Postia pappi Jaakobille (2009)

Leila Sten is serving a life sentence in prison, but is unexpectedly pardoned after twelve years. The condition, however, is that she move in with Jakob, a blind pastor, and help him around the house. In particular, she is supposed to read aloud and reply to the letters he receives from people seeking comfort all over the country. She is not enthusiastic about the task and does it very half-heartedly: she intercepts the mail carrier and makes him avoid Jakob’s house. Also, to reduce what she sees as very monotonous work, she withholds some letters from the pastor and throws them into the well instead. Jakob wonders why the mail is arriving less and less often and begins to doubt himself. One day, Jakob asks Leila to set the table with Chinese dishes because he is expecting guests. Wearing his full priestly robes, he hurries to the nearby church to perform what he believes will be a wedding ceremony. But nobody comes, and the church remains empty. Leila has followed him, and when he asks her to take him home, she says “no,” leaves, and abandons Jakob there alone. He feels ready to die and lies down on the church floor. Meanwhile, Leila packs her suitcase and calls a taxi. When the driver asks where she is going, she stays silent and returns to the house. There, she attempts suicide, but fails because Jakob returns to his house at that very moment. She now realizes that she must help the pastor and fabricates letters. She tells Jakob her own life story and about her crime: she murdered her sister Liisa’s husband because he beat Liisa. Just as Leila’s mother used to beat her and Liisa helped her, Leila wanted to help Liisa by committing this act. Jakob asks whether the letter has a sender. “Yes,” Leila says, and Jakob adds, “Leila Sten.” He hands her a stack of letters in which Liisa asks him to intercede for Leila’s pardon. As Leila begins to read the letters, Jakob goes to make tea and coffee and dies in his house.