June 1 9 4 1. As Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union, Finland sees this as a great opportunity to regain back its territory which the Soviet Army occupied in the Winter War. The Continuation War commences, and corporal Antero Rokka is one of the first to enlist in the Finnish Army, since he and his family became refugees and had to leave their farm on the Finnish territory that the Soviets annexed. The Finnish soldiers force the Soviet soldiers into retreat, cross the old Finnish-Soviet border mark, and even occupy the city of Petroskoi in Eastern Karelia. The next two years are bogged down in trench warfare, and many soldiers die, including the newly-wed Kariluoto and lieutenant Koskela. Exhausted by attrition, the Finnish soldiers are forced to evacuate. Finland signs an armistice with the Soviet Union, and numerous Finns become refugees from further land the Soviets annex.
Widely regarded as the best film adaptation of the eponymous historical fiction novel by Väinö Linna which enjoys an almost mythical status in Finnish culture, "The Unknown Soldier" is a rare depiction of the "apostate" war that ran parallel to World War II, the Continuation War, which saw Finnish soldiers trying to reclaim territory stolen by the Soviet Union in the Winter War. Despite its running time of 3 hours, the director Aku Louhimies is able to craft an opulent, vigorous, kinetic and suspenseful story that engages from its first to its last minute, thanks to numerous little details that all feel alive. Everything is told from the point-of-view of the Finnish soldiers, specifically the main protagonist Rokka, and thus the enemy is always outside of their perspective, hidden, visible only through gunshots from the forest or artillery attacks, yet nothing is black and white since Louhimies shows even unfavorable moments to their cause—in one sequence, the Finnish soldiers drive through the forest to the battlefront, while they observe the Nazi Army passing by them in opposite direction, in an ominous sign, while even archive footage of dictator Adolf Hitler meeting Finnish president Risto Ryti and commander Carl Gustaf Mannerheim is shown.
Nontheless, it is clear that Finland had its own goal of reclaiming its own territory, contrary to the Nazis who were stealing foreign territory, and thus the Finnish soldiers are heroes in this lost cause—in the first third, they act triumphantly as they not only reach their own former Finnish-Soviet border, but even occupy a city in Eastern Karelia, but this is contrasted with the last third, where everything they achieved starts to dissolve as they have to tragically leave and flee. Numerous scenes illustrate this array of characters, and many are even humorous. For instance, after inspecting the corpse of a Soviet soldier, the Finnish soldiers find Communist photos with him and comment: "What the hell is that? Long-bearded Satan?" - "That's Lenin." - "He is so cockeyed that he can see both Sundays from mid-week!" While commenting how massively outnumbred Finns are compared to the Soviets, the two soldiers have this exchange: "A Finnish soldier is worth as much as ten Russians!" - "Maybe so. But what do you do when the 11th comes?" While stuck in trench warfare, Russian propaganda is heard over the loudspeaker, enticing Finns to surrender, but a Finnish jokester is quick to shout a reply: "Finnish men! Come and get bread!" - "Come here and you will get butter on your bread!" There is also the already classic quote in the dialogues between a new soldier and Rokka: "How does it feel to shoot a human being?" - "I have no idea. I only shot Communists." Despite all these small jokes here and there, "The Unknown Soldier" is raw, bloody and uncompromising in its action and battle sequences, showing dirty mud in autumn and cold desolation during winter, crafting a movie that is never artificial, but is instead able to be genuine and intense.
Grade:+++
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