Mustalaishurmaaja (1929) Review - Silent melodrama and messy romance

If you have about an hour and want to see what people in Finland thought was peak drama in 1929, this is it. You should watch it if you like silent films that feel a bit like a stage play where everyone is over-acting on purpose. If you need a fast plot or modern editing, you will probably hate this and turn it off after ten minutes.

It’s a bit of a historical artifact really. It stars Teuvo Tulio, who later became a famous director, but here he is just a young guy with incredible eyebrows.

The Vibes and the Plot

The whole thing is about Manjardo. He is the leader of a group of travelers and he is basically a player.

He hangs out with Glafira and Akris, and they both clearly want him. Then his tribe decides he needs to marry Esmeralda, a girl from a different group he has never even met.

It’s like an early version of those reality TV shows where people get married to strangers. Except with more horses and way more intense staring.

The plot is honestly pretty thin. Most of the movie is just people looking upset at each other near a fire.

I noticed that the makeup is really heavy. Like, you can see the thick lines on their eyes even in the grainy footage.

Small Details that Caught My Eye

There is a scene where they are dancing and it feels like it goes on forever. I think they just liked the music they were playing on set, even though we can't hear it.

The outdoor shots are actually quite nice. You can feel the cold Finnish air even though it’s a silent black and white movie.

There is this one shot of a woman looking through some bushes that is supposed to be suspenseful. But she stays there so long it just feels like she’s lost her keys or something.

It reminds me a bit of the drama in The Marriage Market. People just making life way harder for themselves than it needs to be.

"The way Tulio looks at the camera is like he knows he's the most handsome man in the woods."

I also liked the costumes. They look a bit like what a costume department in 1929 thought "gypsy" clothes looked like, which is to say, very shiny and lots of layers.

Is it actually good?

It’s okay. It’s not a masterpiece like some other silents from that era.

The acting is very big. Like, if someone is sad, they don't just cry, they throw their whole body against a tree.

Sometimes the cuts between scenes are a bit jarring. One second they are talking, the next they are halfway across a field.

I guess they didn't have a huge budget for transitions back then. Or maybe they just forgot to film the walking part.

• The Good: Very cool to see 1920s Finland. Tulio is magnetic even when he's doing nothing.
• The Bad: It's slow. Like, really slow in the middle.
• The Weird: The way they handle the "romance" feels very forced.

If you’ve seen The Woman and the Beast, you know how these old melodramas love to use nature to show how people feel. This movie does that too, but with more trees and less beasts.

The ending is... well, it’s exactly what you think it will be. No big twists here.

It’s funny how even 100 years ago, movies were already obsessed with love triangles. I guess some things never change in storytelling 🎬.

I wouldn't go out of my way to find a high-quality version of this. The graininess actually adds to the feeling that you're watching a dream or a very old memory.

One scene near the end has some fire light that looks really cool on the actors faces. It’s probably the most artistic moment in the whole thing.

Anyway, it’s a decent watch if you’re bored and want to see some old-school pouting. Just don't expect it to change your life.