The Unknown Soldier (1955)

The tale of a platoon of soldiers during the Continuation War. Based on Väinö Linna's book of the same name.

Director:

Edvin Laine

Writers:

Väinö Linna (novel), Juha Nevalainen

Stars:

Kosti Klemelä, Heikki Savolainen, Reino Tolvanen

7 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kosti Klemelä	...	Koskela
Heikki Savolainen	...	Hietanen
Reino Tolvanen	...	Rokka
Veikko Sinisalo	...	Lahtinen
Åke Lindman	...	Lehto
Pentti Siimes	...	Määttä
Leo Riuttu	...	Vanhala
Kaarlo Halttunen	...	Rahikainen
Matti Ranin	...	Kariluoto
Jussi Jurkka	...	Lammio
Tauno Palo	...	Sarastie
Pentti Irjala	...	Kaarna
Vilho Siivola	...	Mäkilä
Martti Romppanen	...	Sihvonen
Tapio Hämäläinen	...	Salo

Storyline

In 1941 Finland attacks the Soviet Union to regain the territory that the Soviet Union occupied after the Winter war 1939-1940. Among the Finnish soldiers are Anttero, Wolf Paw, Koskela and Hietanen. Under great hardships and deaths of comrades in arms they manage to come as far as Lake Onega before the losses become too great.

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Plot Keywords:

finnish military | finnish soldier | army life | world war two | based on novel | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

When the film was shown in Russia for the first time ever (well after the downfall of the Soviet Union), it received a standing ovation from the audience.

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Quotes

Lehto: You fucking bastard! What are you making faces for?
Riitaoja: I'm not making faces, Corporal Sir!
Lehto: Corporal Sir! Corporal Sir! You won't get away with me by calling me 'Sir'!

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Connections

Featured in 'Tuntemattoman sotilaan' tekijä Väinö Linna (1955)

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Soundtracks

Punakaartin marssi
Sung by Leo Riuttu

User Reviews

A Finnish infantry company with machine guns fights against the Red Army.

The movie is based on a brilliant and realistic book (Unknown soldier) about the "Continuation War" between Finland and Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944.

After the initial fast attack phase the war turns into sleepy trench warfare (1942-44), then (1944)the company has to retreat and finally stop the storming Red Army forces. There exists a wide spectrum of characters from cowards to heroes, from peasant rank-and-file soldiers to cocky officers. The scale in personalities and changing situations of war, which are credibly described, makes the movie a spectacle.

It helps a lot if one knows some of the underlying history, but the story is rather universal tale of the cruelty of war and the men who have to live and die for their country and different motives. The language with dialects is versatile, but in Finnish only. This old version (1955) is in my opinion better than the later one (1985).

Details

Country:

Finland

Language:

Finnish

Release Date:

23 December 1955 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Okänd soldat

Filming Locations:

Luumäki, Finland

Box Office

Budget:

FIM46,667,761 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Suomen Filmiteollisuus

Technical Specs

Runtime:

177 min 121 min (cut) 135 min (1956)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Aga-Baltic)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1