Ikitie

Acting: 8 /Story: 7 /Production values: 6 /Suspence - Thriller level: 7 /Action: 0 /Mystery - unknown: 0 /Romance level: 6 /Film noir ~ neo-noir density: none /Comedy elements: 0 /Overall: 7

I'm so grateful that I kept watching once I realized I'll be reading captions. Please continue if you have to do the same. It's absolutely worth it!

A true story is always a difficult one to tell and to stay true to the truth of it. A man who seems to keep on losing everything that makes life worth living for. A man who sticks to what he believes. A true hero, a man of courage, high values and morals. A man willing to stand up again and again. A man seldom found today. Be blessed and enjoy.

Ikitie by Antti Tuuri is a seriously great book about a man forcefully deported from Finland to Soviet Union after civil war. Unfortunately this movie fails to bring the epic story to life. It may not be wise or fair to compare a movie to the book it is based on, but this movie could have been so much more if it would have been done the right way. I wish the movie could have been twice as long so it would include all the key scenes that builds up the characters and the story.

The movie and book is called The eternal road, which was a route used by Lapuan liike to deport suspected communists to Soviet Union. In the film the story about the route was basically left out (one of the best part), and in the mean time so was all the possible scenes that would build up the character of Jussi Ketola, and gives the reader insight what Jussi Ketola is all about. In fact, all the characters in this movie are very poorly built, and so is the story. The film is just scenes and takes that are not explained at all, and do not even sum up as a story.

I wonder if my mistake was to read the book first, but this movie just made my heart ache by how poorly it was made. It looks great and the cast is good, sure, but it is just a weird combination of scenes that make no sense. Tommi Korpela is the perfect actor to play the role of Ketola, and I strongly believe this would have been the role of a lifetime for him.

Very good movie. The story is awful but it was shown without excess, not overdoing the gruesome aspects and yet not saving anything. Good direction, edition and casting. The actors had done a good job. Nice work in showing the time and uses: set decoration, costume design, makeup. Nothing is out of tone. Whenever you hear someone saying socialism is what we need, make them watch this movie. Noone needs socialism, no matter if in the russian way or the nazi one, nor Cuban, Chinese or any kind of socialism. And noone needs any kind of politics that take away your rights. If you need spies and violence to keep people's will, then you know it's not good.

PD I knew I've already seen the actress that play Sarah. I thought she was American because she sounds very American. I've just checked on her and she's the star of Borgen, the excelent Danish tv show!

It is difficult to live in a life that has been forced and worse than it is to be accused of the the worst qualities in existence throughout history, but if this story which full of patience and the brutality of man was real that means the world is bigger than imagined in our minds