Never Alone

The black-and-white image shows a microphone being set up and a tape recorder being turned on. A young journalist tries to get an older man who appears to be in distress to talk. With her very first question, she opens up a largely unresolved chapter of recent Finnish history: Although the country was not occupied by Nazis during the Second World War, Finland allowed Jews who had recently fled there to be deported. In colour flashbacks to 1938 and 1941/42, this film tells the true story of Abraham Stiller, a Jewish-Finnish textile manufacturer who was determined to protect Jewish immigrants from the Gestapo. Stiller employs them in his shop and hides them in his home. The film repeatedly jumps to the fictional interview, where Stiller feels guilty for not recognising the terrible extent of the deportations. For the young woman, this encounter with the contemporary witness leads to a different view of her country.