Based on a true story
She's quite calm now.
I can't take her anyhow.
ART FILMS PRODUCTION
presents
Who do we send her to?
You are her closest kin.
That's none of my business.
You can keep her.
a film by ARTO HALONEN
PRINCESS
KELLOKOSKI MENTAL INSTITUTE
Director of Photography
Film Editor
Music Composer
Screenwriters
Morning morning.
Director and Producer
Mademoiselle Rococo
a willowy figure, a lively woman
clad in light-blue silk
with flowers upon her
welcome, welcome,
my beautiful friend
my beautiful friend,
mademoiselle Rococo!
Make it shorter and tidier.
Patients are human too.
But she'll be bald.
That was in her pocket
when we undressed her.
Wrap her up.
Anna Lappalainen.
Cabaret dancer.
Interval singer at movie shows.
Worked also as a masseuse.
Manic-depressive,
schizophrenic.
Mother gave her away.
Only daughter. 15 foster homes.
Aggressive behaviour.
- Bruises, has cut herself.
The patient does not talk.
- For how long?
We don't know. She doesn't speak.
- Should we ask her mother?
Yes, indeed.
- What about her father?
Died when the children were small.
- That figures.
My family had a cat called Anna.
She didn't talk much either.
Nursing staff must know
their responsibilities.
What is Kuronen doing here? - If
I could also enjoy an insulin act.
You should be in work therapy.
- A change might work wonders.
Take him to his work.
She doesn't seem to wake up.
Glucose solution intravenously.
What is your name?
Who are you?
Where are we?
Who am I?
Can't you see
that I'm trying to help?
From now on we are more humane.
New technical methods must be
used alongside the old ones.
They are not the opposite
of being more humane.
We are the first mental hospital
in Finland to burn straitjackets.
Throw them in!
Don't hesitate!
Good morning.
It's Tuesday, 8th of June, 1945.
It is six in the morning.
Good morning!
I saw nice dancing shoes
in a shop window.
Head Nurse mustn't hear that.
Nurses don't dance here.
Neither do the patients.
There's a bus stop outside.
The bus goes in half an hour.
Let us bless God's grain
and God's drink -
in the name of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Baroness Christina von Heyroth.
A true blue-blood.
Our own apparatus. An updated
version of what we had temporarily.
Greetings from Sweden.
You have already started.
Go on, please.
There is some new staff here.
Could you explain the efficiency
of this revolutionary machine?
Well...
This prolongs the clear moments
after coma and shock.
There have been some
very promising results.
Electricity induces a state
that resembles insulin shock -
quicker and more economically.
Could use some fine tuning.
Do you like Mozart?
It's joyful and brisk music.
That's what we need in life.
I play the violin myself.
I talked to your mother
on the phone.
How come you talked
when you lived with her?
They said that you had
a very loud voice.
That's right.
Your mother deserted you.
I understand.
You should get over it.
Then you'd start to get better.
I can't help you
if you don't talk.
Listen to this, Anna.
Did you say something?
- No.
I just wonder
how you talk to your superiors.
Student mixes things up. The one
you mentioned is my housekeeper.
I am Princess.
Princess.
I was born
in Buckingham Palace.
An eagle stole me from a balcony
and took me to the skies.
In Lapland the bird dropped me
and Lapps took me to their hut.
Princess has been
in Finland ever since.
My mother is the King of Scotland,
my father Emperor Wilhelm II.
He sired me in a harem in Monaco.
- Your mother isn't a king.
The King of Scotland is a man.
And in a harem in Monaco...?
In the court. My mother
is the Queen of Scotland.
You said king.
Poor peasant.
He just doesn't understand.
I've studied theology -
and I know about people's mental-
physical state and its fragility.
Mother found me in a swamp
and took me to Helsinki.
Then I came here to my palace.
My English mother at my birth was
the Empress of Athens, Fredrika.
Congratulations.
You made the mute one talk.
It wasn't exactly like that.
- He pretends to be modest.
What a miracle cure. We not only
got talk but a real princess.
With our new technology
we can get rid of delusions.
We have an electric gadget of our
own and won't have to borrow one.
Could you help? A delirium
tremens was just brought in.
Turn off the shower at least.
Saastamoinen. Deep delirium.
Has been drinking for two weeks.
Dreaded water when we
showered him. Then went like that.
Dress and confine him.
We'll see about him in the morning.
Army unit was killed in a river.
He was one of the few survivors.
A partisan. He's probably
used too much amphetamine.
Also he dreads water.
What a lout.
- You're justjealous.
Teach her to behaveI
Let's go to sleep.
Patient Lappalainen,
go to your own room, please.
Did you understand?
- Listen!
I'm Princess and the President
of Finland is my husband.
You're an ex-masseuse.
Do you understand that?
Nurse!
Evening, evening.
Morning.
Open the door!
The Bible protects.
Code of Laws and the almanac
protect from evil spirits.
Patient Lappalainen.
- Princess!
Open the door at once!
What's happening there?
- I don't know. She bolted the door.
Open up, please. - Remember that
she's also a little human being.
Scopolamine!
How are you, Anna Lappalainen?
Princess.
We should have taken care
of her arm first.
That makes no difference.
She was a masseuse.
What if she gets a permanent injury?
She probably won't do
that work anymore.
What if she's pretending?
Making us look like fools?
Cheating us?
Oh no.
Why are we waiting
in the peasants' section?
Buon giorno, signora.
Dove quoira e...
Me and patient Thornvall go to
Helsinki. - Did he swallow a watch?
Stomach must be cut open again.
Windsor, Princess.
- Isakson, X-ray assistant.
In which country
were you knighted?
What is Napoleon
doing in my land?
You think you conquer
vast areas. - Just morsels.
You'll lose here
just like in Russia.
Tell Joseph Stalin that you'll buy
As war indemnity.
- Get in here now.
By mixing techniques, we may
even find a whole new method.
A doctor's task is to cure
but also to take risks.
I think you buy that.
Maybe we don't see something
that is hidden from us.
Out of the whole picture.
In this institute
we stick to old methods.
Come on in, Johan.
What's the matter?
THE YEAR 1946
Like this. Be careful
not to damage the tree.
Just clean off the dirt.
This is for Daddy Soininen. - It
can be for the Pope for all I care.
Big Ida takes pictures for the
hospital chronicle. With a camera.
The King of England George V
was my uncle.
Lappalainen and Kuronen to work.
It feels degrading
to take up heavy work here.
Our patients work.
They even tried to make me
wash dishes.
A peasant woman.
A fat cow!
How come such a beauty
is here?
Not because of booze, I gather.
- I do drink champagne.
And cognac, sherry, whisky.
Hardly moonshine? - We should
try everything, shouldn't we?
Princess wants to have
a private picture.
It's for my mother, the Queen
of Greece. She lives on that hill.
The Parthenon is just ruins,
just a shadowplay.
According to the philosophy of
Plato. - Dean knows how to talk.
That's it.
Princess says "thank you".
What time is it?
You can keep her.
Princess helps.
Princess. - Baroness
Christina von Heyroth.
Are you a true blue-blood?
- Yes, of noble birth.
That's good.
I'm royalty.
Why those?
- Jesus talks to me once in a while.
I can't control myself. The blue
part in my blood makes it hard.
It makes me boil.
That's the sin.
The blue? - No, that
which makes me boil.
I ask you to be my maid of honor.
Then sin won't make you boil.
It turns into a tapeworm.
Kellokoski Bank
How can I help you? - I'd like
to deposit a large sum of money.
Okey.
I want to help
poor and motherless students.
We need your account number
and the money.
The name Princess is enough.
Jewelry, cheque, diamonds.
Sorry about the disturbance. The
ward waits for patient Lappalainen.
Let's get going.
- Princess wants to help the poor.
Just a minute.
Here is your cheque book,
Princess.
Put the sum here
and your name here.
One less worry for the poor.
Greetings from Princess.
Bank manager needs a massage.
Princess takes care of that.
Offer accepted.
- All right.
When did you last go
to a Mozart recital?
Buy a ticket to the next one.
He's supposed to be handsome.
I would like to get
the tapeworm after all.
My father used to read
a bedtime story from the Bible.
He was good to me.
But he wasn't good.
I feel like I'm boiling.
My blood boils.
My blood boils.
Mother doesn't hit.
Mother doesn't hit her child.
Evening.
Princess gave a massage.
- Thank you.
Here you are.
- My dear brother, King George.
Next time it's madame's turn.
Bye.
You should play Schonberg. - On
the contrary. Maybe baroque next.
So young and so conservative.
Shouldn't we take art, even
factories, banks and mental care -
to the next millennium,
in which we, in facto, live?
Banks play the right tune.
Investors invest -
and I decide
who we lend the money to.
Maybe you have heard
about the new invention.
Structural and genetic flaws in the
brain are corrected in an operation.
Maybe it will control
harmful visionarism -
and reality is even
more incredible than fiction.
What is Kuronen doing here this
late? - Sensing the environment.
And trying to calm down.
Prince Henry.
Thank you.
I think we should accept
Lappalainen as a princess.
Never! - Should we
go in to her delusion?
What else helps? - Lonka...
It doesn't remove the delusion.
It just makes it worse.
- Should we all be patients?
We'd get quite a reputation
as a sanitarium of lunatics.
Why not let her be Princess?
She brings joy to villagers.
And she is happier
than anyone in our staff.
It looks like our doctor
mixes feelings with his work.
Maybe Lonka is in need
of electric shocks himself.
My dear man.
Here's some dough for you.
You'll get a new start.
Mother, save your child
from getting lost.
Have pity on your child,
I beg from you.
The child is yours
but it's also yours.
Have pity on your child,
I beg from you.
Princess sang.
What's the matter, Daddy?
It's me, Princess.
Daddy's own Princess.
Lauri, for God's sake.
Doctor Soininen.
Put his coat on.
We have to drive him home.
Don't mention this to anyone.
Jesus talked about the righteous
which include the disadvantaged.
Despite the difficult situation they
can take Jesus into their hearts.
They are accepted in God's kingdom
to everlasting peace and wealth.
Excuse me. Jesus...
- Son of an eagle!
Jesus was ahead of his time
and thus simplified his ideas.
Maybe he meant -
that God's kingdom
is a spark in everyone's soul.
And this kingdom...
- The spark of Lot's wife!
...is entered when the spark lights
up as a person develops enough.
No one is thus cast out. For some
it just takes a little longer.
Was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
conceived by a lowly monkey.
Don't touch itI
- Be silent now!
Six millilitres
malaria plasma modes.
Try to bear it.
You could at least come
and give your present.
What would you like
to have from Father Christmas?
Mr. Kuronen,
a cigarette or an apple?
I'd ask for peace
and mental stability.
Under the circumstances
I take a cigarette.
A peaceful Christmas
and God's blessing to you.
You don't like cigarettes, do you?
I do, but the apple is for Princess.
I thank you on behalf of Princess.
- Have a peaceful Christmas.
Give my thanks
for this wonderful vest.
If I am black,
I'm known by everyone.
The board of the hospital
has discussed Soininen's state.
I am a sovereign and a king
from the land of the blacks.
Daddy thanks for the vest.
THE YEAR 1950
You have been given apomorphine.
At first you only smell it,
but when you feel the nausea -
you drink as much as you can.
The dark, heavy cloak of
alcohol dwells inside of me.
Buckets are by the walls.
A couple of sessions like this
and we get rid of demon alcohol.
Bullshit!
I bring my maid of honor to the
battle. - What's your favorite?
My soul only craves whisky.
Even Jesus complains of that.
Soon just the smell of whisky
will make patient Heyroth nauseous.
I'm just trying to catch up.
Drink more.
Drink more.
More.
More.
Holy shit. This poor human.
For fuck's sake!
Get rid of the evil.
Let it come out.
That's good.
Demons come out.
It helps and God wins.
God...
This is only booze.
Give us this day
our daily bread.
Forgive us our trespasses -
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power -
and the glory for ever and ever.
Amen.
Private, royal area
Princess is expected
at the assembly hall.
Thank you, Prince Henry.
The human spirit researches
many puzzles that are endless.
He loses his powers and opens
the mental institute's doors.
Society should help these
abandoned and confused ones.
Give them good care,
a new home and holy peace.
Is Daddy leaving?
Dear friends, it's time for me
to give room to younger ones.
I'll go to the
National Board Of Health -
and work there as Counsellor.
That leaves more apomorphine
for the patients.
Johan Grotenfelt is
the new Chief Physician.
Chief Physician Grotenfelt
Here are the latest
research results.
We'll introduce
the new treatment soon.
Chief Physician doesn't waste time.
- I guess clever people know.
The operation has been
a success in every case.
Patients calm down
and can lead a steady life.
Queues are long. Your daughter
is in a privileged position.
What can I say?
Too little discipline.
As an adult she has
been hard to control.
Operate if that helps her.
The decision can't be reversed.
Your mother.
Thank you for the photograph.
It was wonderful.
Beautiful clothes and jewelry.
You are not my mother.
You are the housekeeper.
Her final pay.
Grotenfelt will start operating.
- Are you serious?
We have work therapy and all.
Princess is the first in line.
When do they start?
- On Monday.
Anna wanted to have a word
with me. - Princess!
What does it depict?
Is something wrong?
What's going on here?
- What do you mean?
Why am I here?
Why do you think?
It's been washed clean.
But it's so tight.
This castle is my home. I hope
you take good care of the garden.
Student. - Yes. On Monday
we'll get a new gardener.
We operate on three patients.
Counsellor Soininen's next of kin -
and two of our own patients, the
first one being Anna Lappalainen.
What the hell?
- Princess gave up her turn...
Kuronen has been here longer
and has already been sedated.
Let's start. I'm in a hurry
and they all need treatment.
The journey into the Nobel-winning
world of lobotomy begins.
We also need chloroform.
At least we have an eager patient.
Also theologians laughed
at my eagerness to speak.
Called me an atheist.
Myself, I experience godliness
on a larger scale.
That made me want to speak...
What we get here is just
a shadowplay of the entity.
That I can see.
Maybe...
Maybe I just lacked strength to
work it all out without anguish.
With a clear head.
I need a scalpel and a drill.
A historical moment
in our hospital.
Let's start again.
It's time for the 40th
cigarette of the day.
Now Oiva gives Princess a massage.
Royals have
diplomatic immunity.
Here's some dough, Oiva.
Buy a cake, lemonade, 20 jelly
doughnuts and two evening papers.
Princess is leaving
for the Riviera.
Here's for the Daddy.
Is the piece big enough?
Prince Henry, I hope you
invited Ivan the Terrible.
Yes, I did.
- But he won't come.
A doughnut.
- Thank you.
He enters the stadium
holding an Olympic torch.
The audience welcomes a man
who has won nine gold medals.
THE YEAR 1952
The audience is standing
and clapping for Paavo Nurmi -
whose running still has the mark
of a gold medalist.
There are lines on his face -
but the rhythm is the same
that crushed world records.
Lobotomy surgeon Makela has been
busy. Fortunately he comes soon.
I'd rather he stayed away. There
has been controversy about results.
We have seen it here too.
- What would be a better cure?
To go along with the patients'
delusions, Prince Henry?
What are you afraid of?
That Princess... Anna Lappalainen
exposes your own insignificance?
The royal couple of Denmark...
They are in Finland and the
President stands in for Princess.
Today Princess is not allowed to
leave the premises of the manor.
I told her that she couldn't
walk freely today.
Let's split and look for her.
It has to stop here.
Christina...
Great.
Johan, you are asked for.
What do you think?
- Is that a trick?
No.
This is terrible.
Should I call the police?
- Of course.
Denmark's royal couple
inaugurates art exhibition
Who's the woman that stands
on a rock naked like a dervish?
She is Hellish Manda
or Havis Amanda.
Ashamed she is as she holds her
tummy. Has she eaten at all?
Naked she stands.
This is not allowed
in my royal entourage.
Drive those crazy seagulls away.
Princess dances for the sea.
Waiter! Dom Perignon.
- I'll take cognac.
It keeps the tapeworm calm.
- I don't want to keep it calm.
Champagne. I drink nothing else.
But I enjoy other things too.
My doctor prescribed me coitus.
Don't worry.
I have millions.
My mother is an actress
at the Royal Theatre.
I am Princess.
A true princess.
What is your name?
- Gustav.
Baroness Christina von Heyroth.
This is enough, thank you.
I'm getting drowsy.
Would you like to learn to drink
champagne from my belly button?
Help. You brute.
Disgusting.
Go away. Devil!
Get out of here,
barbarian peasant.
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
You're not allowed
to cross this line. Stop!
It comes from here.
The deep muscles.
You remember still
the harem in Monaco.
At the party Emperor Wilhelm II
and the Empress of Athens, my ma.
You remember well
the happy days of yore.
The deep muscles. You must
think about who you're singing to.
I sing to my most beloved one.
KAROLINA MEDICAL INSTITUTE
STOCKHOLM
We come this far
and the king isn't at home.
The king wasn't at home.
- Bad luck.
My treatment stops here. My
doctor prescribed me coitus.
I try to follow the prescription on
holidays too. - You can sleep here.
You're travelling tomorrow.
Do you have the tickets? - Yes.
Sleep well.
Good night.
Tomorrow we go home and pick up
my heirlooms from Nikolai II's era.
That will take us to England.
To Buckingham Palace.
HELSINKI, FINLAND
Jewelry, watch and music box have
been here since the revolution.
My great uncle Boris Tretjakov
was a relative of Nikolai II.
He brought the valuables here
but he died. I'm his only heir.
My lawyer Alfred Lonka said that
I could pick them up from here.
I'm extremely rich
and my family has millions.
There has been some trouble
with the shareholders.
Check that the valuables are here.
I must travel to England.
The tickets and my passport
are here.
My friend Baroness von Heyroth
sits there.
Just a moment.
I'll get the bank manager.
We need your personal data.
Can I have your name?
Anita Eleanoora...
Anita Eleanoora Lappalainen.
My friend and I
are both of noble birth.
My name may be misleading
as I was adopted.
Very artistic.
These fingers have truly
played the piano.
Could we still have
your address?
Kellokoski manor.
Can I have my inheritance now?
We are in a hurry.
They are here. I hope you
come as soon as possible.
HoorayI HoorayI
They all wind up at home.
- Princess. Coffee is being served.
All right. Home sweet home.
You look pretty.
Did you have a nice journey?
What's wrong with you?
Christina!
Help me.
I can't take it any more.
Let's take it out of me.
Does it have to happen
in the water? - Help me.
Here.
Watch the door.
Don't let the nurses in.
Careful now.
Only the bad blood out.
Christina!
Christina!
Can I come in now?
Christina!
Help.
Help me.
Saastamoinen drowned himself
in the river. I couldn't stop him.
Everything's ready.
I called
the National Board Of Health.
They're discontinuing operations
because of controversial results.
They are testing
chlorpromazine based medicines.
They call it
a chemical straitjacket.
They don't recommend operations
but hospitals make the decision.
What shall we do?
- We don't have a better treatment.
For God's sake. I cannot
participate in this butchery.
I hope the others feel the same.
- You know what that means?
Yes.
I'm ready to quit right away.
Me too.
- And me.
THE YEAR 1954
Happy birthday, Princess,
happy birthday to you.
Come and have cake.
Also from upstairs.
Oiva has started talking. Many
say that it's because of Princess.
Princess helped Oiva
get out of his shell.
Oiva can go home soon.
Isn't that wonderful?
Here's your evening medicine.
Enter, please.
Pour it in a glass, student.
I came to thank you.
The bank has made a considerable
donation to the hospital.
One reason being patient
Lappalainen's positive influence -
on the bank's clientele
and the villagers.
My royal aim
is to help those in need.
This is good for the tapeworm.
We've been thinking...
- The reception is over.
Anna Lappalainen.
- Princess.
You'll move out of here.
After six nights
you'll get a new home in Nikkila.
But this is my home. - They are
reorganizing the hospital.
Some patients
have to be relocated.
Those from other municipalities.
You are from Helsinki.
- Originally from England.
This is my palace
and I'm a private person!
I'm sorry.
Goodbye then, student.
Goodbye then...
...Princess.
Ciao, Principessa.
Don't be sad, Daddy.
I'll visit this place often.
I almost forgot.
This is so wrong.
The staff has been planning
a petition and even countermeasures.
Don't cry no tears, Prince Henry.
I have lived in my summer palace
long enough.
It's time to check
my winter palace.
From Princess.
I have a dream to go
on a trip with you. - With me?
NIKKILA MENTAL INSTITUTE 1988
No, with this lady here.
What does competitor C say?
My dream is to have
a clever head for once.
That's your dream?
Do you have any idea
when it will come true?
An emergency in the ward.
How is Princess doing?
I'm not Princess.
I'm Anna Lappalainen.
A monument was erected for
"Princess" Anna Lappalainen in 1995-
on the grounds of
Kellokoski hospital.
I sway you and listen
I tuck you safely in
I sway you
and it's late in the evening
I hear the waves rushing in
don't be afraid of the dark
many candles give you light
at last no one can
follow you there
although you had to leave
at night just go on
even if it's so vast and immense
towards a shore of light
and my boat full of songs
you'll go with the knowledge
you're no longer afraid
as there are many candles there
and at last no one
can follow you there
don't be afraid of the dark
many candles give you light
sleep if you're tired and weary
I will be still awake beside you
and at last no one
can follow you there
it's comforting for me to know
that there's everything
for you there
Translation: Kalle Niemi