I wanted to like this movie more than I did. True, the land battle reenactments are pretty impressive and, so far as I could tell, technically realistic. And where else can you see T-26s in action? In other areas, though, the film's low budget (relative to Hollywood) shows, especially with the Russian aircraft, which are pretty obviously radio-controlled models. Those I-16s were just too good to be true! The artillery bombardments and small arms fire are very well handled, however.
More seriously, the film lacks compelling characters or much of a story. It's a pretty straightforward account of several naive young men who go to war and experience hell, but continue to fight bravely to the bitter end. To be fair, the thin plot may be a result of the severely shortened version of the movie available on DVD in the US. Original Finnish prints run 195 minutes; the DVD is 125 minutes.
As it stands, the cut version of the movie will appeal primarily to military history buffs.
More seriously, the film lacks compelling characters or much of a story. It's a pretty straightforward account of several naive young men who go to war and experience hell, but continue to fight bravely to the bitter end. To be fair, the thin plot may be a result of the severely shortened version of the movie available on DVD in the US. Original Finnish prints run 195 minutes; the DVD is 125 minutes.
As it stands, the cut version of the movie will appeal primarily to military history buffs.