Stormskerry Maja (2024)

Stormskerry Maja Review

The Finnish filmmaker Tiina Lymi wanted to go all out with “Stormskerry Maja,” set in the 19th century. Adapted from a book series by Anni Blomqvist, it will play at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and Goteborg.

The movie produced by Markus Selin, Jukka Helle and Hanna Virolainen for Solar Films and sold by Picture Tree Intl. tells the story of a young peasant woman who gets married off to a man she barely knows and moves to an island far away from everything. Her new surroundings are not too welcoming but for Maja they become familiar very rapidly along with her new husband Janne.

Åland Islands was chosen as the location for shooting by Lymi: “It’s a crazy place in the middle of the Baltic Sea. You bring an actor to do one scene and it takes three days. It’s expensive, slow and it has given me many gray hairs but it really paid off visually.”

Like Amanda Jansson and Linus Troedsson, who played her characters, Maja and Janne, became friends while filming this couple gradually discover each other.

These private moments brought comedy into the film. Maja’s love for Janne is what holds everything together but there had to be only one hero/heroine.

“I had to be disciplined about this: this is Maja’s movie. I am showing the world through her eyes. When the Crimean War comes knocking on her door she doesn’t know who these people are or why they are in her house yet she decides not to hate them. This was always my question: ‘What does she see? What does she feel?’” said Lymi. And those who still trust their instincts. It won’t always protect her from suffering though; however much pain Maja goes through, Lymi never intended to portray her as a victim.

She heard that sexual assault was likely after writing about war taking over the island which does not happen in the books. “But do you know what? I’ve seen enough of these scenes,” she says.

“As a woman, I have ridden on a bus with this one drunken man. We have all been sexualized, even as children and girls, that’s just how things are though they shouldn’t be. But I didn’t want the violence.”

As Maja gets older and becomes a mother, she starts questioning rules made by men.

“It’s a feminist film in its simplest form because it begins with basic questions. ‘Why are you taking my money? Why do I have to wear a skirt?’ She is drawing conclusions for herself asking: ‘In what ways am I less than a man?’ I wanted to say that line in my own life. Many, many times.” Lymi didn’t immediately get accepted as director after starting out as popular actor.

“It was difficult. There were many diminishing words said to me; there was no trust. It’s much easier nowadays so many actors are directing too. When I started, it was almost unheard of Also, some people got irritated by the fact that even though I had spent so many years on different sets but never directed anything and besides I also never studied directing!”

Since then she has directed hits “Lapland Odyssey 3” and “Happier Times, Grump.” “I never really wanted to be an actress Actually at first Indiana Jones who also had a band was my very realistic idea of future,” she laughs.

“For example one time during rehearsals for play caught myself thinking ‘It should be done this way.’ This led into writing and directing for theater later on Then made short went: ‘Oh my God This is it This is what want to do.’” “Should have started earlier but not afraid anymore let’s put it like this As director, can take a lot on Just hope will have enough time to tell all stories want.”

Watch Stormskerry Maja Review For Free On Gomovies.