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Battle for Finland

Original title: Tali-Ihantala 1944
  • 20072007
  • 1h 57m
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
1.9K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Tali-Ihantala 1944 (2007)
  • Drama
  • History
  • War
In the summer of 1944, the Finnish Forces must defend Finland from the invading Soviet Red Army.In the summer of 1944, the Finnish Forces must defend Finland from the invading Soviet Red Army.In the summer of 1944, the Finnish Forces must defend Finland from the invading Soviet Red Army.
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
1.9K
YOUR RATING
  • Directors
    • Åke Lindman
    • Sakari Kirjavainen
  • Writers
    • Stefan Forss
    • Benedict Zilliacus
  • Stars
    • Rauno Ahonen
    • Mikkomarkus Ahtiainen
    • Frank Biermann
Top credits
  • Directors
    • Åke Lindman
    • Sakari Kirjavainen
  • Writers
    • Stefan Forss
    • Benedict Zilliacus
  • Stars
    • Rauno Ahonen
    • Mikkomarkus Ahtiainen
    • Frank Biermann
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 17User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 nominations

    Photos8

    Tali-Ihantala 1944 (2007)
    Tali-Ihantala 1944 (2007)
    Tali-Ihantala 1944 (2007)
    Fabian Silén in Tali-Ihantala 1944 (2007)
    Taisto Oksanen in Tali-Ihantala 1944 (2007)
    Tali-Ihantala 1944 (2007)
    Tali-Ihantala 1944 (2007)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Rauno Ahonen
    • Lieutenant Colonelas Lieutenant Colonel
    Mikkomarkus Ahtiainen
    Frank Biermann
    Jussi Brech
    Mikko Bredenberg
    • Captain Carl-Birger Kvikantas Captain Carl-Birger Kvikant
    Riko Eklundh
    • Colonel Sven Björkmanas Colonel Sven Björkman
    Marc Gassot
    • Sergeant Reino Lehväslaihoas Sergeant Reino Lehväslaiho
    Marcus Groth
    • Major General Ruben Lagusas Major General Ruben Lagus
    Johan Hallström
    • Second Lieutenant Thorbjörnssonas Second Lieutenant Thorbjörnsson
    Kari Hevossaari
    • Lieutenant Puhakkaas Lieutenant Puhakka
    Aku Hirviniemi
    Antti Holma
    Jani Honkaselkä
    Markku Hyvönen
    • Lance Corporal Ville Väisänenas Lance Corporal Ville Väisänen
    Janne Hyytiäinen
    Janne Hyytiäinen
    • Major of Air-forceas Major of Air-force
    Tatu Hämäläinen
    Viggo Idman
    • Lieutenant Stig Hästöas Lieutenant Stig Hästö
    Olli Ikonen
    • Major General Einar Vihmaas Major General Einar Vihma
    • Directors
      • Åke Lindman
      • Sakari Kirjavainen
    • Writers
      • Stefan Forss
      • Benedict Zilliacus
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Director Åke Lindman got seriously ill during the filming. He let editor Sakari Kirjavainen finish the picture.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Mannerheim: Perhaps I should go to bed.

    • Soundtracks
      Oi kallis Suomenmaa
      Composed by Timo Hietala / Trad.

      Lyrics by Heikki Klemetti

      Arranged by Timo Hietala

    User reviews17

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    An unconventional movie for war buffs
    Tali-Ihantala 1944 isn't an ordinary movie in any sense, really. There's no continuation with the characters, as the movie is basically split into several parts, between which there is no direct correlation or continuation. The parts are only woven together lightly by some "narrative" cut-scenes between them, explaining some of the major movements and events in the battles, but even so most of the time the events portrayed don't really tie in to the "large scale events" explained by the cut-scenes.

    As the different parts have different characters each time, there's no character development or any major social interaction. For a large part, the actors aren't really top notch either - an unfortunate side effect of this being a Finnish film, as there simply aren't many good Finnish actors. But it has to be said that there's not even that much "real" acting to be done the way this film is made.

    The main feature of the movie is the documentary-like battle scenes. The events depicted are based on real occurrences during the Tali-Ihantala battles, taken from various sources.

    Of particular interest to WW2 "hardware" buffs is the part about the Finnish Armored forces. It features many authentic WW2 armored vehicles. The depicted T-34 tanks are all authentic, and so are the StuG III G assault guns. That aside, the KV tanks shown are mock-ups if memory serves, since while the real KVs that took part in those events still exist in a museum, they are not in a running condition. There's some other details not spot on as well, but that's a topic for another time.

    One thing to note is that it's obvious the movie makers didn't have access to all that many tanks, as it can clearly be seen the same tanks are reused to portray tanks on both sides. It's not a big issue given the authenticity of the tanks to begin with though, and someone not more familiar with it all probably wouldn't even notice.

    Most of the other battle scenes are infantry-related, which comes as no surprise since not only are they the easiest and cheapest to make, but also because infantry was the main feature of the Finnish army, since armored and air forces were very limited in size. These infantry scenes are decently made, even if nothing spectacular. Still, for many battles I ended up wishing for more sheer manpower on the screen, both for the visuals of it as well as historical accuracy.

    Overall it's clear this isn't a huge-budget production. The whole film was funded in a rather unconventional fashion to make it possible to begin with. It also has to be said that indeed for the Average Joe this movie might not offer much, but for war buffs it should certainly be worth watching. Even for the average viewer, perhaps more names and details would've helped with immersing into the events more, and for war buffs this could've helped with finding more information on the depicted events.

    It's a mixed review, I know (it's my first), so to summarize I'll just say that even with the budget-imposed limitations and often less than stellar acting, it was well worth watching for someone familiar with the events and with a keen interest on the whole war era, and I'll certainly buy the DVD as well, hopefully soon. For those with no real interest in war history and somewhat plain depiction of events however, it's probably best to look elsewhere, or at least make sure you know what to expect.

    I'll add as an afterthought that I would have wished for a depiction of the Finnish Air Force's operations, but sadly it was not really possible with the film's style and budget (even the small part about the German flight group Kuhlmey is rather crude). The FAF's part and actions in the war are not very widely known even within Finland, so they'd deserve some publicity.
    helpful•15
    4
    • teppo-2
    • Oct 4, 2008

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 7, 2007 (Finland)
    • Country of origin
      • Finland
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • Finnish
      • Swedish
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Battle for Finland: Tali-Ihantala 1944
    • Filming locations
      • Finland
    • Production company
      • Åke Lindman Film-Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • €3,200,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,477,250
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 57 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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