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 fucking 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.
You must be the only man in this country who's fought the Reds.
Like I said, I was forced. I was hauling off bodies others had made.
Did they force you to write to Strang to America before he came here?
Was it then when you agreed on this spying assignment?
Are you serious?
I know you had dinner with Strang.
Know what I ate?
Nope. But I can easily find out. You can count on that.
Such a complex game. I like simpler games.
Tomorrow. Big House. 2 pm.
Moscow comes to pitch.
Player 14 from the Moscow Dynamo pitches...
"My dear wife, Sofia. I'm writing this in a hospital in Petrozavodsk."
"After those men came in the middle of the night..." Blah blah...
The letter you sent to Finland. It's under investigation.
It didn't get sent? You're not authorized to write abroad.
You are under surveillance.
Our decipherers have cracked the code.
You might as well confess. Confess to what?
You were sent here by the Finnish Secret Police.
You were never abducted for real.
We're building the Soviet Union here, and it has enemies everywhere.
Spies have been sent over from America along with the workers.
They want to find our weak spots.
You speak English. Doesn't make me a spy.
True. But it'll help you prove you're not our enemy.
This is insane.
We want to know what the Americans are saying.
And who are the ones saying it.
I've already told them you're coming. We agreed I could return to Finland.
We haven't agreed anything.
If you want to return to your family prove that you're on our side.
This isn't my passport. It is now.
Jussi Ketola doesn't exist in the Soviet Union, but Jussi Kari does.
From now on you go where I tell you to go
and do what I tell you to do.
What gave them the idea that we're spies? Well are you?
Of course not. So there's no problem.
Never seen this before, not even from Kallonen.
A Soviet passport is a very valuable document.
Less trouble for you if you play along with them.
Tell'em a few good stories. What kind of stories?
The kind that keep them happy. So they get to write their reports.
Jussi Kari.
Kari, Jussi. Nice short name.
Jussi Carry.
East Karelia, Soviet Union
John Hill.
COLLECTIVE FARM HOPEA
WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE
My wife, Martha.
Here's our pride and joy. Laina.
Jussi, come.
The Soviet Union is a fine country.
This farm of ours, Hopea
we're prospering, the production keeps growing all the time.
Everything you need is here.
Danes, Swedes, lots of Americans. But most of them understand Finnish.
We're always building something, to be able to house all the people.
Lots of workers will be coming here for harvest time.
It's kind of modest.
This'll do fine.
We know why they sent you here.
Tell them whatever you want.
I won't become a snitch. No need to worry about that.
You do as your conscience tells you.
You've been doing well. The Yanks are pleased.
Glad to hear it.
All you have to do is tell us what they're doing here.
It'll work to your advantage. We've been sawing wood.
Has there been any anti Party activity?
Yes, if the Party is against work.
What are they saying about the Soviet Union?
Who's leading the agitations? Hill? I have no idea.
There's a pig in the sty called Joseph.
Been acting mighty suspicious. I'll keep it under surveillance?
So do I report directly to you?
Yes.
Hill! Hill!
How do you know Hill? Fixed his family up with papers.
Fix me up with papers that will allow me to leave.
I can't do that. Who can?
Forget it.
Don't you understand my whole life is there. I can't stay here!
Leeway!
More chairs.
Looks like we won't be returning to Hopea tonight. Sure we will.
What was your name? Ketola.
Hey, what is your name? Stop!
Stop!
Do you see him? Be quiet!
Hill, Kallonen is coming.
Jussi!
Ketola, sit down.
Kallonen and I, Kallonen and us, we have the same goals.
And now, Jussi Ketola. Nothing's gonna stop this revolution.
We're building a new society, where the working class reigns.
And it won't work if we don't all follow the rules.
Towards a better world.
Where liberty, fraternity and justice will come true.
Kallonen has to keep an eye on us
so that the greed will not take over.
You can bet your ass
that the owning class will try to sabotage our system.
Jussi. It's as simple as this.
You need to get yourself a wife. I already have a wife.
Jussi Ketola had a wife.
Stop running.
If I were free I wouldn't have to run.
Greetings from Kallonen.
This is for you.
What is it? A death certificate.
Jussi Ketola died in Petrozavodsk of fatal injuries caused by Fascists.
A copy was sent to your family in Finland.
Kallonen asked me to tell you that if you try to escape again
he'll deliver more death certificates to you.
Let me be.
I'd much rather be home than here spying on nothing.
Hopea, Martha Hill.
Sign it.
It's in Russian. I don't understand a word.
You know that American spies work at the farms
instead of honest Russians. I don't.
It's common knowledge. We have several signed testimonies.
So what do you need my signature for?
Here we put spies to hard labor.
Forced labor at the White Sea Canal is in fashion. Wanna join them?
I was brought here against my will. And now you want to transport me...
Shut up!
Comrade, Major.
I've been a good boy and done as told.
But I'm not going to sign that paper, no matter what.
This was not a good idea.
Not signed, but I think we both know who wrote it.
But no one needs to know.
I kind of did you a favor there.
And now I want something in return.
Autumn 1932
Beautiful, eh?
Spring 1936
Look closely.
Summer 1937
Barley. Good. Barley turns right, wheat turns left.
We caught a spy in Matroosa.
When questioned he confessed that he got a ride here to Hopea
and has been living here since last autumn.
I speak for all of us.
I swear we know nothing about any such man.
No one could hide here so long unnoticed. The man confessed.
And signed a statement. Who would have hidden him here?
The description matches you the best.
I have records here of every person who's ever stayed here!
Take a good look. Is this the man you were hiding?
Why have you been telling such lies?
I broke down after they beat me for days.
No one asked you anything. We're asking the people of Hopea.
Why do you want to drag Hopea into this? We have solid information
that Mäki was brought from here to meet with the American spies.
Isn't that so, Jussi Kari?
Not true. You're both lying!
You're lying! Kallonen is lying!
Better confess now. Mäki has already confessed.
Everything's fine. Don't worry.
Mommy will be back tomorrow.
Former Party leader Gylling imprisoned as an enemy of the people
Hill's serious?
He's trying to get permits for those who want to leave.
He's right. This well is running dry. You should leave too.
You should have told me seven years ago.
And where would we go? America, where else?
Pauli doesn't have an American passport. Neither do I.
Can you fix us some?
Jussi!
You go and ask Kallonen, you know him better.
You were sent here against your will. They look at you differently.
You've already stood trial. What are you talking about?
From what I heard in Leningrad, they've taken
a hundred Canadians from one of the farms, and they will all be executed.
The U.S. Embassy wouldn't even let me in.
I gave my word that the Soviet Union was the promised land.
I lured these people here.
Jussi... Try to talk to Kallonen.
Please.
You don't have the permit. You are coming with us.
You must be crazy. Know how many of us they've already taken?
That's what I came to ask about. The people at the farm know nothing.
Come in, please.
Only members of the Party are allowed.
Come on, pal, you know me.
You fucking Americans. I'm glad that your partying days are over.
Comrades, I must ask you to leave.
He is teaching you the basics of the communist cause?
Maybe you'll finally learn.
I'll answer for them.
Sit down. Thank you.
But I just wanted to see if there were any familiar faces here.
There are, so sit down.
I was sent to ask what your plans for Hopea are.
Your people have been to Leningrad applying for permission to leave.
That's no secret. Or surprise.
Foreign citizens have the right to leave. And Finnish citizens?
Them too, I suppose.
Are you planning to leave and have the state support your family?
Of course not.
But you've been in touch with the Finnish Central Police?
Can't you fucking lunatic think of anything else?
For seven years not a single answer. Only false accusations.
While more than a hundred people are waiting for information!
I asked you a simple question:
What is going to happen next?
What does Kari know?
Why are you asking me?
Kari knows jack shit. He spends his time raking manure.
Comrade Kari is good at that.
Sit down. Let's eat and drink...
This company doesn't spark my appetite.
Gentlemen.
Some other time.
Take care of yourself and your family.
I'll be okay. I'm an eel.
Remember, you still owe me three bucks.
Daddy, I'm tired.
Then sleep.
Autumn 1937
Go back inside!
Everybody back inside!
Pack your things, quickly!
Where are your shoes?
Please. He's so little. Calm down.
The children are not responsible for their parents' actions.
I said no!
The women go into that truck, the men go into this one.
Mommy's here.
Pauli! Pauli, don't be scared. Mary will be with you.
Kallonen!
Father! Pauli, stay there.
Where are you taking the children?
Get out, both of you!
Give the child away! Say your goodbyes quickly.
No talking!
Mommy has to give you away.
Pauli! Pauli! Pauli, stop!
Get him to the truck!
Pauli!
You have already been sentenced to death by the court.
You've only been brought here to hear your verdict.
But we hope that you will support the building of the Soviet state
by telling us about the spy ring
sent here from America.
Your colleague, Strang, organized for spies to come here
from Canada and the United States.
I have it all written down here.
All you have to do is sign. Sign the line at the bottom.
You helped Strang in his attempt to flee.
You tried to send him to the West, and with him all the information
you had gathered at Hopea as a spy.
You also tried to send Ella Williams to Canada
without a permit to leave the country.
She has already confessed for her own part.
It is your name: Jussi Kari.
Jussi Kari.
Jussi Kari!
Fine. Right.
No...
Kallonen...
Kallonen, don't...
Kallonen!
Take him out.
Stop! Go back!
Forward! Move it!
Go, go!
Next!
Line up! Next!
Forward! Move!
Move forward!
Stop! Get back on the line!
Down on your knees!
Not your time yet, friend.
How does it taste now, Jussi, the life I gave you?
This is how we build socialism here.
Here. Don't let him get away.
Keep going.
Winter 1938
Try it like this!
Here.
What's your name?
Let's go.
Jussi.
Have the pigs learned to give information?
Anything to report?
All I need to do is shout and they'll shoot you.
In less than a minute.
So shout.
Jussi!
Did Kallonen just leave?
Go after him. The spy is trying to escape.
Quickly! Move!
Do you understand what you have done?
Didn't kill me.
Left me alive.
PAULI AND JUSSI KARI
STOP! BORDER ZONE
Ma!
How do we continue from here?
We continue from where we left off.