Perfect cast and a good story

In truth, any opportunity to see the film on the big screen is welcome.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I agree in saying it's nothing on the original.One thing I will compliment this movie on is one thing it's criticized for - the fact it was hand-held camera. There is almost no shaky movements within the whole movie - for a fact there is only one shot out of the whole movie that really bothered me.This movie also seems like it is a movie too reliant on showing realistic war violence (a previous reviewer from the Finnish army actually said it's realistic war violence) rather than telling a story - which the original tried to do.For recreations of some of the scenes in this there are sometimes when the reenactments of the original were just the same others when it was worse and there was only one scene out of the whole thing that I thought was reenacted better than the original - The scene where the medic truck was bombed - because of the previous scene where you see wounded soldiers cry out in pain and then you see it being bombed by Russians, Mollberg only made that scene better executed than the one made 30 years prior.In this movie they don't humanize the Russians like in Talvisota but this time they don't really portray the Finns as good kind-hearted saints, there is a bit in the movie where a Finn shoots a Russian soldier taken prisoner.Overall: Decent remake - so that means it's a better remake than most.

Edvin Laine did it first and brought Väinö Linna's Tuntematon Sotilas to the big screen.The year was 1955.Tuntematon Sotilas (1985) is directed by Rauni Mollberg.Linna's novel is a classic, which I read last year.And so is the first version of the novel.They show it on every Independence Day (Dec 6) here in Finland.This year, that marked the 94th anniversary of our country, made no exception.I didn't watch it this year, but instead I borrowed this new version from the library.The cast consists of some known names, and there are also a lot of amateur actors.The more known names are Risto Tuorila (Koskela), Pirkka-Pekka Petelius (Hietanen), Paavo Liski (Rokka), Pertti Koivula (Lahtinen), Kari Väänänen (Lammio), Veikko Tiitinen (Kaarna), Risto Salmi (Korpela) and Yrjö Parjanne (Colonel).This doesn't get too close to the original.The 1980's war between Finland and Russia differs pretty much from the 1950's version of it.The battle scenes look good, but what I missed was the humor of the first movie.There's some, but it's not very funny.Even though it's war, it doesn't have to be so serious.Often, in horrendous situations, such as war, humor is the way to cope with it.The original is a classic, this is just a decent war movie.

Rauni Mollberg's (from now on referred to as 'Molle') Tuntematon Sotilas has been left far behind in fame to its predecessor, that of Edwin Laine's Tuntematon Sotilas from 1955. This is not surprising as the newer movie lacks the sentiment that is almost omnipresent in the older version. Despite this, is Molle's version more faithful to the original novel by Väinö Linna who was himself involved in making of the new version. Both movies however deserve their place, in Edwin Laine's time there was a need for high national epic but as the times changed a new version was also welcome and maybe even in demand.Molle's version deserves perhaps more praise and attention than it has been used to have, but also criticism. The newer version is no way meant to be 'a better' version but rather an alternative account of the psychological reality of a man. Therefore I call it an antithesis, it is impossible to see the newer version without comparing it to the all too familiar older version. You actually need to watch the film several times before it really opens to you in the way Molle had intended it. Tuntematon Sotilas is a war film, but the highlight is upon the people who fought in there, both Finns and Russians, who are brought to suffer the very same meat-grinder. Parts of it are funny, parts of it are disgusting.What is left to a lesser notion is historicity, the weapons and uniforms are from the second world war but you should not expect them to appear in correct order. For the weapon freaks be it informed that the same KV-1's appear as both Finnish and Soviet tanks. For those who already know everything that has been written about the Continuation War this movie does not offer any historical references, this time it is all literature from the ground view. Nevertheless this is one of the best war films there is, perhaps there is a conscious focus and perhaps there is some message, but the weight of the overall work will just make you silent.If you are going to see this film, make sure you are watching a quality copy. Many dark scenes have become incomprehensible in poor quality VHS transfers. The darkness is essential visual effect in Molle's version.

This movie is following a Finnish platoon in Finlands struggle against Soviet Union in the Continuation War starting in 1942. In the beginning the men are conscripts who are sent to the front when Finland attacks SU in hope of getting back the area that SU took from Finland in Winter War in 1940. In the beginning Finland is victorious but then the luck turns... Finland has to start its retreat. The men are just 19-year-old boys when the war starts, but in the end they are heroes who kept the Finland independent despite of the massive Soviet Army.