Kurittaja

A stern pastor summons a troubled couple—Vene‑Riitta, a middle‑aged woman with a reputation for mischief, and Nilkku‑Ola, a lanky, hard‑drinking husband—into his modest parsonage. Their shabby appearance, odd clothing, and whispered rumors paint them as outcasts, while the community watches with a mix of suspicion and pity. The pastor’s judgment teeters between compassion and condemnation as he decides whether to send the pair to a workhouse and place their only daughter in a children’s home.

Inside the cramped kitchen, the couple’s desperation surfaces in a terse exchange over food and money, revealing a fragile bond marred by poverty and shame. As the pastor offers a meager meal, Nilkku‑Ola clutches a makeshift staff and mutters a prayer that hints at deeper currents of guilt, faith, and longing for redemption. Their story unfolds against the harsh Finnish winter, setting the stage for a tense confrontation between personal failings and the rigid moral expectations of the village.