| Portraits of Women | |
|---|---|
 Original Finnish film poster | |
| Directed by | Jörn Donner |
| Written by | Jörn Donner |
| Produced by | Arno Carlstedt Jörn Donner |
| Starring | Ritva Vepsä Jörn Donner Kirsti Wallasvaara Aarre Elo |
| Cinematography | Heikki Katajisto |
| Edited by | Jörn Donner |
| Music by | Claes af Geijerstam |
Production companies | FJ-Filmi Oy Jörn Donner Productions Oy |
| Distributed by | Finnkino Oy (Finland) Stockholm Film (Sweden) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | Finland |
| Language | Finnish |
| Budget | FIM 655,500[1] |
Portraits of Women (Finnish: Naisenkuvia) is a 1970 Finnish erotic comedy film written and directed by Jörn Donner. The film stars Donner himself as a pornographic film maker named Pertti who returns to Finland from the United States, having to work with miserably small budgets and with amateurish co-workers. The film was Donner's third consecutive film in which he himself played the male lead.[1]
The Finnish Board of Film Classification promptly granted the film a screening license, ordering the film to be placed in the extremely rare 30 percent tax bracket and to cut six parts of the sex scenes. Despite everything, three members of the board also would have liked to ban the film from under 18s.[1] However, after Donner complained about the decision of the board, the tax was reduced to 10 percent and cuts were ordered to only two places for a total of one minute.[1] In Finland, the board's decision attracted great attention, and Donner himself took advantage of the uproar by writing the book Tapaus Naisenkuvia ("The Case of Portraits of Women").[2]
With 316,859 viewers, Portraits of Women was the second most watched film of 1970 after Akseli and Elina in Finnish cinemas.[3] The film caused a lot of controversy when it came out, including showing Donner's erect penis shot from a distance for a few seconds, and the film received mixed reviews from critics. Despite the controversy, the film's cinematographer Heikki Katajisto won the Jussi Award for best cinematography in 1971.[4]
- ^ a b c d "Naisenkuvia". Elonet (in Finnish). Retrieved 19 October 2023.
- ^ Suomen kansallisfilmografia (in Finnish). Helsinki: Edita Oy. 1998. pp. 629–633.
- ^ "Suomen katsotuimmat elokuvat vuonna 1970 (ks. huomautukset!)". Elokuvauutiset.fi (in Finnish). 1 September 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
- ^ Jutila, Niko (25 January 2015). "Eniten Jussi-palkintoja voittaneet kuvaajat". Elokuvauutiset.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 19 October 2023.