'Catherine and the Count of Munkkiniemi'
Katariina ja Munkkiniemen kreivi (Katariina och greven av Munksnäs / Förbjudna stunder)
Retten til at elske (Danish title)
Katariina et le comte de Munkkiniemi (French title)
Katariina und der Graf von Munkkiniemi (German title)

Available on DVD (rel. 07/2005)

Finland 1943 B/W 105min Oy Suomen Filmiteollisuus

***½

Drama, romance

cast: Leif Wager (The Count Mauritz Armborg), Regina Linnanheimo (Katariina), Sirkka Sipilä (Ingeborg Liliecrona), Ester Toivonen (Margareta Armborg), Jalmari Rinne (Frederik Armborg), Yrjö Tuominen
credits: dir. Ossi Elstelä, music Nils-Eric Fougstedt

If there is a film which is more romatical than this, it's pure honey and syrup. The time is 1800 something and a beauty (Katariina or "Catherine") falls in love with a handsome count. The count is also in love and sings sugarly a sweetish song Romanssi ("The Romance") to her. A sample of film's lyrics (by Palle): "Only ya over everything I loo-oo-ove, when I'll look in to your eee-yyy-eees" (Sua vain yli kaiken mä raaa-kaaastan, kun silmiisi katsoa saaaaaaan.) This Palle guy usually wrote comical songs...

The nice and happy future must be omitted because the plague and other horrible things happends. But the longing stays and after many years Katariina and her love will meet again. A big and wet kiss.

TRIVIA: the wonderful costumes of the movie were bought for another movie (Katariina Maununtytär) but the war cancelled that production.
TRIVIA#2: Regina Linnanheimo is not singing in this movie. The singing voice of Katariina is Greta Fougstedts.

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