Kauppa-Lopo

Kauppa-Lopo is a social outcast.She looks disgusting, she uses snuff and she drinks too much.She comes from Kuopio, where she had a husband and a son, but has now wandered to Jyväskylä and it's jail.She hears her old acquaintance, Mrs. Kortman also lives in town.She's a widow with children who's planning to move out of her house.Kauppa-Lopo decides to help her the best way she can; she's going to sell all the useless stuff she can find from the attic.She also makes sure Kortman sells her house to certain gentleman for 15.000, and not just twelve.Mrs.Kortman is disgusted by Kauppa-Lopo, but accepts her help anyway.Kauppa-Lopo is a good person, but finds it hard to resist the temptation.She ends up drinking with a man named Kennun Ville and ends up stealing from a market place a wallet with three marks.Kauppa-Lopo (1968) is a TV-movie directed by Matti Tapio.It's based on the short story from 1889 written by Minna Canth, and I read it just before I saw the movie.Both the short story and the movie are fantastic.And the actors are just right.I can't imagine anybody else acting the main character better than Sylvi Salonen.I really liked the performance of Veijo Pasanen as Kennun Ville.Eila Roine does a great job as Rouva Kortman.Irma Tanskanen is very good as her maid Riikka.Raili Veivo is terrific as Ulla.Helinä Viitanen portrays Riitta and she does an excellent job.Her late husband Ahti Haljala is Ajomies.You've got to like Leo Lastumäki playing Vanginvartija.Liisa Pakarinen and Hilkka Silanen play the parts of Porvarirouva.Esko Raipia plays Holopainen, who makes a big fuss in the pub.Yrjö Kallionpää is Helmeri.Kauppa-Lopo is most tragicomic character.Her appearance is something that makes you smile, but she' also a person who feels very strongly when her feelings are being hurt.Like in the scene where she overhears those fancy madams and Mrs. Kortman talking about her.It's a rather adorable scene where Mrs.Kortman's little boy says "Kauppa-Lopo" at the gate.And then the poor little fellow starts to cry when Lopo takes him in her arms.It's so much fun to watch Kennun Ville courting Lopo.The pub sequence is very good, where she starts singing Hallin Janne and makes a fellow boozer angry.Apparently he knows Hallin Janne.It's really great to watch the old scenery.This is an excellent movie of the story.Minna Canth would be really proud of this.