard of dubious repute to do her dirty work.
If you ever wanted to see “Braveheart” meets “The Wizard of Oz,” this unique flick could be for you.
The actors are all game, especially our hero, the woodsman, who surfs down rapids on a log without mussing his hair.
It is the Russian-Finnish special effects crew who, in the days before CGI, should be awarded a gold star. Whatever zany idea the script calls for, they deliver.
Need Louhi to send her cloak across the sea to kidnap Annikki? Voila! Done. Want a road to come to life and kvetch about all those pounding horses’ hooves? No problem!
A massive set was constructed for a scene in which all the winds of the world are held captive in giant burlap bags. Huh? you might well ask. And then there are some R2D2-style holograms, but in this case, created by Louhi’s wizard from spit.
After the witch kidnaps Annikki (remember that cloak flying across the water?) and forces Lemminkäinen to plow the dreaded field of snakes, (no, not my backyard), the blacksmith helps out by whipping up a living, bright red horse from the flames. Later, our overachieving blacksmith creates a fiery boat that barrels down a cliff, plowing into unfortunate movie extras.
Well, back to the plot, such as it is: With Annikki held captive, the blacksmith is forced to build a Sampo for Louhi, but, the townspeople rally and decide to steal it from her. That infuriates Miss Witch, who, to spite the townspeople, steals the sun — I mean, literally, grabbing it two-fisted and clutching it to her chest. Yup. You guessed it: That’s when the Earth freezes.
— Blaise Majkowski, B-movie aficionado
