Kukushka (2002)

September of 1944, a few days before Finland went out of the Second World War. A chained to a rock Finnish sniper-kamikadze Veikko managed to set himself free. Ivan, a captain of the Soviet... See full summary »

Director:

Aleksandr Rogozhkin

Writer:

Aleksandr Rogozhkin

Stars:

Anni-Kristiina Juuso, Ville Haapasalo, Viktor Bychkov

17 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anni-Kristiina Juuso	...	Anni
Ville Haapasalo	...	Veikko (as Ville Khaapasalo)
Viktor Bychkov	...	Ivan or Psoltõ
Mikhail Korobochkin
Aleksei Kashnikov
Denis Aksyonov
Aleksei Panzheyev
Aleksandr Kuykka
Vladimir Matveev
Aleksandr Zubkin
Vladimir Knysh
Sergei Antonov
Valeri Yakovlev
Sergei Berzin
Aleksandr Melnikov

Storyline

September of 1944, a few days before Finland went out of the Second World War. A chained to a rock Finnish sniper-kamikadze Veikko managed to set himself free. Ivan, a captain of the Soviet Army, arrested by the Front Secret Police 'Smersh', has a narrow escape. They are soldiers of the two enemy armies. A Lapp woman Anni gives a shelter to both of them at her farm. For Anni they are not enemies, but just men.

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Plot Keywords:

chained | finland | captain | lapp | soldier | 

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Taglines:

She's Making Peace One Man at a Time.

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Genres:

Drama | War | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and violence

Details

Official Sites:

CTB Film Company [ru] Sony Classics

Country:

Russia

Language:

Saami Finnish Russian German

Release Date:

12 September 2002 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Gjøken

Filming Locations:

Kandalaksha, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$16,473 (USA) (11 July 2003)

Gross:

$243,187 (USA) (14 November 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kinokompaniya CTB

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Cuckoo' (as the bird) was military slang for a solitary sniper, the role Veikko is forced to masquerade as.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film, the Russian jeep with Ivan as a prisoner on it is seen moving on a straight road and at low speed. However, the driver of the jeep makes abrupt steering movements which is incoherent with the path of the jeep shown.

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Connections

Featured in Kukushkino gnezdo (2003)

User Reviews

Thoroughly enjoyable

Saw this film at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9th and was pleasantly surprised. It is truly a thoroughly enjoyable film that easily merits the 9 out of 10 I voted herein. It is so regrettable that a wide release is likely to elude this little gem. I am certain that many film lovers throughout the world would delight in the results of its clearly creative, though not necessarily original, comedic plot's "communication barrier" underpinnings, which are effectively utilized to convey a sense of the profound absurdity of war in a way I found vastly more entertaining than the myriad of Hollywood fare that has plodded similar plot lines using copious brutal images. A refreshing surprise that I hope comes your way some day in a Festival or Foreign-film Television channel!