Laila (1958)

A fierce snowstorm sweeps across northern Norway. The settler Nielsen is fleeing a pack of wolves on his reindeer sled, accompanied by his wife and their only-days-old child. Suddenly, the sled plunges down a ravine. The couple are killed, but the infant is thrown clear and left lying in the snow. Soon, the child is found by the Sámi man Aslak, who takes her into his tent. Since he and his wife, Elli, have long wanted a child, they pass the girl off as their own and have her baptized under the name “Laila.” Unaware of her origins, Laila grows up among the Sámi, immersed in their culture. She learns to capture and tame wild reindeer. She is especially fond of her own reindeer, named “Sturmwind” (“Stormwind”). Laila grows into a beautiful young woman. She competes with “Sturmwind” in the annual reindeer race and wins, beating Mellet, who had been the clear favorite—and, as it happens, the man she is supposed to marry. At this point, she has no objection to the match—yet. But everything changes abruptly when she meets Anders Lind at the market in Kautokeino, a Norwegian merchant with a modern outlook. She soon feels irresistibly drawn to him, and Anders returns her love. However, Laila’s foster father cannot stand Anders. He has promised his daughter to Mellet and will not be swayed. After all, it is tradition for a Sámi girl to marry only a Sámi man. To see the man she loves again, Laila secretly takes a canoe down the dangerously swollen river to Kautokeino. The boat capsizes in the rapids. Unconscious, Laila is swept ashore. Although the young woman nearly lost her life on her adventure, the proud Aslak will not be moved. He continues to insist that Laila must marry Mellet. The girl agrees only reluctantly. Laila wants to meet Anders one last time, but he does not show up for their rendezvous. She cannot know that, on his way to meet her, Anders was intercepted by the jealous Mellet and pushed down a ravine. He survives, but it takes time for him to recover. The wedding day arrives. As the wedding party gathers, the proud groom and his prospective father-in-law wait for Laila, dressed in her festive finery. Suddenly, an uninvited guest bursts in on the wedding party—Anders Lind! A fierce confrontation between the two rivals follows. Anders gets the upper hand. Then he manages to corner Aslak and make him understand that the right of love is stronger. With a heavy heart, Aslak confesses how he and his wife came to have their “daughter,” and that he therefore has no right to force Laila into a marriage against her will. Laila is free—free to be with Anders.