@Mikko Väänänen88 No mentions for their top notch export industry. Oh, well. I don't read much news, and I don't recommend it for anyone amongst the current information war. We are not lacking far behind. Give as another decade, and we are in the very same spot with the uncontrolled immigration.
The story is realistic because the writer of the book (the Unknown Soldier) actually served in the Continuation war and the story is based on his unit and his experiences. In addition to being a squad-leader, he wrote notes and observations about his and his unit's experiences. Many of those characters are based on a real person and some of the movie quotes were actually used in a real life, especially Rokka's quotes.
What i like about this movie is that it has no propaganda. Everyone gets hurt the same. Thats war, not this "Hell yea, get some" glorified bs where the other side seems to somehow be enjoying themselves while the others get shredded...
Yes. Even though russians were the enemies, it doesnt really portray them as "bad guys". It is more an anti-war movie. So don't expect it to be a finnish propaganda movie about continuation war
The movie isn't full blown propaganda, but there's some heavily romanticized portions. Most common critique is the home of the Rokka's family. It 100% wasn't idyllic clean clothes, smiles, love and support. Leave from the front lines meant 15-hour workday trying to make the place not fall apart between visits.
The first half SEEMS to be that propaganda but then it spirals into true horror of war. Thats why its so genius. You can see the general morale drop troughout the film.
@@GreedAndSelfishness i dont think that is made to seem propaganda During continuation at attack ohase moral was quite high and things went better than expected. The morale started to drop when finns crossed the old border, which made some soldiers question the justification if the wsr. Thenn came the long trench warfare phase which dropped the morale further.. 1944 when soviet launched the huge offensive started so called retreat phase. Lots of losses and losing the land that was gained back absolutely destroyed the morale. Yoy could say Finland's army came close to total collapse, higher ups did their best to try make soldiers stand their ground . I think it well represented in the movie (well the author fought in the war)
I was one of the two historical / military advisers on the film. We trained all the actors and extras and made sure everything on set was as historically correct as possible. This is my favorite review of the film so far. You obviously get the state of mind of these characters as they are thrust into that unfamiliar and stressful world, and how they each change as the result of the things they experience. Great commentary!
Then you may know... Was there a specific campaign that they were in and what town was it that they had advanced too? Not sure if I missed that information trying to keep up with the subtitles or if it was kept general for a reason.
@@RoyRissanen The events in the movie loosely follow the war trail of the Machine Gun Company of the 1st Infantry Battalion of Infantry Regiment 8 through the whole Continuation War 1941 - 1944. The author of the book the movie is based on served in that unit during the war, so many places and events in the movie correlate with real history. There is a Finnish war trail internet database, where a lot of the real units' war trails are marked. As an extra assignment my colleague created the imaginary war trail of the unit in the movie which you can see here: www.sotapolku.fi/sotapolut/tuntematon-sotilas-2017/ It is in Finnish, but you can click the numbers on the map to see the events and places in chronological order, and images on how they match with the movie.
Every time I watch this movie I have tears in my eyes in the ending scene with Finlandia playing. I feel so grateful to our great grandparents and other relatives that we are a free nation.
Mun pakko pistää kommentti sulle. Nainen omilla kasvoilla kertoo suoraan ja rehellisesti mitä tuntee. Ei sotahulluutta, vaan pelkästään tuntemuksia. Hitto et mä tykkään ! Sinä ja sinunlaisesi naiset saatte mut aika hiton onnelliseksi suomen naisista. silloin ja nyt!
@@bleakcognitivefuture7913 Ei tuettais liittovaltioksi ryhtymistä, ei myytäis tätä maata euroopalle reilun 100v itsenäisyyden jälkeen, ei otettais turvapaikkahakemuksia muista EU:n maista jotka on btw kaikki todettu turvallisiksi, ei ryhdyttäis tähän vitun vammaiseen ilmastopolitiikkaan mikä pelaa loppupeleissä jonkun herra iso herran taskuun kaikki viimesetkin rahat tästä maasta, ei tehtäis samaa virhettä turvapaikkapolitiikan kanssa kuin mm. saksa, ranska ja ruotsi, vai haluatteko te vihreitten kannattajat tänne oikeasti samallaisen meiningin mitä esim näissä edellämainituissa maissa on meneillään?
Hienoa taidetta. Kiitti. vähän palautetta: mun korvissa sä mukailet ja samaan aikaan jatkat koko ajan Finlandiaa. jos olisit säveltänyt ok juttuja, niin olisin pitänyt turpani kii, mut sävelsit oikeasti taidetta. Arvostan isosti! sä oot tosi lahjakas! Kaikki näyttelijät ja ohjaaja onnistuivat kybällä. olin alus tosi skeptinen, siis enneku olin nähnyt, mut voihan nenä ,eli paras leffa minkä mä oon nähny 61vuoteen. Ps. must oli tosi sydäntä lämmittävää, et naiset ja esim juutalaisvapaaehtoiset saivat ansaitsemaansa huomiota! terveisin, ex-säveltäjä.
Not only because of their combat effectiveness, but also from brutality they inflicted. During period of constant warfare and atrocities and before any agreements about conduct of warfare being especially brutal means you are very nasty. Most likely Hakkapeliitat were maybe slightly more brutal than every other mercenary warband roaming Germany are then.
I am Finnish. My grandfather fought in the continuation war in 1941. He was in artillery battalion. After some 2 few months of war, they all were hit by russian artillery...and everyone went for cover. It was a direct hit and most of their unit was decimated on the spot. He lost his leg...only some skin was holding his leg together. His best friend cried for "mother" and was dying few meters away. He had lost both arms and legs...in that hit and was bleeding out. My grandfather crawled to him and hold his friend on his arms. He begged "kill me...shoot me since it hurts so much". My grandfather had a pistol on his hand and tried but coudn't do it and his friend bled to death in his arms very soon after holding him and crying. It took him 30 years to be able to tell his sons what happened that day. My father told me that story what his father told him...some 50 years later. Only lesson there is. War is and can be horrible and can and will scar you for life mentally. Sacrifice you make for yourself and for others and pain and suffering for all. When i was a little boy in 80´s.... i was some some 6 yo kid...i was smiling and asking my Grandpa "hey since you are one leg short...and jumping around sometimes like a kangaroo...tell me what sucks most when you are one leg short (omg omg children can be so straight shooters and not understanding any pain or concequences"....( i was latter told i was asking stuff like that) My grandpa always smiled and said "you know it sucks mostly when my toes on this lost leg are tickling and i can't scratch them since they are not there" :) He then asked me "can you imagine when you need to scratch something what is tickling and it is not there....just imagine?".... We always made up everything since i volunteered to scratch his leg stump and asking "will this help?"....and he always smiled "yes son...it does" :) Now 42 years later i understand what he went through and how nice he was with all that. And also knowing now the pain him getting up in the middle of some nights when his (missing leg) was hurting or tickling or so... War....it is not nice ever not in any form. Now when he is gone...I appreciate his and all the Veterans dedication back then and all they had to sacrifice. We as younger generation should never ever forget their sacrifice....ever. Most of the western world now sees it in "Call of Duty" and sadly most of the Ukraine sees it once more as realism. Help...Support....and never forget...Amen
@ Anon Non : Kirjoitit poikkeuksellisen syvällisellä tavalla isoisästäsi ja sodasta. Arvostan sitä, liikutuin. Minunkin isoisäni oli siellä, Summassa. Hän joutui mielisairaalaan n. 25 vuodeksi. Viimeiset vuotensa hän vietti osittain meillä, osittain omassa kodissaan. Hän ei kuitenkaan pärjännyt, ja kun veimme hänet sairaalaan, hänellä todettiin syöpä. Hän ei pystynyt puhumaan, mutta nauroi vielä pari päivää ennen kuolemaansa, koska minulla oli kirkkaanvihreää kynsilakkaa. Rakas pappani... Hänen isoisänsä ja muitakin sukulaisia oli kuollut 1918. Minulla on valokuva surullisen näköisestä pojasta, joka oli tuolloin pikkusiskonsa kanssa lähdössä kerjäämään leipää. Rukoilen ettemme enää joudu sotaan. 😔
Kiitos kun jaoit tämän. Valtava kunnioitus isoisällesi! My grandfather was also in the same war, he was in a konekiväärikompanja (machine gun company?) And very rarely he told us anything about the war, but when he did he was very drunk. Those stories are gruesome and makes me respect him so much for what he went through. Hard men, hard times they never complained about a thing no matter how much they suffered during and after the war. Almost every Finn has a relative who has been in a war and I love that we have such a respect for our veterans. I think young people should think them way more though.
Hey! A Finn here. This movie was really popular here when it came out in 2017, but its most famous version was produced in 1955 by Edvin Laine, and is very often played on TV during independence day (Dec, 6). Even if you're not very patriotic, most Finns hold these stories about the Winter War and the Continuation War in high regard, as they reveal a lot about the nuances of wartime living and the attitude of the common soldier and man towards war. This commentary is really good, btw! Very detailed and respectful of the source material!
Here's a fun fact: in the early phase of the war, all movement on screen is from left to right, representing the advance east into Soviet territory. Later, as the troops are retreating, they move from right to left.
@Niko Omasta mielestäni kaikki paitsi totaalikieltäytminen on hyväksyttävää, mutta siviilipalvelusta pitäisi kehittää kriisiajan kannalta hyödyllisemmäksi.
As a Finn I must say this breakdown of Unknown Soldier is great. I have never ever watched review this long. Actually I've never watched any reviews more than few minutes long. This sucked me in even though I've watched the movie a few times. I think too that this is one of the best war movies there is, even though I am finnish (no offense to Band of Brothers nor Saving private Ryan etc.). Keep up the good work man, you seem to be well focused and your video was pleasant to watch and hear your points and thoughts of the movie. 5/5 review.
You’ve never watched a review more than a few mins? 🤦🏼♂️ You got the shortest attention span ever, or are you deeply intellectually lazy? SMFH! Don’t know how that’s anything to be proud of 🙄
I really wish there was a way to properly translate the accents and dialects they use, it adds so much to the movie. Obviously it's impossible and you have to be Finnish or have to have been talking the language most your life to pick up on them/understand them at all.
Yeah true. But still subtitles would certainly help. I dont get why he didn't include them. I mean if the dvd cover is in English, i assume that there would be english subtitles? @Combat Arms Channel you could turn the contributions on for this video. I'm sure someone would gladly translate those Finnish parts. It wouldn't be perfect, but at least better than nothing.
@@jonezu1175 He had to remove the subtitles as they brought another layer of copyright issues, and the video kept taken down. He did watch the video with subs, but unfortunately we cannot see the subs in this video due to the reason mentioned above.
A related fact. The Swedish translation of the original book used different Finland Swedish dialects for the main characters. This was quite an authentic approach, because the Swedish speaking Finns (or Finland Swedes) fought in the war, too. Most of them in their own regiment en.wikipedia.org/wiki/61st_Infantry_Regiment_(Finland) I really enjoy reading the book in Swedish also because of this.
“The Unknown Soldier” in the title is not a reference to a soldier who is unknown (like the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier), but to the unknown side of soldiers. “We do not know what soldiers are really like” -> “Soldiers are unknown” -> “Unknown soldier” The traditional view of soldiers is that they are all heroes, selfless and self-sacrificing paragons of virtue. It makes sense: you wouldn’t want to badmouth the men who fight for the country, after all. But anyone who has actually fought in a war knows what soldiers are really like: normal men put in a horrible situation. Aside from the heroics, which do happen, they also get angry, they summarily execute prisoners, they steal booze and get drunk, they run away in panic in a fight… Or how unfair war is sometimes: the gallant officer in the beginning gets unceremoniously mowed down; a new recruit gets shot in the head on his first day… That’s what The Unknown Soldier is about: depicting what men fighting in a war are really like. It’s a slice-of-life of soldiers.
@Elias Kalliokoski I should have mentioned in my comment that it was just my interpretation, not something Linna (the author) himself said. Although that interpretation is closely linked: it’s a book about what these unknown soldiers were really like.
There was a part in the movie that hit home where you see a clock on the wall on Rokka’s home; a home which subsequently had to be abandoned. My Great Grandfather had the same kind of clock on the wall in their home in Viipuri which they also had to abandon. Story is told that he carried it out as the home burned. (He lost four sons in the war)
Viipuri that we lost was the second largest city after Helsinki. Lost of Carelia was lost one third of our national soul. Yet we hate no russians, it was soviets that took it from us.
@@RoyRissanen Wow, nice to know this, my mothers family is from Viipuri, this is only one generation separated from me, my mother had to take her sister by the hand and leave their home in 1944 for the last time, after my grandparents had rebuilt their home from having to leaving Viipuri in 1939-40. I honor your Great Grandfather's four sons, your great uncles for paying the highest price possible that allowed their generation and the generations to come to have the privilege to be born in a free country. Because of their heroism, I was born in Finland, a free country and it has made all the difference in my life. I was bornin Finland however have lived in the USA since the age of 2, I grew up in a very Finnish houshld and still speak the language and go back often. I must add that I too had a great uncle fallen in the Winter War, my fathers uncle.
@@RoyRissanen , Wow yes, even though I have lived in the USA since age of 2, there is a calling for me to always go back. I have many relatives including my mother, I was to go this summer, however not possible, so hopefully soon. Since my Finnish blood is now very thin living in the warmer climates, I prefer to go back between May and October......the winters are brutal for me, however you are probably more accustomed to it living in Canada!
I own a small house that was gifted by Sweden during the war. Sweden gave a lot of help in rebuilding homes for those who had lost everything. In the miniseries you can feel the bitterness of leaving your home behind. Rokka was a refugee, an accomplished wounded soldier, who was still lucky to be alive with his family. He won, but lost everything at the same time. It made me imagine what went on the minds who first moved into this house during the winter 1941.
This movie and the novel is also very famous in Sweden. I am half Finnish half Swedish, just like 80 % of the people in my hometown so we all knew about this story and used to watch the older version as kids.
One comment about the dialogue is that the soldiers in the movie are from all around Finland and without proper dialect differences it might even be impossible to dub and also it's one major point in the novel too, since it's been just over 20 years after the civil war that tore people apart, and yet here they are together against a common foe. A huge point in the novel is that former reds and whites are now in the same grays together.
Also the ones familiar with Linna’s other novels might know that lieutenant Koskela is a son of an old Red Guard officer, who went through a devastating captivity in a prison camp after civil war. You can see Koskela’s resentment for Hitler-admiring higher officers during the drunken festivities of Mannerheim’s birthday party.
I may be wrong, but in that time it would have been rare to all those people in different parts of Finland to serve together. There were people from same area serving together usually, but the author wanted to have more diverse dialogue in Finnish dialects and that's why he placed those people together in his novel.
@@mariak175 You're wrong, what you're describing was the practice during Winter War. They then realized that it's already bad enough if a unit gets destroyed, but it's way worse if a whole village loses all their young men on the same go. That's why in Continuation War it was already common practice to comprise a unit out of men from different areas of the country.
@@5ilverSouls Some do know, I spoke with one guy last summer on his 20's who could name all his red relatives who were executed and the places where. But for lot of people it doesn't matter, and I guess that's ok. It's kind of sad how partisan this issue still is after more than 100 years.
The battle cry in 22:53 Hakkaa päälle Pohjanpoika! basically it means Cut them down son of the north! and it comes from Thirty Years' war when finnish light cavarly hakkapeliittas attacked the enemy. And it was my units motto.
This movie is on my shelf. I watched it about 2 years ago with my (Finnish) wife. It’s really awesome. My stepfather received some of the highest Finnish military awards. He told a lot about what he experienced during the war. I am French but I can speak fluently Finnish. By the way, my son did conscript in the Finnish military.... Greetings from the beautiful Helsinki.
I think "varusmiespalvelu" should be translated as "did conscript in the Finnish military" and the meaning of "served in the Finnish military" actually means "palveli kantahenkilökunnassa" or served as paid soldier in the Finnish military.
Had a chance to travel to Helsinki, Turku and Eurajoki before COVID hit Europe. Amazing people and beautiful country. I met two gentlemen that fought the Russians, and the stories they told were eye opening.
@@LustWaffel what every Finn asks someone traveling to small Finnish towns, what the hell are you doing here......funny and true! Not that Finns are being unwelcoming just Finns cant understand an outsider being in small Finnish town for the hell of it.
I actually like to see smaller towns and villages whenever I’m travelling. Think people are generally getting more curious and want to see more in addition to all the tourist stuff
@@bige1106 I can safely confirm that Finns are some the of the most hospitable people! My partner lived there on exchange and she always wanted to go back so I could meet her host family...and video me drinking koskenkorva salmiakki...
@@JACKBLACKTOSE Indeed, I agree if I may be so bold as a Finn to brag about that, we do not like to brag too much. I am so glad to hear you say that! Indeed, Kossu salmiakki is great! Way back when, before they made it, Finns would drop salmiakki candy into the kossu or other vodka and let it sit overnight. Now its easy, just buy it ready to go!
The women riding the car in the clip beginning at 13.05 are Lottas, a voluntary auxilary organisation comprised of women working closely with the armed forces, they operated hospitals and other support tasks but they weren't a part of the army. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotta_Sv%C3%A4rd if anyone is interested.
My grandfather fought in the neighbouring regiment as a runner and was pretty much in the same battles. He also knew personally the author Väinö Linna as they came from the same area. Grandpa never spoke about war until he was 80 years old. After that he shared a lot of war memories. He passed away at the age of 92 having still schrapnels in his hip.
@@villevee1332 I can understand that. My grandfather struggled with it to his death. My grandfather only spoke once about it. He said. 'We destroyed the first vehicle and the last. then we waited until they starved or tried to run, then the hunt was on. We saw them as animals, you had to in order to pull the trigger. And what were we? In hindsight we were also no better than animals. You did things and saw things that you will never forget, no matter if you try hard.The savagery on both sides was appaling, out there in the cold forests. I Don't fool your self in thinking that war is glorious. I volunteered and even lied about my age. I saw it as my "duty". The best you ever can hope for is to never have be a part of any war.'
Every year on the 6th of December, the Finnish independence day, they'll show the original version from 1955 on tv, black and white. No matter I've seen it countless times, I'll get stuck on watching it. There is something... it brings the memories of my own served time and I honor these guys what they sacrified for this country.
I am from Finland and this movie captures Finnish nature, atmosphere, and the personality of Finnish people so accurately that I cried my eyes out since it's my third year living in Spain and I started to miss Finland sooooo much. Best movie I've ever watched.
The Finns do make great warmovies in my oppinion they are the best at it. I love the original unknown soldier even more than the latset remake. Cheers from a very old Swedish guardsman.
I am not going to lie, but i really was scared how would you think about the movie. You nailed it. You understood parts that are kinda hard if you are not Finn. Great job.
I watched the entire movie on RU-vid after watching a bit of this video. It's a great war movie, I didn't feel good about war after watching it. Some war movies do that, they make war seem cool and glorious. Unknown Soldier shows that there is no glory in war
I had a great little conversation with some Russian person here in RU-vid in another channel about how we both agree war is just simply something nobody wants really, if they have any idea of what it means. This kind of movies kind of show that there is no romance or glory in a war.
My mothers father survived the hell of Ihantala. His name was Helmer Selin, infantry scout and commando specialist for volunteer-only-missions. He was a warrior poet who died peacefully at the age of 98. What wisdom he taught me, I consider my privilege to pass on to my son. My fathers' side of family is from the Karelian isthmus, which we lost. And the sorrow of the loss of the beautiful Karelia has followed us throughout times, over generations. I, myself, am trained as a arctic guerilla warfare, as a sniper team leader. And even those prime service days are behind me, I still am going to take my precision rifle and nordbotten spetz tomorrow to have a field day at hunting grouse. Not just to walk the dog, or get sustenance or to have physical exercise or fun. But to maintain some of what I've been given. Ci vis pacem, para bellum. Thank you for your videos, sir. You made my day.
This is one of the best shows you have ever done. God bless! This film is based on a book, "Unknown Soldier", by Väinö Linna. And when I was young this book was used at the Swedish War Academy in the officer's indoctrination phase to give the "cadets" av understanding for how to be a good officer in relation to your NCO:s and your men in the field (i.e. "when should discipline be enforced; when should be relaxed?", etc.)
28:17 To me it opens yet another layer when knowing that Rokka fought in the previous Winter War, lost his home and farm in Karelia for the enemy and had his family moved to another part of the country as refugees (like 11% of the Finnish population at that time). Then he needs to join this Continuation War, still having glimpses of hope for getting his own home back. At one point in the movie, you may notice when Rokka's family is in another house, which is the old home in Karelia, in the area occupied by the Finnish army. Then when the war events start to go south, his family leaves their dear home for the second time while at the same time the army retreats in front of a seriously outnumbering and overpowered enemy. Already before Rokka's character became disconnected, but when all hope of returning back to his home farm is lost, that is when he turns seriously grim.
Also, a nice little detail is when in the beginning of the movie someone offers Rokka a cigarette but Rokka asnwers "no, I don't smoke". Towards the end of the movie though, just before the river crossing retreat scene, Rokka is just sitting there without any cover, smoking a cigarette.
Every time watching this movie gives me tears in my eyes, knowing what it’s based on and the sacrifice that generation had to give for us to be independent today.
My grandfather was a messenger during the Continuation War and he actually lied about his age because at the time he was too young to join. He got wounded but survived to be funny and loving husband, father and grandfather. I miss him and it's sad that he passed away when I was too young to truly understand, appreciate and ask about his experience and all he and his brothers in arms did to protect our home.
As Im a half finn and half chinese and voluntarily completed my service at Nylands Brigad during 80's, had a great experience. I must watch this movie.
@@holoholopainen1627 I grew up in Hong Kong during 6-17 yrs old , service started when i was 18 , so swedish was hard for me to manage during nylands time but i made it eventually.😅
And if nobody mentioned yet, Antero Rokka was written into this movie from reality. The real person behind Rokka was Viljam Pylkäs. You can find his story from internet, of course. Also you should watch the original version of this movie from 1955. The book was written in 1954. Also worth reading imo. Btw, i work for finnish military and nice to see lot of our stuff on your channel. Cheers.
I did my paper we have to write before we can enter university on the finish russian winterwar and continuation war (talvisota ja jatkosota) since also my grandmother experienced it as a child. I was able to do some interviews with some of the vererans of which many were close to hundred years old. In many of the interviews you were able to feel the horrors they have experienced. The air got really tense and some of the veterans began shaking from the horrors they lived through again when narraiting. One of the veterans was actually the man that Vainö Linna based the caracter of Lehto on in the book Tuntematon Sotilas.
The book Unknown Soldier was first filmed after the war in 1955 and 30 years later in 1985 came a new version for a new generation. This third one was released in 2017 when Finland celebrated its 100 years as an independent country. It was a really big production and nearly all the actors are nationally famous. The original movie has probably the most amount of fans in Finland but the latter is also popular. It's a tradition to watch the first one in Independence Day, 6th of December. The national broadcast company sends it annually.
Beign a finnish man who has completed hes mandatory service and had a grandfather who fought for my indepence in the war, im really happy you did this review so more people can see this great movie and understand partially what our elderly had to go through during that period of time. Thank you sir!
I was honored to be part of the making of this film. If I recall right it was July 2016 when I was at Vekaranjärvi for 5 days as an extra. 12-14h of shooting( the film) every day. My legs will never forget.
My grandfather served in the winter war and the continuation war. The book has been made into a movie multiple times, but when i saw this version and as a father myself the full emotional load of having to leave your family really hit home. My grandfather never really wanted to talk about his war experience but did tell me one story. At some point his buddy had time to shoot first, and if he hadn't then my father and myself would never had existed. Those kind of stories really put things into perspective. Sometimes it's not about anything else than trying to survive.
That is the most striking part of the book and the movie for me, you get attached to these characters and then they are gone. It really captures the tragedy of the terrible loss of life they faced.
Thanks for this one. Nice to hear a review from someone who has seen what the movie portrays. One detail about this movie: The world record of high explosives was used filming this movie, so more real explosives than in Saving private Ryan, Pearl Harbour, Hacksaw Ridge etc. So, this Rokka: the real guy was Viljam Pylkäs from the Karelian Isthmus but the name Rokka came from ingerian guy who served in Finnish army.
Thanks for this! My grandpa was 17 when he was sent to the front in this exact war. It affected him for the rest of his life, like it did for so many Finnish veterans. It's important to remember that these men fighting to protect our little nation against the Soviet Union, they weren't military, they were just regular boys and men, taken straight from home, given a weapon, and told to start shooting Russians. Most of them had little to no training. They didn't choose this. It wasn't like enlisting in the military in the US, where you actually make a choice to attend. The Finnish men didn't have a choice.
Finland was well trained. Civil war, occasional shooting with civil guards, finnish jaegers leading, adapted to winter in continuation war in the end it was more young ppl but they werent rly given frontline roles and made to do things like Koskela in the beginnig
@Jenni Sutinen "It's important to remember that these men fighting to protect our little nation against the Soviet Union" Finland is one the largest countries in the world, not little.
@@mmestari Large territory, but a relatively small population. We consider ourselves a small country, since there are so few of us. During the continuation war, the population was a bit under 4 million, and it's currently at 5.5 million.
It's an amazing movie, I was in the Canadian forces and deployed, and even despite not being a Finn, never having been to Finland, met a Finn or been exposed to the culture, and despite my war and theirs being so completely different, there's just something that I can identify with in this movie. The men, the sense of humour, the small things you mentioned, we all have the platoon goofball, the hardass, the softies, the guy who is kinda the father figure or big brother, we've all seen the green junior officers etc, it just hits in a way other movies don't. The fact that towards the end they just look done, done with the dumb missions, the dumb war, the dumb officers, the hopeless situation, which I certainly felt towards the end of my deployments. Like you I really sympathized the most with Rokka, maybe because I'm a family man too now, or that I'm getting closer to his age than the 19 year old kid with a rifle but yeah, it's well worth a watch and worth buying, for those who never served or fought this is kind of a glimpse into what it's like to be 19 and caught up in a war and how you deal with it.
You might find our Finnish/Canadian podcast interesting. We also reviewed this film (all three versions). Mostly we talk about Finland, Canada, folklore, conspiracies and occult :)
I have seen all 3 cuts of this movie, the international cut (ca 2.5 hours), the Finnish cut (3 hours) and the 5 episode TV series cut (5 hours) love them all, the 5 episode gives really the best depth of the characters in the movie.
Good movie. IF you liked this you will love movie about "forgotten war" called "Talvisota", when soviets did carge to finland with 400+k troops, planes and tanks making normady charge look like childs play. Those Finns were insane against all odds. Best war movie ever still is "come and see" tho.
My dad had his dad and his family's horse send to this war. His dad, my grand dad, came back with injured leg on september 1944 after spending some time in military hospital, and the horse came back with injured mind. Every time the horse heard sound of an aeroplane it went totally out of control. Poor thing probaply got pts from the war.
@@stevek8829 thank you, much appriciated! My dad was born in 1941, so he was just a toddler by that time. Anyways, that horse became soon useless for the field working, but my granddad refused to send it to the "sausage factory". They kept the horse until she died late 50's in her old days. My dad used to wonder that maybe my granddad felt the horse a bit like 'brother in arms', because they were quite poor and those days it was not common at all to keep horse, unfit for work, on the farm. My granddad used that veteran horse for transportation and aquired a new horse for field & forest work.
Most people forget about the horse, so thanks for letting us know how everyone came back. PTSD and horses is a real thing, I had a horse survive a hurricane, and was always spooky about very high winds and storms after that, and she wasn't even close to the only one like that in the area. I imagine your family was kind and empathetic to the horse. My grandfather-in-law lost a leg in the continuation war, getting close enough to take out a tank with a Molotov cocktail. As he was always fond of saying, he got the tank though. His experiences were more those of the underrated Framom främsta linjen movie.
Excellent review and insights, good sir. It is a little heralded part of World War Two but the Talvisota (Winter War) where the inconceivably outnumbered Finns stood up to the Russians is Rourke’s Drift or 300 Spartans levels of courage and sacrifice. When I was in Riihimäki the other year (was buying a house there but Brexit wrecked things) I went for a walk around the town and ended up at a little cemetery and it was quite moving and sobering to see so many headstones with 1939/1940 on them. I speak a tiny bit of Finnish but nowhere near enough for conversation ... so I am glad to hear the DVD has English subtitles:D.
Most small finnish towns have such sections in their graveyards. Whenever possible we brought our fallen back to rest at their local churchyards. Most also have small memorials to ”unknown soldiers”, for those men who could not be reclaimed in death for various reasons such as direct artillery hit or being lost to the field. Even to this day few bodies are found yearly over old battlefields and brought back to home to rest with their brothers. As the saying goes "Kaveria ei jätetä".
In Winter War, Finnish company's were pretty much always guys from same municipalitys, communes, villages etc. Practically real life neighbours next to each other in trenches. Helped a lot to create fighting spirit but could be devastating, when one company's demise could wipe out 30% of some communes young men, brothers, friends.
Thanks for making this video. I haven't heard of this movie before, though after watching your video i definitely will get a copy of this and watch it. I particularly enjoy watching war movies that focus on the human elements of how traumatic experiences can change a person and how they react to those experiences. Really good video, thanks for sharing some personal feelings about how realistic the movie captures the emotional experiences of being in combat and how the film-makers did a really good job of capturing that on film.
I was in FDF Reserve Officer School and we studied the characters, and especially the officers of the Unknown soldier very carefully. The book itself is considered, at least in Finland, to be one of the best studies of the soldier mindset under wartime conditions that has ever been written. The three main platoon leaders are three archetypes of junior officers. Lammio is bit too pompous, thinks very highly of himself and his rank and as you said, considers himself to know more than the enlisted, and hates when underlings question his decisions. Which puts him in constant conflict with the Winter War veteran Rokka. He is nonetheless very brave, and reasonably competent leader. Koskela on the other hand is bit too friendly with his troops, lax with the discipline so long as the job gets done. His men love him, but he's unable to make the decicions that would serve the greater good best, and the lack of discipline becomes a problem a few times, atleast in the book. But he too is very brave and very effective combat leader. Kariluoto is weakest link of the lot in the beginning. In the beginning he freezes with fear and indecision until Captain Kaarna's sacrifice shames him into action. He is also very hesitant to take decisive action in the beginning, even when no obvious danger is present. But as he develops, he becomes the ideal officer, right in the middle of the spectrum between Koskela and Lammio. He is humble enough to take advice from enlisted men, but stern and aloof enough to maintain authority. His spirit is almost unbreakable by the end, as you see in the movie. Everyone else, enlisted, NCOs and officers alike have lost all hope, but he just figures that "Guess we'll have to fight hopelessly then" with a little smile. There's a 5 part miniseries of the Unknown Soldier, that is basically the same you watched, but with all the deleted scenes. I recommend that also, it adds even more depth to the story and to the characters. But the book really should be on every soldiers "To-Read" list. Slight mindset differences might arise since the characters are conscripts and I figure volunteer fighter would see the world differently, but grunts are grunts, no matter the time period or location. Also, Finns can only be lead from the front. Which is why the platoon leaders are doing heroics all the time, since your Friendly Neighbourhood Conscript is not going to run into machinegun fire on someones say-so alone. It's not that the officers want to, nor that they are glory hounds, it's because it's expected and they have to. Cost of this is that percentage wise the junior reserve officers suffered the most horrific casualties in both the Winter War and Continuation War. In Winter War, 7% of MIA and KIA were reserve platoon leaders. C.G.E Mannerheim even had a speech that was purely dedicated to the sacrifice of the platoon leaders that is still framed on the wall of the Reserve Officer School.
This is a great analysis, and also the reason why there is such a high number of reserve officers. It's expected that casualties among them will be high.
I've been looking for the miniseries without success. There are some good scenes on RU-vid that are not in the edited down film version. I hope the miniseries gets released with subtitles soon, not that it is gaining attention via this platform. It's so well acted & directed. I can't get my head around how they managed it on a budget of 7 million euros. Better than most of the dross Hollywood turns out. I've had the book for a while but not got around to reading it as yet. Interesting analysis of the three officers, especially Kariluoto walking that line between the two worlds.
Because of this war I didn't have any grand fathers. They died there. Because of that I haven't ever expected I should have grand fathers. Someones have prayed during there war time because Finland still exits. Thank you for great movie review 👍
I'm sorry to hear that :( my grandpa survived the war. Though he was stuck in his past, he couldn't recognize me or his children and grandchildren. He called me by a name that wasn't really my name. He probably thought I was in a war too and called me by an old finnish name. Unfortunately he passed away 4 years ago.
I still feel a sense of despair and sadness when I think about the old 1955 Unknown Soldier movie where a soldier had lost his leg and was being pulled away, all the while screaming about how he couldn't feel his legs. It just felt extremely real, and the acting at the time was just really good for it.
I'm Finnish and I've seen this movie and the extended mini-series which I really recommend btw. It was interesting to hear another opinion/perspective on arguably my favourite movie. Keep up the good work and good luck with the military.
Wow, I did not expect this review to focus on the psychology of soldiers. Kudos for reflecting on these deeper themes based on your own experience. It takes courage to talk openly about difficult feelings. Tbh, I expected analysis of tactics or gear, but this was even more interesting to watch.
I really appreciated this great review. I watched this while living in the U.S. with my American wife (I’m from Finland) While I believe you know this per your own experience, but the movie is much deeper than the English subtitles does for it.
I've seen it, and I'm not Finnish :) I loves me some Finnish metal bands, so I started getting into all things Finnish a few years back...this one came highly recommended from several sources, so I bought the DVD. Awesome movie. I recognized several of the actors from other Finnish movies/tv shows.
If you like books, the Unknown Soldier (by Väinö Linna) is also found as an English translation. This movie is based on that book, which is like THE Finnish classic about WWII. The author was in the front himself, most of the stories are from what happened to his company, or what he heard from the neighbouring companies. And he changed some incidents a bit, like who destroyed a certain tank in a certain battle etc., and changed the names of course. Though the book was censored a bit in the 50 - the war was still a bit too close that Finns didn't want to upset the Soviets, so some of the more touchy issues the author needed to leave oit from the book. The uncensored version is called War Novel, I'm not sure if that's in English as well.
Thanks Dude. TUNTEMATON SOTILAS or « Unknown Soldier » Based on the novel with the same name by Väinö Linna, who participated in Winter and Continuation War (1939-1944). I was born in Suomi-Finland. My father was also on the Carelia Isthmus fighting against Stalins Red Army in the Continuation War 44 Thanks for your analysis. Greetings from sunny, tropical Thailand 🇹🇭 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fPZxJCqLzbc.html
I felt like it was hard for you to understand the situation those people had back home. When you are serving and you lose a war, it doesn't mean that the enemy is going to kill your kids. There was more at stake. In your situation it doesn't mean that all those things you fight for are lost forever. The women back home had to do the mens jobs to addition to their own. The army often took their horse, so they had to do jobs without one. Army took their share of food, people could have been starving. Your family back home is not. It wasn't just "inconvenience". It was working yourself to death. If a women gave birth, she might had to go to take care of the cows in the morning. In Finland we have a celebrity, when she was 14, she found her father dead in the woods. Killed by that war. The frontier was so close. Your child cannot be in that situation. There was no food left to feed elderly in retirement homes, so they starved to death and were put in a same grave in the yard. In the end of continuation war, the troops were also starving. When the men came back, they were scarred for life and there was no therapy. All of them. Imagine if all American men had mental issues all at once. Different times, different type of warfare.
The traumas from the Finnish wars were passed on for generations and some remainders are even seen today. Many fathers only came physically back. Their children grew in a warzone brought by the scarred fathers. Those children grew up to be scarred people too. The abuse, violence and fear created by the wars didn't stop when the wars did.
So true. This wasn't a war fought on the other side of the world, this was right here. At home. Everyone in the country was affected, for generations. I'm born in 1980, and my childhood was very much affected by the war. You were never allowed to leave food on your plate, cause people were still trying to be prepared for a possible starvation. War veterans came to our school to talk about the war. Everyone was afraid and on alert all the time, ready for shit to hit the fan again... Also there were these drills for airstrikes, and the loud alarmas blaring like once a month, cause they had to make sure that they were working, incase of a Russian invasion etc. All of my grandparents were in the war, except for my dads mom. But my mom's parents met as they both were working in the field hospital, as a doctor and nurse. So of course it's affected a lot, that my parent's parents have experienced war, death and horrors
I dont cry very often, but I did during watching this movie. My grandpa was out there, he barely survived(lost a leg). He lost his farm(next to Laatokka), but after the war he started new one in central Finland.
Not all my ancesters survive the war, and few lost their homes at Laatokka and other parts of Karelia. These things still mark Finnish culture very strongly, even though many don't regodnize it anymore. Shout out to you o/ "Mikäs tässä karjalaisen ollessa, ei tartte pelätä että kotionsa kuolis" - "No worries when beeing a karelian, don't have to fear dying at home". Old saying I read somewhere from post war. Tells a perfect tale of Finnish sense of humour actually...
This video was very well planned and delivered. I can tell you put alot of time and effort into it and i really respect it. You can also tell that you are really enthusiastic about this and want to tell us these things. Huge props and great video!
One thing that really stuck with me through British Army officer training: My company commander told me once: "Your guys can afford to lose you (meaning the platoon commander) more than they can afford to lose a sergeant who's been in for eight years. Remember that when you need someone to restart the momentum." He was right about that then, he's right about that now.
We used the book and also the original movie (1985), as educational in the leadership education at Krigshögskolan Karlberg (War Academy Karlberg est. 1792, the oldest war academy in the world that still exists in the same place).
@@penakakoni you are correct, but we used the 2:nd version. They are all 3 very good and realistic in many ways. So very different from the Hollywood war glorified ones.
Hopefully you were critical and kept in mind, that the book was written by a very left-wing author and was/is not a document. E.g. from the military point of view 2nd/1st Lt Koskela was not as good and 1st Lt/Capt Lammio was better than what they were portrayed in the book/films. The 1985 movie is the worst - a film by a very red director, based on a novel by a very red author. I've seen the film two times and that's enough for the rest of my life. The newest film is technically the best. However I still prefer the original 1955 film. I think it portrays the war quite well - better than the book it is based on.
@@timoterava7108 You don't have to go further than note that the actors were unrealistically built for the time it tried to portray lol. The other points would be an encouragement for those who are inclined that way.
Both of my grandfathers fought in the Continuation war and one of my grandmothers was a lotta, the other took care of her younger siblings during the evacuation (she actually met her husband then). The clip of the lottas getting a lift made me chuckle, because my grandma actually got a lift from Field Marshal Mannerheim, when she was walking to an event during her time off.
To non-Finns: Lotta Svärd was the name of the organisation of women volunteers. Lottas served as medics, air or costal surveillance sentries, HQ clerks and other support roles.
My family from my mothers (mothers mothers family) side actually had a car that Mannerheim went in. My grandfather (mothers father) fought in the winter war, continuation war and against the germans in Finland. Vääpeli. Nightmares haunted him till he died.
It's an absolutely amazing film and wonderfully made, the rabbit/poppy scene was one of my favourites, Finns take nature very seriously, it is very much a part of their souls, they have a great love for it. This is the best review of the film I've seen, especially from a professional's perspective, spot on brother 🤙
Wow... I'm a Finn and reaaally want to point out that it isn't anything but what we all are. People are awesome, People can be cruel... and bad... and try to be good too. And it really is the same everywhere. I've been trying to learn the history and it is so sad what has happened. Hopefully the future is more kind and vice,
You should see the original version filmed in 1955. That is hardcore! Black and white and it wasn't that long time from the winter war, only 15 years. Great review, thanks :)
I recently got my grand father's letters from the front. As you can guess there are no details about anything. One thing struck my eyes while reading them. He wrote a lot about how much "work" there is and how tired he sometimes is. Mostly he wrote about how he fared in running competitions during the rare free times he got. In those letters everything seemed nice. Some "work" and some athletics. He was in the intelligence so you'd imagine that can't be that bad. But apparently it was. Especially when he had to decypher the letter where the HQ said we'll put our last men in a specific line and after that it's do or die. He had no one to talk about it, obviously.
@@CombatArmsChannel Amazingly enough he handled it all pretty well. My other grand father was in the front lines and he was emotionally distant, in the elder days depressed and my father was emotionally distant as well. I had a hard time to work on that. So it takes generations to get over it.
btw your review on the movie was really great because you focused on other than the obviously interesting fight scenes but rather on the other aspects on the movie. Thank you for a new perspective.
@@CombatArmsChannel Here's an interesting fact. He was commissioned near a mental hospital and registered as patient in there. Strange hospital since it moved always towards the front lines (when we did advance). The idea was that once the inevitable shit hits the fan they could always say he was just one of the patients.
First of all. Thank you for making the review. And as usual, I try to keep my comment as short as possible but most probably I will again fail at it. This is the 3rd iteration of the original score. The 1st one was the most expensive movie ever made in Finland for a long time. It has been a tradition to show it on national TV on independence day. The movie and the novel it is based on, are very important to the national identity of our country. I see many people have already opened up the thing in the comments so I won't go any further on that. Let's just say the story and the movies are basically part of our modern national epic. The author also wrote the story called "Here under the Northern star" which basically is the family story of the main platoon leader in this movie (2nd/1st Lieutenant Koskela). It is also an epic story about the birth of our country as a modern independent state, covering the social struggles and civil war. There are 2 movie versions of that story too, but I don't think they are available on the internet, sadly. You asked for personal experiences about this movie, and I have to say this is one of those movies that makes me cry at too many points. I am not going into details but let's just say there was a point in my life where I turned from emotional granite to too much emotions. The Christmas scene is the most powerful one for me personally. I have experienced Christmas serving thousands of miles away from my family, in harm's way and that scene just hits home very hard. I had no kids back then, but as I do have 2 kids now, I can't even imagine how hard it would be to hold your composure today, facing that same situation. And to be fair, those guys (in the story and movie) were ACTUALLY in the risk of dying the next second. I wasn't. There are many more scenes and small points and big themes in this movie that hit home hard, but I think your review covered the main themes very well. The only point I would like to make is that, if it wasn't quite clear in the movie, the unit that they follow, is actually a fresh conscript unit (when war starts) and only few in the officer corps have war experience. 2nd Lieutenant Koskela being one of them. He was basically field commissioned in US terms during the Winter War. I hope that explains the first few combat scenes a bit better. Also, by the OoB and TO&E of the time, infantry battalions had 3 rifle companies and one machinegun company, which divided its platoons among the rifle companies. That is why the Koskela's platoon is usually working with the same rifle company and Koskela is actually subordinate to that rifle company commander. I left alot out of this comment and still it became a f***ing novel. Sorry :D
I've seen it, and I'm not Finnish! Guess being Norwegian almost counts 😁 You should also take a look at another Finnish production called "Talvisota" ( means the Winter War in Finland ). Its almost a prequel to this one, as the action is taking place during the first winter war against the Russians, while "Tuntematon Sotilas" takes you to the Finnish continuation war. Love your channel btw!
@@ImForwardlook thats some interesting info, and i did not know. So, what you are saying, is that there be a lot of mopars running about in Finland still?
@MoparMan Well, although most are projects, I have about 30...and pretty much all my friends have more than one. Back in the day most big companies and government institutions had black C-bodys for the top brass. Muscle cars were never imported in big numbers but lately that has been corrected. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KATEnhTYGfE.html
There are actually two types of officers in the Finnish army. There are the professional career officers that have gone under a higher level of military education and they serve in the HQ level; leading armies, divisions, battalions and so forth. Then there are reserve officers, that are conscripts that have been trained to lead platoons and companies, some times even battalions, during their conscription period. So the junior officers, lieutenants and 2nd lieutenants, are actually also conscripts like the privates are and that might be the reason why they relate to them well. The reserve officers actually had the highest death rate of any cohort during the war, this is explained that they led by example and from the front because that was the most efficient way to lead men in combat, but it put them under huge danger.
The reserve officers, while conscripts, are only trained for platoon leaders and company deputy commanders. After their conscript service, while already in reserve, the chosen reserve officers receive extra training for company commander posts. For me that was c. 10 years after my conscript time. Normally the battalion commanders are career officers only - i.e. military academy educated. AFAIK the reservist battalion commanders are ex-career officers.
Good view. I'm a reserve sergeant, in the army i was platoon leader. They really train us well there. Like, I was there 2001-2002, and they started to teach "deep leadership" in that very same year. It was all about getting to know your guys, and really make, mold them into a good, smart unit, which turns into good platoon. And before everything - I had to be that father figure/big brother to them, in the age of 20. That makes you grow as a human being. It gave something to my life I'd never would've got elsewhere.
I spent a month+ as an extra during this film's shoot, so a couple of behind-the-scenes notes regarding your themes. Production costs - it's amazing how much time and personnel are needed just to be present on the set. Especially behind the cameras (plural!): directors, catering, SFX/explosive/animal specialists, wardrobe department, lightning and audio crew... The amount of people present must've accrued quite a bill in food alone. Though most of scenes were filmed in FDF grounds, so it was pretty easy to rely on support of their facilities (IDK did they pay "rent" for this). We also had an international SFX team (IFX), with experience from Band of Brothers and Batman Begins. They even made a World Record with Unknown Soldier: most high-explosives detonated in a single take. And there were lots of explosions. Camaraderie - I actually joined the shoot by invite from an another NCO, with whom I served in same basic platoon, later company and eventually same battalion. Most of us had gone through military and slept in the same military accommodation (tents). There were definitely same elements as in active duty: we didn't know what exactly is going to happen, where, for how long, is the lunch soon... Some of the days were comparable to the miseries of military service, particularly with combination of long overtime + any form of wetness. There was a bunch of us "veterans", who after time would start to guide the new guys in. Some would stay in for 40+ days, some came just for a day. This veteran group had a very tight bond. Many of us came to the press showing in Helsinki with the same wartime uniforms for the one last time :) We've even taken part in some the voluntary exercises of the actual military with guys recruited from the filming. Feeling at the back of the head - We had a few things during the shoot that slightly "traumatized" us and made us to be on our guard all the time. One was the command "AP!", short for "starting positions". Sometimes this meant very fast movement back to our starting points very frequently. The worst was waiting behind a T-34 tank. The exhaust was rather painful for the eyes and throat. You didn't know if you'd be thrown into something unpleasant or when any movement orders would be give. It was stressful. The second was the spray bottle (remember pointing out wetness earlier?). Some scenes had to have us look like wet. Cold air and wind + water sprayed all over you was hated by everyone. Just like in the military, people starting cursing the wind, forest, clouds and whatnot! Overall though 10/10 experience. Met great people, different experience, traveled around and got my name in the credits of this Finnish cultural milestone.
A wonderful movie - many more nuances for us Scandinavians, but happy that an American can also see the care that was taken to tell this story. In many ways I prefer historical war movies to be fictional rather than biographical. In some ways it lets you tell a more true story, because you are not bound by a completely subjective narrative.
I think the "looming at the back of their mind" is intensified because the mentality or future vision (and an explicit order actually from the previous war, the Winterwar) was to fight an impossible enemy until "the last man". For them to fail would've meant the families are going to be destroyed, even if going to war often meant the same thing. It wasn't just a war somewhere away for whatever abstract political reasons, they thought the war is the only way to survive. Of course not everyone felt like this.
Well, stated, even today I am worried of war with Russia and I am a Finn, living in the USA most of my life, to be more specific Karelian Finn, family from Viipuri.....however if it would happen, I am ready to go to battle if that is what is needed, cant explain it, however it is somehow ingrained within me to feel this way.
@@CombatArmsChannel My cousin played in " Talvisota ( Winter War 1989 ) " as an extra a Russian soldier. No lines to speak, just running forward and falling down ( dying ) during Russian attacks to Finnish trenches. At the time he was serving in the Army and his company was ordered to take part in. According to him, easiest time during his service but more waiting time than in service for waiting something to happen but better food. Great review. Keep up the good work.
I was truly impressed how you dissected some of the scenes analyzing the acting down to the smallest detail and showing how it portrayed the kind of experiences that you've also had yourself in your military life, particularly when it come to the relationships between the soldiers and their families during leave in the film. I think the popularity of your channel has to have a lot to do with your ability to pick up details like this and put them into context and shed light on what goes on in the minds of the people you're talking about.
