Letters to Father Jacob (2009) - full transcript
With few options, newly pardoned convict Leila agrees to work as an assistant to a blind pastor. Father Jacob spends his days answering the letters of the needy, which Leila finds pointless. But when the letters stop, the pastor is devastated and Leila finds herself cast in a new role.
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---
KINOTAR PRESENTS
Twelve years without leave.
Not a single application for leave.
Didn't feel like it.
No family visits, either.
Didn't feel like it.
Do you have an idea where
you will go from here?
It was supposed to be a life sentence.
- You were pardoned.
Listen, Leila.
We received a letter.
Regarding a job as Mr. Jacob
Ljube's personal assistant.
He is looking for someone
who could start immediately.
It's a quiet place, and the job is easy.
You would have a roof over your head.
- Haven't asked for anything.
Tomorrow morning,
Leila. Where will you go?
To your sister's?
A KLAUS HAR? FILM
LETTERS TO FATHER JACOB
Hello.
I'm glad you could come.
Did you have a good trip?
Leila Sten?
- That's me.
I am Father Jacob.
I'm glad you're here.
I'm sure you would like a cup of tea.
Your room is at the
other end of the house.
I hope you like it here.
I won't be staying very long.
And I don't do housework.
I need help with reading
mail and answering letters.
Mrs. Br?gge, my neighbor,
used to help me, -
but she is in the nursing home now -
in the city.
Alright.
Help yourself, please.
We have quite a bit to do here.
It's been a long time since
somebody read the mail.
Letters to Father Jacob!
And here comes some more.
Come!
Letters to Father Jacob!
Well, well.
You have a new bike.
Yup.
- Quite a ride.
Brand-new. I'm surprised you noticed.
Any letters today?
Well...
A couple.
I see.
Leila and I were just having tea.
Leila?
The lifer?
A former lifer. She was pardoned.
Great.
I wonder what's burdening
their minds today.
Take this one and read it to me, please.
Go ahead.
"Dear Father Jacob."
"My grandson is getting
out of the army soon."
"I worry about him finding
a job and his place in life."
"As I worry about him constantly, -
please say a prayer for him."
Is there a name and address?
Yes. Sinikka Aaltonen, Helsinki.
Write her name and
address on an envelope.
St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians.
Chapter four, verses six and seven.
The index. It's in the New Testament.
"Have no anxiety about anything..."
- "Have no anxiety." That's right.
Put it in the letter.
"Have no anxiety about anything, -
but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving -
Let your requests be made known to God."
"And the peace of God, which
passes all understanding, -
will keep your hearts and your minds -
in Christ Jesus."
Or something along those lines?
Yeah.
Write: With Loving Regards,
Father Jacob and Leila Sten.
For Christ's sake.
I suppose Father Jacob will do.
Please read the next one.
Put them under the bed, please.
Those are all intercession letters.
Do you know what that means, Leila?
Nope.
People ask us to pray for them,
and we bring them closer to God.
It's important that
people know and feel -
that there is someone
watching over them -
and that none of God's children
are useless or forgotten.
Alrighty.
All these letters are
valuable and important.
We take these letters to heart.
- You do.
I what?
- You take them to heart.
Yes.
I take them to heart and
ask God to pardon people.
It was you.
You requested my pardon.
Well, -
I'm only an instrument of God's mercy.
Letters to Father Jacob!
Letters to Father Jacob!
Where is Jacob?
Where is he?
Why do you ask?
What have you done to him?
Let thy will, good and just, be done.
In the name of the Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
"I'm writing to you, Jacob, as I'm
still having problems with my studies."
"I feel I've chosen the right path, but
my teacher is giving me a hard time."
"He constantly taunts and belittles me."
"I don't know if I will be
able to continue studies."
"Please say a prayer for me."
No name or address.
Heavenly Father.
Bless and keep Pekka.
And a special blessing
for Pekka's teacher.
Help him open his eyes and heart.
Give him the wisdom to encourage
rather than discourage Pekka.
In the name of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Pekka Korpela, Lahti. An old friend.
Some people write only
once, others several times.
Then there are those -
who never stop writing.
Listen, Leila...
Please read the next one.
The last one.
No more letters?
- Nope.
Not too many burdened minds today.
What is it?
- There's money in it.
From Minna Salminen?
Yes.
No letter?
"Dear Father Jacob, I have
arrived safely in the north."
"As I write this, the children
are playing with their grandma."
"They are able to laugh again."
"I have had time to think
about things without fear, -
and I can see now that my husband used
violence to control me all these years."
"He had all the money, and I
barely had enough to buy food."
"That's when you came
along and helped me."
"Thank you for lending me the
money to make the trip possible.'"
"It was more than I needed."
"I'm sure you prayed
even though I didn't ask."
"Thankfully Yours, Minna Salminen"
It's in the corner. The top drawer.
How much should there be?
- What?
How much money did you send her?
- All of it.
All that was in here?
- Yes. All my savings.
How does one pay that back?
I didn't think she would.
I doubt I'll ever need all that.
She needed it.
Leila!
What happened?
I'm just going to the bathroom.
I see.
The light switch is next to the door.
It should work.
Shut up!
Shut up.
You almost killed me.
- You were going to steal Jacob's money.
I came to see if he was alive.
- Why wouldn't he be?
Jacob is a good man.
Go back to where you came from,
and leave the old man alone. You...
Is he coming already?
- No, he's not.
He turned away.
I see...
Well, I suppose you can't
expect to get mail ever day.
How can you take it?
I'm sure there will be mail.
I'm talking about the damn
roof. Water's pouring in.
Oh.
I've gotten used to it.
Can?t they find a decent
place for an old man?
They offered me a place, -
but I can't leave.
How would I know -
that...all the letters
would find their way to me?
Nobody's going to die if they don't.
I've set the table with my finest china.
Please help me, and lay
the table with the silver.
The guests should be here any minute.
Jacob!
A priest can't be late.
Late for what?
- There's an important service.
I hope they haven't been waiting there long.
- Where?
There's no one here.
- Good.
How would it look if I kept
the wedding couple waiting?
The wedding couple?
I have to prepare.
And pray.
Shall I find the text for you?
- No, no. I know this one.
This is not the first time...
...I marry a couple.
And not the last...
Why don?t you go stand at the door.
Tell me when the guests arrive.
"...if I deliver my
body to be burned, -
but have not love, I gain nothing."
"Love is patient and kind; -
Love is not jealous or boastful; -
it is not arrogant or rude."
"Love does not insist on its own way; -
it is not irritable or resentful; -
it does not rejoice at wrong,
but rejoices in the right."
"Love bears all things,
believes all things, -
hopes all things, endures all things."
- Nobody's coming.
There isn?t any wedding.
Oh.
Maybe it was a baptism, after all.
You don't need that many
people for a baptism.
You only need the godparents.
If it's an emergency...
...not even them.
No one?
- No.
I see.
Who needs -
an old blind priest anyway...
No one.
I've carried this with
me since I was a child.
I've asked people to read it to me.
A certain chapter, verse or psalm.
And I learned them by heart
and preached to people.
I thought -
it was my mission -
to pray for people.
What was I thinking?
I don't even get letters anymore.
So that's what this is all about?
If people don't ask for
help, it means God has no...
No...
That I'm not needed anymore.
Maybe that's the way it is.
When I tried to pray a moment ago -
I couldn't find... ? The words.
If you don?t feel like
praying, don't pray.
You applied for my pardon
just so you could save someone.
I'm not going to be one
of your charity cases.
Could you take me home?
Home?
Yes.
Could you help me back to the house?
No.
Leila.
Leila!
Please send a cab to the rectory.
Yeah.
Where to?
Leila.
You are still here.
Give me the mail!
- You?re crazy!.
You haven't brought mail for weeks,
dammit. You're stealing Jacob?s letters.
Hey!
How can I bring you
mail that isn't there?
Letters that no one sends.
Tell me.
Tomorrow you'll come to the house
and shout like you normally do.
I see.
What about the mail?
Where do I get the mail?
What do you mean?
There's no mail.
You'll shout. Tomorrow. In the yard.
I brought you tea.
I'll put it here.
"If I give away all I have, -
and if I deliver my
body to be burned, -
but -
have not love, -
I gain nothing."
All these letters, Leila...
I thought I was doing
all this for Him, -
but maybe it was the other way around.
Maybe it was all for me.
Maybe it was His way of holding onto me.
Of leading me home.
Letters to Father Jacob!
Letters...
Letters to Father Jacob!
Well?
What's burdening their minds today?
Dear Father Jacob.
Could you say a prayer.
My dog ran away.
I wish it would come back.
Thanks.
Best Regards, Anu.
Is there an address?
- No.
There's one more.
Dear Father Jacob.
You often talk about
God and His forgiveness.
My mother used to hit me.
My big sister protected me.
When I was a baby, -
my sister would get between
my mother and the crib.
My mother would fly into fits of rage,
and my sister would take the blows for me.
"Don't hit the baby!"
she shouted to Mom.
My brave sister.
She took the blows for me.
I grew to be twice her size,
but she still protected me.
Growing up, I liked men?s work.
I became stronger and stronger.
I learned to take care of myself.
My sister found a new abuser.
She married a man who
used to beat her up.
He often beat her badly.
But she always went back to him.
I once went to my sister's house, -
and I saw how he was shoving her.
He beat her.
He took a break.
He beat her some more.
Rested. And beat her again.
I hid outside.
I was watching from behind a tree.
Then I flew into a fit of rage.
I went inside.
And stabbed him... With a knife.
I killed him.
I wanted something better for my
sister and ended up ruining her life.
Who can forgive someone like me?
That's all I wanted to ask.
Is there a name on it?
Yes.
Leila Sten?
"What is impossible with
men is possible with God."
There's something I want you to see.
You asked if I was the one
who requested your pardon.
"Dear Father Jacob."
"Forgive me for writing about
the same thing yet again, -
but I can't stop
thinking about my sister."
Remember how I told you that
some people write several times?
Your sister Liisa never stopped writing.
Take your time. I'll go make tea for us.
And coffee.
Forgive me for writing about
the same thing yet again, -
but I can't stop
thinking about my sister.
She was the only one who saw my pain.
I tried to contact her in
prison, but she wouldn?t see me.
All my letters came back unopened..
I don't know if we'll ever meet again.
I can't stand living not
knowing about my sister.
She's my only sister.
Without her, I'm all alone.
That's why I'm turning to
you. Maybe you can help.
I would be happy just
to know she was well.
I would have peace in my heart.
Best Regards, Liisa Sten.
---
KINOTAR PRESENTS
Twelve years without leave.
Not a single application for leave.
Didn't feel like it.
No family visits, either.
Didn't feel like it.
Do you have an idea where
you will go from here?
It was supposed to be a life sentence.
- You were pardoned.
Listen, Leila.
We received a letter.
Regarding a job as Mr. Jacob
Ljube's personal assistant.
He is looking for someone
who could start immediately.
It's a quiet place, and the job is easy.
You would have a roof over your head.
- Haven't asked for anything.
Tomorrow morning,
Leila. Where will you go?
To your sister's?
A KLAUS HAR? FILM
LETTERS TO FATHER JACOB
Hello.
I'm glad you could come.
Did you have a good trip?
Leila Sten?
- That's me.
I am Father Jacob.
I'm glad you're here.
I'm sure you would like a cup of tea.
Your room is at the
other end of the house.
I hope you like it here.
I won't be staying very long.
And I don't do housework.
I need help with reading
mail and answering letters.
Mrs. Br?gge, my neighbor,
used to help me, -
but she is in the nursing home now -
in the city.
Alright.
Help yourself, please.
We have quite a bit to do here.
It's been a long time since
somebody read the mail.
Letters to Father Jacob!
And here comes some more.
Come!
Letters to Father Jacob!
Well, well.
You have a new bike.
Yup.
- Quite a ride.
Brand-new. I'm surprised you noticed.
Any letters today?
Well...
A couple.
I see.
Leila and I were just having tea.
Leila?
The lifer?
A former lifer. She was pardoned.
Great.
I wonder what's burdening
their minds today.
Take this one and read it to me, please.
Go ahead.
"Dear Father Jacob."
"My grandson is getting
out of the army soon."
"I worry about him finding
a job and his place in life."
"As I worry about him constantly, -
please say a prayer for him."
Is there a name and address?
Yes. Sinikka Aaltonen, Helsinki.
Write her name and
address on an envelope.
St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians.
Chapter four, verses six and seven.
The index. It's in the New Testament.
"Have no anxiety about anything..."
- "Have no anxiety." That's right.
Put it in the letter.
"Have no anxiety about anything, -
but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving -
Let your requests be made known to God."
"And the peace of God, which
passes all understanding, -
will keep your hearts and your minds -
in Christ Jesus."
Or something along those lines?
Yeah.
Write: With Loving Regards,
Father Jacob and Leila Sten.
For Christ's sake.
I suppose Father Jacob will do.
Please read the next one.
Put them under the bed, please.
Those are all intercession letters.
Do you know what that means, Leila?
Nope.
People ask us to pray for them,
and we bring them closer to God.
It's important that
people know and feel -
that there is someone
watching over them -
and that none of God's children
are useless or forgotten.
Alrighty.
All these letters are
valuable and important.
We take these letters to heart.
- You do.
I what?
- You take them to heart.
Yes.
I take them to heart and
ask God to pardon people.
It was you.
You requested my pardon.
Well, -
I'm only an instrument of God's mercy.
Letters to Father Jacob!
Letters to Father Jacob!
Where is Jacob?
Where is he?
Why do you ask?
What have you done to him?
Let thy will, good and just, be done.
In the name of the Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
"I'm writing to you, Jacob, as I'm
still having problems with my studies."
"I feel I've chosen the right path, but
my teacher is giving me a hard time."
"He constantly taunts and belittles me."
"I don't know if I will be
able to continue studies."
"Please say a prayer for me."
No name or address.
Heavenly Father.
Bless and keep Pekka.
And a special blessing
for Pekka's teacher.
Help him open his eyes and heart.
Give him the wisdom to encourage
rather than discourage Pekka.
In the name of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Pekka Korpela, Lahti. An old friend.
Some people write only
once, others several times.
Then there are those -
who never stop writing.
Listen, Leila...
Please read the next one.
The last one.
No more letters?
- Nope.
Not too many burdened minds today.
What is it?
- There's money in it.
From Minna Salminen?
Yes.
No letter?
"Dear Father Jacob, I have
arrived safely in the north."
"As I write this, the children
are playing with their grandma."
"They are able to laugh again."
"I have had time to think
about things without fear, -
and I can see now that my husband used
violence to control me all these years."
"He had all the money, and I
barely had enough to buy food."
"That's when you came
along and helped me."
"Thank you for lending me the
money to make the trip possible.'"
"It was more than I needed."
"I'm sure you prayed
even though I didn't ask."
"Thankfully Yours, Minna Salminen"
It's in the corner. The top drawer.
How much should there be?
- What?
How much money did you send her?
- All of it.
All that was in here?
- Yes. All my savings.
How does one pay that back?
I didn't think she would.
I doubt I'll ever need all that.
She needed it.
Leila!
What happened?
I'm just going to the bathroom.
I see.
The light switch is next to the door.
It should work.
Shut up!
Shut up.
You almost killed me.
- You were going to steal Jacob's money.
I came to see if he was alive.
- Why wouldn't he be?
Jacob is a good man.
Go back to where you came from,
and leave the old man alone. You...
Is he coming already?
- No, he's not.
He turned away.
I see...
Well, I suppose you can't
expect to get mail ever day.
How can you take it?
I'm sure there will be mail.
I'm talking about the damn
roof. Water's pouring in.
Oh.
I've gotten used to it.
Can?t they find a decent
place for an old man?
They offered me a place, -
but I can't leave.
How would I know -
that...all the letters
would find their way to me?
Nobody's going to die if they don't.
I've set the table with my finest china.
Please help me, and lay
the table with the silver.
The guests should be here any minute.
Jacob!
A priest can't be late.
Late for what?
- There's an important service.
I hope they haven't been waiting there long.
- Where?
There's no one here.
- Good.
How would it look if I kept
the wedding couple waiting?
The wedding couple?
I have to prepare.
And pray.
Shall I find the text for you?
- No, no. I know this one.
This is not the first time...
...I marry a couple.
And not the last...
Why don?t you go stand at the door.
Tell me when the guests arrive.
"...if I deliver my
body to be burned, -
but have not love, I gain nothing."
"Love is patient and kind; -
Love is not jealous or boastful; -
it is not arrogant or rude."
"Love does not insist on its own way; -
it is not irritable or resentful; -
it does not rejoice at wrong,
but rejoices in the right."
"Love bears all things,
believes all things, -
hopes all things, endures all things."
- Nobody's coming.
There isn?t any wedding.
Oh.
Maybe it was a baptism, after all.
You don't need that many
people for a baptism.
You only need the godparents.
If it's an emergency...
...not even them.
No one?
- No.
I see.
Who needs -
an old blind priest anyway...
No one.
I've carried this with
me since I was a child.
I've asked people to read it to me.
A certain chapter, verse or psalm.
And I learned them by heart
and preached to people.
I thought -
it was my mission -
to pray for people.
What was I thinking?
I don't even get letters anymore.
So that's what this is all about?
If people don't ask for
help, it means God has no...
No...
That I'm not needed anymore.
Maybe that's the way it is.
When I tried to pray a moment ago -
I couldn't find... ? The words.
If you don?t feel like
praying, don't pray.
You applied for my pardon
just so you could save someone.
I'm not going to be one
of your charity cases.
Could you take me home?
Home?
Yes.
Could you help me back to the house?
No.
Leila.
Leila!
Please send a cab to the rectory.
Yeah.
Where to?
Leila.
You are still here.
Give me the mail!
- You?re crazy!.
You haven't brought mail for weeks,
dammit. You're stealing Jacob?s letters.
Hey!
How can I bring you
mail that isn't there?
Letters that no one sends.
Tell me.
Tomorrow you'll come to the house
and shout like you normally do.
I see.
What about the mail?
Where do I get the mail?
What do you mean?
There's no mail.
You'll shout. Tomorrow. In the yard.
I brought you tea.
I'll put it here.
"If I give away all I have, -
and if I deliver my
body to be burned, -
but -
have not love, -
I gain nothing."
All these letters, Leila...
I thought I was doing
all this for Him, -
but maybe it was the other way around.
Maybe it was all for me.
Maybe it was His way of holding onto me.
Of leading me home.
Letters to Father Jacob!
Letters...
Letters to Father Jacob!
Well?
What's burdening their minds today?
Dear Father Jacob.
Could you say a prayer.
My dog ran away.
I wish it would come back.
Thanks.
Best Regards, Anu.
Is there an address?
- No.
There's one more.
Dear Father Jacob.
You often talk about
God and His forgiveness.
My mother used to hit me.
My big sister protected me.
When I was a baby, -
my sister would get between
my mother and the crib.
My mother would fly into fits of rage,
and my sister would take the blows for me.
"Don't hit the baby!"
she shouted to Mom.
My brave sister.
She took the blows for me.
I grew to be twice her size,
but she still protected me.
Growing up, I liked men?s work.
I became stronger and stronger.
I learned to take care of myself.
My sister found a new abuser.
She married a man who
used to beat her up.
He often beat her badly.
But she always went back to him.
I once went to my sister's house, -
and I saw how he was shoving her.
He beat her.
He took a break.
He beat her some more.
Rested. And beat her again.
I hid outside.
I was watching from behind a tree.
Then I flew into a fit of rage.
I went inside.
And stabbed him... With a knife.
I killed him.
I wanted something better for my
sister and ended up ruining her life.
Who can forgive someone like me?
That's all I wanted to ask.
Is there a name on it?
Yes.
Leila Sten?
"What is impossible with
men is possible with God."
There's something I want you to see.
You asked if I was the one
who requested your pardon.
"Dear Father Jacob."
"Forgive me for writing about
the same thing yet again, -
but I can't stop
thinking about my sister."
Remember how I told you that
some people write several times?
Your sister Liisa never stopped writing.
Take your time. I'll go make tea for us.
And coffee.
Forgive me for writing about
the same thing yet again, -
but I can't stop
thinking about my sister.
She was the only one who saw my pain.
I tried to contact her in
prison, but she wouldn?t see me.
All my letters came back unopened..
I don't know if we'll ever meet again.
I can't stand living not
knowing about my sister.
She's my only sister.
Without her, I'm all alone.
That's why I'm turning to
you. Maybe you can help.
I would be happy just
to know she was well.
I would have peace in my heart.
Best Regards, Liisa Sten.