Tuntematon sotilas

I watched the 3 hour movie version first and I didn't understand half of what was going on due to there being a TON of characters and Finnish names that I have trouble remembering.

I also didn't know much about the Fin war against Russia so did some research on it.

But, I read the novel by Vaino Linna. Helped me to understand what was going on in here. I loved the book, was a blast to read. I had to write down all the character names to remember, but it helped a lot.

This version follows the book very closely too, down to exact quotes. The book however doesn't show what each character did on leave, so this added a bit there.

I have not seen the 1955 or 1980's version of The Unknown Soldier as I have had great difficulty in finding them... but I was told they are not as faithful to the book.

I feel urged to rewiew this mini series due to the fact that an 2 hour 15 minutes version (edited from this mini series) was released in 2018 and that was just a pale version of this masterpiece. If someone have seen that movie - forget it! This is the what you should watch! Here it is no heroes, no glory. Just pure realism who mirrors the life in northern Finland and Sovjet in the 40's, shows the horrors of war, but also the friendship between the soldiers. I'm 58 and have waited all my life for a worthy filming of Väinö Linnas Tuntematon Sotilas (Unknown Soldier) from 1954. That book is said to be the second most read book after the bible. Personal I equals this series with Band Of Brothers in quality and realism.

Forget Hollywood war movies and series.

It doesn't get more realistic than this. Here we follow a Finnish infantry unit in the continuation war, after Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.

Finland wanted to take back the territories they lost during the winter war 1939. The first filming came in the 50s, the next in the 80s and the last film in 2017. This is a mini-series based on the latest film. If you appreciate good realistic war movies, this is one of many good, made by the Finns!

I don't normally bother writing reviews, as scores speak for themselves, however, this is an exception.

This is a gritty and down to earth realistic look at warfare. No plot armor, no heroes, just people surviving the hells of war as best they can. It gives a unglamorous look into what normal people go through on the front line.

Without going into details, I can without a shadow of doubt say this is up there with BoB and other such series. The cast is phenomenal in every aspect. They feel like real people living in real circumstances.

It's just long enough to give the impact it needs to. Being based of real accounts and giving the material the honor it deserves really shows through the runtime.

From the first scene to the last, it's sneaked it's way into my top 10 of all time series up there with BoB, The Pacific etc. Feels like a Finnish Stalingrad of Iron Cross. If you have 5 hours to live, this isn't a terrible choice of viewing material and really delivers a memorable performance you wont soon forget.

I've never seen the movie, I almost watched it at the cinema. Years later, here I am, watching the mini series so five parts with 50 minutes each. The production itself is huge and phenomenal, the amount of detail if it's small or large they made an authentic World War 2 mini series/movie. One thing stood out the most, the realistic sets which was mostly forests and the way they used the light was the right choice as it wouldn't have been the same with fake light. Every single part of the production screams authentic and they want you to immerse yourself into the war and it feels like you're there with them.

The mini series is similar to Band of Brothers in how great it is, I know nothing can beat that masterpiece but this comes close to being on the same level. This is another section of the war, a very interesting one. We get to follow a couple of soldiers, most are young and we get to experience what they experience, how the events change them. It have been done before, the director and the cast make it a success. But the thing this movie and its story and characters do best is how realistic it is to what war probably was like. They never shine away from the realism, it's there from start to finish and it's a trip that I would like to go back to. Eero Aho as Rokka, the more experienced and older soldier quickly became my favorite. All the characters are perfect and brilliantly acted, but Eero's acting in this mini series is truly superb.

Aku Louhimies directed and cowrote the movie/mini series and he made a visual masterpiece. The musical score fits and it's fantastic. I really recommend this mini series, I didn't think it was going to be this good but it was a masterpiece.