This famous Finnish novel by Linnankoski has been filmed five times, but only Stiller's adaptation seems to capture the intensity of one man's reckless quest for spiritual freedom. Olof (Lars Hanson) is a rather enigmatic vagabond, desperately trying to prove himself. After several unrequited romances, he meets Kyllikki (Edith Erastoff), a stuck-up farmer's daughter, who refuses him a red flower from her garden. His attempt to woo her through a daring ride down the rapids makes for a bravura cinematic episode with a montage technique predating Eisenstein. But this remarkable sequence also seems the confluence of the film's theme, namely the passionate struggle for spiritual uplift mirrored in the harsh terrain. "In Olof's turbulent progress," Peter Cowie notes, "we find reflected many aspects of Nordic life: the mingling of landscape, climate and emotion; the love/hate struggle involving man and the rugged nature surrounding him; and the yearning for escape from a humdrum existence, a desire that gives the character of Olof such charismatic appeal." The utter physicality of Song of the Scarlet Flower, the wild rivers and vast forests, enchanted contemporary audiences in over forty countries.