Rukajärven tie

Ok, "Rukajärven tie" was indeed a great war-film with several astounding scenes, but something started to annoy me in the latter half of the film. Oh yeah: why do the "Ryssäs" die like flies and Finnish soldiers in slow-motion, like real heroes (which don't simply exist in war). Well, this is another veteran-pleaser from writer Antti Tuuri, but a lot better than "Talvisota" (Winter War). Very good, but not perfect.

Very well done film about the battle between Finland and Russia in the early stages of World War 2. Well shot, well acted and exceptionally moving. I found this film on DVD at Vidiots in Los Angeles. Never had heard of it before and found it to be a big treat. The label lists Vanguard Cinema has the distributor. I highly recommend it.

I liked this movie more than I liked Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line. For some reason it was able to capture better what the other movies were trying to capture. What I liked even more was that it was able to "cheat". Meaning it was able to make it look like there was a war going on with a few well taken shots and angles and sound effects, an inspiration for all aspiring filmmakers with no Hollywood money. =)

Before anyone can judge this movie, PLEASE take the time to consider others comments.

Well I personally love the movie dearly. It is in my blood, literally. A few years back my mother and I were invited to see this film at the Finnish Embassy in Ottawa. My mother being a Finlander thought this would be an interesting movie. We both very much enjoyed it and were dually haunted by this film. When my mother went back to Finland the other year to visit relatives with her mother, they discovered the true significance of this movie. It turns out that this movie is actually about my mothers grandfather. So my great grandfather and really as I loved this movie, it is a real understatement to what happened to him during the war. His real name was Perkkola Savinainen and the movie hardly shows his real escapades, or even his friendship to the Fin President, Mannerhaim. Even after the war, of what happened to my family, having to escape into Sweden to escape from being shipped to Siberia. This movie is honestly I believe a very very excellent movie and I will never forget it. Liisa Savinainen Mountain

I wrote the above comment in 2006 and as I have recently read through some of the comments, which I had not done before, I noticed that many people questioned the story and it's liability. PLEASE read other comments before you judge this movie, for it is a true story, again based on my great grandfather. I would really appreciate anyone not dismissing the plausibility of the story. The real events of that war are beyond the tellings of a movie. If anyone would truly like to know how he died, was from given the wrong blood years later after the war. He had been shot through the head, then skied it was about 50 miles, then received the transfusion of the wrong type.

I do understand that this movie is one of events that people don't really believe and yes I do find it is an understatement. I have several pictures from his tasks during the war.

It must be remembered that in Finnish history, the suffered many wars between both Russia and Sweden, the Germans and others. The Finns didn't support the Nazis but if your country is forced to defend themselves, and there was scarce any money for weapons.. The Germans did abuse the Finns, as many were sent to Italy. The numbers the Finns faced against the Russians sometimes were 20-1 and not in the Finns favour. War truly is a hard thing, and this movie tried to show something that had happened that many didn't know of.

Perhaps other readers may understand that it was not necessarily the wish of my family to have everything played over for us again. My grandfather and great uncle were in his platoon that were featured in the movie, though the names and relations were changed, I was able to watch them fight and suffer just like I was actually there.

ABOUT MOVIE:

I mainly agree with other writers here. Some explosions could have been better, some serious tactics planning would have helped and they could have left out the "look, we fight in slow motion with tragic soundtrack, isn't war just hell?" part. But altogether a good war movie. Beautiful photography, good acting, good actor directing, good screenplay, raises healthy questions of war etc.

I liked this one when I first saw it, although I was a bit disappointed. Few years earlier Director Olli Saarela made about hour long short movie called Lunastus, which is still in my top 50 (of the 15,000+ movies I've seen).

ABOUT HISTORY:

A Danish writer summarized couple years ago: "...and the Finns were heroic, after all (which they were, but was it worth the losses?)" Well, the Finns could not just surrender and wait for somebody else to free them.

I was born in 1969, and I'm happy and grateful that I've been able to live relatively free life, in an independent and a democratic government country. Finland went through three different wars during the World War II, and every time it was about staying independent.

The Soviets started the Winter War by attacking Finland. During those days the Allies, the British and the French offered to send troops, but this was canceled since the Swedish would not let those troops travel trough Swedish soil. After 105 days peace was met and _Finnish soil_ (meaning PART OF OUR COUNTRY!) was given to the bullies. People were driven from their homes. During the peace Soviet Union continued to make more demands. I am always amazed how our neighbors in Scandinavia seem to think Finland, a country of 3 and 1/2 million, was provoking here and attacking there to gain more land and power just because they were so greedy back then.

Hello?!

Finland was friendly with Germany, who had already helped the Republic during the Civil War of 1918. The Germans told the Finns of their plan to attack the Soviet Union. Finland and Germany signed a pact of war against the Soviet Union, who continued to make their demands trough the whole peacetime. Continuation war started in 1941, few days after Germany attacked Soviet Union. Finnish troops took back their land and some more, and then ceased advancing to hold lines which held until the major Soviet offensive of 1944. The Finns first retreated with speed, but after few weeks stopped the offensive, and destroyed few Soviet divisions again. Peace was met, but the Soviets demanded that the Finns had to turn against their comrades in arms, the Germans. The Lapland War ended when last Germans retreated to Norway just before the end of war in Europe.

Few sane points to keep in mind:

1. Without Soviet aggression there would not have been war in the first place.

2. Without the Soviet Union taking land and demanding for more the Finns would not have made pacts with Germany and advanced to Russia. Think about a part of your country where lives about 15% of your people, would you be very willing to let it just go?

3. Germany and Finland were friendly before Nazis, Germany helped Finland in Civil war of 1918. Finland relied to Nazi Germany as their only friend to help against the Soviet threat during the peace between the Winter and the Continuation War.

4. Finland did not help Germany against the Western Allies. Finland did not help Germany with the siege of Leningrad or with other German strategic goals.

5. For the Finns it was only about staying independent. That they achieved. Was it worth the victims? Well, yes, if the whole country including even the great majority of Finnish communists wants to stay independent and free and is determined to fight for it.