Elina As If I Wasnt There

In rural Sweden of the early 1950s little Elina goes to school again after recovering from tuberculosis the same illness that has killed her father a few years earlier Elinas family belongs to Finnishspeaking Finns frowned upon by a staunch schoolmistress who starts hounding Elina for questioning her authority Elinas mother sister and a liberal young male teacher all try to mediate the ensuing battle of wills between Elina and Miss Holm Elina finds consolation in wandering out on the dangerous marshlands to have imaginary conversations with her dead father Written by Markku Kuoppamäki