Pirjo Honkasalo (Director) · Pekka Lehto (Director)
Asko Sarkola
Writer Algot Lassila, aka Maiju Lassila, aka Irmari Rantamala
Rea Mauranen
Olga Esempio
Kari Franck
Gunnar Avanto
Ari Suonsuu
Kalle
Ritva Juhanto
Kurttuska
Esko Salminen
Arwid
Heikki Alho
Pikku-Pouvali
Tuomo Railo
Sulo Esempio
Yuri Rodionov
Rawitz
Galina Galtseva
Magda
Soli Labbart
Maria Lassila
Pirkka Karskela
Young Algot
Markku Blomqvist
Lundberg
Esa Suvilehto
Pöntinen
Matti Oravisto
Commandant Carl von Wendt
Gunvor Sandkvist
Anna Belostotskaja
Pentti Kotkaniemi
Russian Army Captain
Aleksandr Zakharov
Von Plehwe
Vadim Mikheyenko
Terrorist
Antero Harpf
Rebel officer
German Lupekin
General Porunov
Esko Pesonen
Chief editor
Arno Virtanen
Circus manager
Vitali Iljin-Shapiro
Terrorist
Jan Kulik
Terrorist
Toivo Tuomainen
Oskari Skoff
Elvi Saarnio
Olga Esempio in prologue (voice)
Yrjö Tähtelä
Narrator (voice)
Eeva-Kaarina Volanen
(voice)
Mauno Blomqvist
Ploughman (uncredited)
Mauri Front
News photographer (uncredited)
Pentti Louko
Orthodox priest (uncredited)
Esko Salmesvirta
Algot's father (uncredited)
Rauha Wolska
Restaurant hostess (uncredited)
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This biographical film celebrates the little-known life of the Finnish novelist and revolutionary Maiju Lassila (Asko Sarkola), born in 1868. Lassila's early years are briefly shown, then the film richly details his active and paradoxically reclusive adult life, beginning with his sojourn in St. Petersburg, working as a businessman. Unable to stay away from politics, he caused the assassination of a high-ranking Czarist and as a result, had to run back to Finland to hide. Once established in the comparative safety of a small village, he taught school in order to support his real vocation as a writer. Always living on the edge of poverty, if not square in the middle of it, Lassila continues to avoid public contact - he keeps his identity low-key and camoflages it by publishing under a variety of pseudonyms.
