Korkein voitto: A Charming Relic, If You're Patient

Okay, so "Korkein voitto" is probably not for everyone today. If you're hoping for something with fast cuts or a plot that moves at a clip, you'll likely find yourself checking your watch. But, if you have a soft spot for really old Finnish cinema, especially those grand melodramas from way back, there's a certain dusty charm here. Think of it as a quiet afternoon spent with a forgotten novel. For anyone else, it might feel a bit like watching paint dry. 😅

The story kicks off with Baron Henrik von Hagen. He’s clearly living large, you know? Parties, women, all that jazz. But you can feel his money troubles just under the surface, a bit like a frayed cuff on a fancy suit. Then Madame Vera Vasiljevna, a Russian ballerina and his old flame, rolls into town. It’s all very dramatic, the way they meet again. You can practically hear the violins swell. ❤️

Nanny Westerlund as Vera has this really intense gaze sometimes. You see it when she’s first reunited with Henrik. It’s like she’s trying to decide if she wants to embrace him or slap him. Carl von Haartman, playing Henrik, has this perpetual "I'm trying to look suave but also worried about my finances" expression. He paces a lot in one particular scene, hands clasped behind his back, which just screams "trouble."

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Korkein voitto (1929) through its definitive frames.

The big thing that throws a spanner in their rekindled romance is Vera’s new 'hobby.' The movie keeps it a bit of a secret at first, but when it finally comes out, it’s… something. It’s not quite what you’d expect from a ballerina. There’s a scene where she’s passionately discussing it, and the camera just holds on her face, almost uncomfortably long. You can almost feel the movie trying to convince you this moment matters. And it does, I guess, in a very old-fashioned way.

A small detail I noticed: the costumes are a whole thing. Henrik always looks sharp, even when he’s supposedly broke. And Vera’s gowns are just lovely, flowing things. But there's this one scene, a party, where an extra in the background is wearing a hat that looks a bit too modern for the period, or maybe just really out of place. It snagged my eye. 👀

The pacing is definitely deliberate. Like, really deliberate. Sometimes a scene just... sits there for a while. You get a lot of lingering shots of people looking thoughtfully out windows or staring into the middle distance. It gives you time to wonder what they had for breakfast, or if the actors were just waiting for their cue. There’s a charm to it, sure, but it demands patience.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Korkein voitto (1929) through its definitive frames.

One moment that really stuck with me involved a very intense handshake. Not even a kiss, just a handshake between two characters, and it felt like the weight of the world was in it. It was so earnest, almost comical to a modern eye, but it perfectly captures that silent film era drama. No words needed, just tension.

The film does a good job, I think, of showing how quickly things can unravel, even for someone as seemingly untouchable as a baron. Henrik’s attempts to juggle his debts and his feelings for Vera lead to some genuinely desperate moments. You can see the panic in his eyes, even through the slightly grainy black and white footage.

It’s not a masterpiece, not by a long shot. But "Korkein voitto" is a fascinating peek into what entertained audiences almost a century ago. It’s less about slick storytelling and more about pure, raw (for its time) emotion. If you appreciate the history of film, and don’t mind a leisurely pace, you might find something interesting here. Otherwise, you’re probably better off with something else. 🤷‍♀️