Finnish
7.5
2018
Belgium
The Unknown Soldier miniseries expands the story of the 2017 film of the same name. The World War II series based on Väinö Linna's classic novel closely follows a machine gun company of the Finnish Army on the Karelian front during the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union, from mobilization in 1941 to the Moscow Armistice in 1944. It's a story about how camaraderie, humor, and a desire to survive connect men on their journey. War upends the lives of both the individual soldiers and those left on the home front, and leaves its mark on the entire nation.
Overview
Reviews
r96sk wrote:An enthralling watch.
2018's 'Unknown Soldier' is excellent. To make a three hour run time go by in a flash is no easy task, but that's exactly what occurred for me whilst watching this - I probably could've taken another hour, it's that good. I was locked in, what helps is the film wastes no time and gets straight into the core of the story - and doesn't let up until the credits.
Eero Aho is sensational as Antero Rokka, what a great performance both physically and emotively - such a memorable character. Aho is the standout, though by no means gives the only noteworthy showing. Jussi Vatanen as Ville and Johannes Holopainen as Jorma are superb too. Credit is due for the whole cast, in fairness.
Every sequence hits as intended, the effects are convincing and the horrors of war are shown all too well. Pacing-wise, as alluded to at the top of my review, is perfection. The film only follows the Finnish side, as one would expect given it's a Finnish production, but does an admirable job at showing their good and bad elements.
These next words will come as no surprise: I'd undoubtedly recommend that you watch this.
