Guerre d'hiver

How about one of the greatest war movies from any country? Might have even influenced some of the recent US warmovies to look more realistic with violence and the gritty and dirty look. Always seemed strange how clean the soldiers looked in old warmovies over here. Should be watched by almost everyone to learn some history. Not sure how few Americans know about the Finns kicking Soviet ass much less even where Finland is. Many thanks to you guys for this great movie. Heard there is a Swedish copy with extra scenes I hope to see also. Only complaint is I don't speak Finnish and sometimes had to rewind to see what they said as I got caught up with the combat action.

The subject is the little-known war between Finland and Russia in WWII. It is hard to imagine such a small country standing up against mighty Russia, but it happened. You get a vivid sense of the despair and carnage of fighting against overwhelming odds. The random nature of combat also strikes hard. The visuals are graphic and stunning without being over dramatized. The craziness of war is brought home by a Finnish soldier who laughingly lights up a cigarette after having his uniform set aflame by a Russian tank. Quiet moments off the battlefield intersperse the intense battle scenes. If you are a war movie fan then this is a must-see movie!

Reviewed was the English sub-titled version. For anyone primarily fluent in English it is quite interesting to hear dialogue in Finnish, a language far removed from English.

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.

This is an excellent film, brutally honest and tightly reality-bound depiction of the defense of Finland against a better equipped, many times larger, but (fortunately!) poorly led Soviet army, in a bone-chilling arctic winter. Like an image of what a hell frozen over would be like.

Though I am a Finn, and understand the language, out of interest I watched the film with English subtitles. I was dismayed to discover how much was lost in the translation; the subtitles are more like short summaries of the gist of what is being said, without any of the flair and flavour.

As such, the film is a bit spartan and bleak for Hollywood-saturated eyes, but so is war.

In all, an excellent war film, depicting the horror of war more tangibly than any other that I've seen, save for "The Thin Red Line".

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.