Ikitie

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The New York stock market has crashed

and the whole western world

has drifted into economic depression

and mass unemployment.

Stalin has invited

the working people of the world

to help build the Soviet Union,

a workers' paradise.

More than 10,000 people have left

the United States and Canada

hoping for a better life

in the promised land.

More than 6,000 of them

are American Finns.

This is their story.

Finland, 1931

Good.

And Arvo, the whistle?

Good.

You're not asleep? I am.

Sleep.

Stay here, and not a sound.

What brings you here?

The interest of our fatherland.

Can't it wait until daytime?

Time to go, Jussi Ketola.

You're not taking anyone from here!

Shame on you!

Sofia, don't. Just call the police.

Father!

I'll be alright.

They're not gonna hurt me, they're

just putting on a show. Let's go!

Let me at least get some clothes!

Goddammit, don't...

Shut up, you f***ing commie!

We're putting you on the

Eternal Road. To the Soviet Union.

Isn't that where you want to go?

To be with your kind.

THE ETERNAL ROAD

BORDER ZONE:

If he moves, shoot him.

Business as usual.

Can't allow it anymore.

You can't allow patriotism?

Transportations across the border

are forbidden now.

This is the people's will.

What's your name?

Why do you care?

The police are gonna ask me later.

Shut up!

So this is what a traitor

of the nation looks like?

We can't take him back anymore.

Then we'd better kill him here.

You'll have the blood of an innocent

man on your hands. Shut up.

Listen. I'm not a communist.

I never fought against the Whites or

the Reds, but I am against killing...

Shut up!

The State of Finland

knows nothing about this.

Wanna die here or in the bog

so we don't have to dig you a grave?

You're the ones doing the killing.

I don't care.

Karvinen. Kill the animal.

I can't go and just shoot...

Let's get him!

Stop! You can't

cross the border! Stop!

BASED ON TRUE EVENTS

Welcome to the Soviet Union,

Comrade Ketola.

Kallonen. From the People's

Commissariat of Internal Affairs.

Petrozavodsk, Soviet Union

How are they treating you here?

Is there anything you need?

I'm fine.

Could I get a pen a paper? To write

home and let them know I'm alive.

Of course. We at the NKVD have

only heard good things about you.

You're a worker's friend.

House in Finland. Bought it with

the money you earned in America.

A wife and two children.

You're a good man.

I try. Did you bring

any messages from Finland?

What messages?

Mail, to the Soviet Union.

No, I don't have any messages.

Are you sure?

You didn't bring anything?

Just a bullet in my side

and my long johns.

Good. We want to help you,

to make it here.

All I want is to return home. Would

be refreshing to see someone leave.

More and more people are coming

here, of their own free will.

The workers of the world believe

in the Soviet Union.

Right. If you need anything,

don't hesitate to ask for me.

Kallonen is the name.

My dearest wife, Sofia...

Tell Arvo he's in charge until

I return. Your loving husband, Jussi.

Is Jussi Ketola there?

Damn, it is him.

Ketola, you dog!

Is it really you? Max.

Collecting old debts.

You still owe me three bucks.

What's the interest over twenty

years? Forget it, this is worth it.

Look, you're on the front page.

I brought you some clothes...

What the heck are you doing here?

Building a socialist paradise

in Karelia.

KIDNAPPINGS CONTINUE IN FINLAND

I told'em we used to work together

in New York on skyscrapers.

Got a job lined up for you already.

What job? I'm not staying.

Keep your pants on.

There's more money here than

in New York, trust me, Jussi.

Enough for you too, if you want.

I'm going home as soon as

I get this mess sorted out.

But you are not leaving tonight.

We have our own shops,

an opera house, you name it.

Ok, so it ain't 5th Avenue,

but you'll get used to it.

Skilled workers have been arriving

from the States and Canada.

They've brought along tools,

machines, cars, tractors...

The Americans run the farms,

the timberjacks got the forest farms.

How many Finns are there here?

Thousands. Tens of thousands.

They've answered Stalin's call.

Don't you see, Jussi?

They're building a worker's paradise.

The workers from Ontario brought

a whole factory along...

How are you, Comrade?

It's like a private club. People

were supposed to be equal here.

Stalin promised us these

privileges in return of our help.

This gets you into the restaurant

and buys you stuff in the Party shop.

What Party? Where the hell do you

think we are? The Communist Party.

I'm not a member.

Who the hell is?

Think about what an opportunity

this land is for us.

And now, Jussi,

a toast to the homeland.

I'll get you your own flat tomorrow.

Don't bother.

Longing for Fascist Finland?

I wrote home that I'll be back soon.

Never talk about leaving out loud.

Why not?

What's the rush? Let's get you some

more vodka. The border's 250 km away.

The Karelian Yanks take the lead...

Jussi. I knew you'd be

interested in American sports.

Tell me, could this become the new

national sport of the Soviet Union?

It's too much like the game the

White thugs liked to play back home.

Jussi, I want you to come and meet

me in the Big House tomorrow.

What for?

To talk about history.

We know you fought on

the side of the Whites in 1918.

Forced at gunpoint. Still.

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