Truly Dreadful Film

Really Surprised!

Good concept, poorly executed.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

I have been growing to really REALLY love foreign-language War films. I like Stalingrad, Black Book, The Unknown Soldier (pick one!) and The Winter War to name a few. I mainly picked this one up because I have been getting into Finnish movies and the cast to this, based on what I've seen look like the kind where even if I didn't like it they'd be able to carry it.The plot is that Lt. Eero Perkola leads his squad through the Russian forest during the Continuation War and meets up with his fiancée, Kaarina - who has become a nurse with the hopes of at least trying to find out if he's okay. They meet for a night before both have to leave, when Kaarina leaves for another city's fiery aftermath they are ambushed by Russians. Eero finds out this news as he is given new orders to fight off Russians, so he has to continue leading his men while mourning the loss of his fiancée.Now the action, while very limited (I'm serious, there are 4 action scenes in this entire movie) is very very good. The last one in particular looks amazing. That one was perfectly paced, motion slowed when it needed to be and seeing the stunt-men run past the explosions are all done beautifully.The actors themselves do indeed do fantastic jobs. Peter Franzen does indeed do a great job here and while their roles are minor I found it great that we saw Irina Bjorklund and Tommi Eronen act as well. The main supporting players that I have never even heard of also do indeed put in stellar performances.If there is anything to complain about it would have to be the Catholic imagery, no this is not me attacking religion. I just feel that there was little purpose for it. There is a lot of it, especially within the first half of the movie and I didn't really find that much of a need for it. If I were to compare to another Olli Saarela film - The Priest Of Evil had Catholic imagery which was needed because the main antagonist thought he was God's right hand.There is only one other complaint and - yes, it's a nitpick. In this movie a character walks along a bridge and gets shot by Russian forces and he tries getting up and fighting only to get shot down even more until he falls into the water... He survives this whole movie. I'm not kidding in the very next scene he somehow was able to walk back to where they set up camp.Aside from that there isn't really that much to complain about. The cinematography is nigh-on perfect for the tone of this movie. It all looks really good but also gives off this cold feeling (even though for those who haven't seen this movie - it's not set in winter). It's not the best I've seen for a War movie (that would have to go to Max Manus: Man Of War) but it's pretty damn close. Then there's the music, It deserved the Jussi win. That's all I can say about it, it fits perfectly and the pieces all sound wonderful.So If you have seen the Finnish war movie classics like The Winter War and The Unknown Soldier then this movie doesn't exactly live up to those movies, in entertainment or emotional investment. However this is still a well made movie that despite a few small complaints is very much worth checking out.

The movie "Ambush" is a very interesting movie although I can't still understand now in the plot what was the relationship between Finland and Germany in the second world war.By the fact I have some Finnish friends who couldn't explain it to me at all in a rational way, but it seems they were alliated to the Nazis?? I am sorry but I am not very implicated in these items about second world war, but the movie doesn't explain what was happening exactly, as the russians appear as murderer invaders in a out of time dimension war and also the guns used by the Finnish looked from the I world war. The Nazis and their collaboration with the finish are not ever mentioned.Instead of this the movie is very good filmed, with a lot of masculine and feminine cakes, and specially the music is super, some years ago I bought a CD from the finish label Ondine,called "Aurora Borealis", and I was very impressed about the music of this movie, , as it was never shown in Spanish cinemas I thought I never were able to see this movie, until I bought the DVD in a second hand shop last week in Madrid...incredible! I repeat that the movie is super. Sorry for my bad English!

I thought that this would finally be THE Finnish war film, but I guess I was wrong... Well, this ain't that bad, it just takes a few wrong turns. The biggest problems being a certain lack of "honesty" for example: what's that running tall in the woods when you got a zillion bullets flying! In a situation like that you stay the F. down! Now that, of course is not that heroic and exciting to watch, but that's what happened for real. And the problem with all Finnish movies is a serious lack of talent from the director. Every time I'm watching a Finnish war or an action movie I get this feeling of a guy shivering in the director's chair thinking "what am I goinna do next? what am I gonna do next? I hope they don't ask me 'cause I'm on a major director's block here!" so he bails out using something he's seen in an AMERICAN movie! So in the middle of serious situations we get these hilarious out-of-its-place-scenes like soldiers running in the woods dodging bullets. Or in "Talvisota", a punchline after a russian POW commits suicide with a grenade, or a Finnish soldier getting shot, spurting blood, still firing a short burst and then dying. Tsk, tsk, looks like we're only good at making comedy-dramas for young adults ("levottomat", "minä ja Morrison", "nousukausi"...)"Rukajärven tie" delivers, but it's only "okay". And if you consider the material... would PLEASE a major Hollywood-studio pick the Winter War and the Continuation War for a movie?? The situation is a gem (although not back then...): the odds for russians were like a 1.000 to 1 and in Winter war it was FREEEZING cold, down to minus 40 C! And talk about being in between a tree and a hard shell - we HAD to choose either Adolf's or Stalin's side.Just one thing- make it talky, with the eXtra dry Finnish humour.

I liked this movie more than I liked Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line. For some reason it was able to capture better what the other movies were trying to capture. What I liked even more was that it was able to "cheat". Meaning it was able to make it look like there was a war going on with a few well taken shots and angles and sound effects, an inspiration for all aspiring filmmakers with no Hollywood money. =)