Winterkrieg

This movie explores the mostly unknown, and extremely bloody part of Second World War, the Soviet invasion of Finland in 1939-40. For 105 days the Finns fought a numerically superior enemy before the war ended with 25,000 Finns and over 200,000 Russians dead. Forget Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line, this movie shows what desperate war against overwhelming odds is about; desperation, lack of ammunition, constant bombardment, and nothing but your wits and your rifle to help you survive. Rightfully, the horrors of war are shown having effect on both sides; Finns are pinned down to the point of hardly living at all in dirt and constant fear of death, while Russians are mowed down in hundreds and mercilessly shot in the back. Excellent performances, good effects and marvelous photography makes this masterpiece not only one of the finest Finnish movies ever, but also a reminder that war is brutal, bloody, futile, and that it's the men on the front, Finnish or Russian, who have to die and bear the price for mankind's ultimate stupidity. Word of warning: violence is very graphic at times, especially in the close combat scenes.

This is a very nice movie about the winter war between Finnish and soviets in 1940. That is a shame to cut a lot of scenes. The quality of the DVD Belle and Blade Studios is awful. You loose a lot of important scenes, there are too true scenes which can help to understand this black period for Finland. Forget it and go to

"www.suomikauppa.fi" to get the true version.

I can't believe such a bad copy could exist in the country of cinema! So you have to watch Talvisota in the true long version 191 min.

My vote is 10 for the film and the European version and the American short version 1!

Why are the Europeans so much better at producing hard hitting, gritty war films than those in Hollywood? I wish I knew. Talvisota is an excellent example of this and is infinitely better than what has been produced in the U.S. If you have seen "Saving Private Ryan" or "Enemy at the Gates" and think you have seen the best...you're sadly mistaken. Talvisota and other such films as the German film "Stalingrad" or the French film "Capitaine Conan" are much better at presenting the absolute horror of war and the desperation felt by those men forced to face combat.

I am looking forward to the release of "Pearl Harbor" but am afraid it too will only reinforce what I have stated here.

Rent Talvisota and hopefully you will agree that it is one of the better war films in terms of accuracy and unvarnished drama.

Though I'm not a great fan of war-movies I must say this one made quite the impression. I can't really tell what it was but the story struck me.

Not only did this movie give you a story about the war itself, but also on the impact it had on the families afflicted by it. Excellent acting and a chillingly choice of filming made this movie one to remember. Forget about "saving private ryan" this movie shows a war in all it's roughness without the fancy actors doing their best to be the "brave soldier" (no offense to some, but lots to others). After Full Metal Jacket (to me a totally different genre but still for many a war-movie) one of the favourite movies in the "war-theme"

Not many know of our wars. I really would love to see a movie made that not only describes the conditions and events that led to these wars, but also describes how our parents and their parents experienced the events both in the front and behind. I liked "Saving Private Ryan". I loved "Band of Brothers". But still, it's "Talvisota" and "Tuntematon Sotilas" that really make me feel the weight of war, the effect it has on human mind. "Talvisota" also brings forth the families who saw their fathers, sons, even daughters go to war, with pitiful equipment, maybe even carrying personal rifle as the army could not support them with much else than the blue&white coquards (or what it is called) for their hats. And it shows the pain those families felt when their menfolk came back in wooden caskets or crippled for life. It's also a fine story of personal courage of the ordinary guy, of friendship and loyalty. And of pain and fear.

See it.

And seeing some Russian war-films could also make you see the world a bit brighter. They have filmed some fantastic stories.