Basilius Reviews

Hylätyt talot, autiot pihat (2000)

An ordinary, well filmed romantic story of people escaping an enemy attack during war.

[6/10 · 20 February 2000]

The movie is based on a book I haven't read, but I think the story is nothing new, nothing surprising. Except, possibly the main characters' devotion to each other. It is summer 1944 at the Finnish eastern border during the Second World War. The War has been "phony" for few years, but now the hell breaks loose and the Soviet Army attacks with strong forces. Civilians are being evacuated and the Finnish army tries to contain the Soviet onslaught. A Captain gets married just before the storm and leaves for the front. The farm run by the wife and some other women, one of whome gives a birth that makes moving them more difficult, is abandoned forever and the women are supposed to run away from the danger zone. People go back and forth, largely in search for each other despite the danger, few gets killed and others fell in love in the chaos. Great sceneries, okay acting, fitting music, some fresh skin from sauna. A worthwhile investment for people interested in history and the areas in question. Nevertheless, the movie is not a historical war movie but rather a romantic drama in a historical setting.

Rakkaudella, Maire (1999)

Interesting, sad and realistic drama, more like a tv play than a movie.

[7/10 · 13 January 2000]

The movie tells a story about a lonely middle aged woman, Maire, whose husband works abroad and children have forgotten. She has an alcohol problem and develops an interest in people who have gone through traumatic experiences, which are covered in the newspaper clips she collects. A young widow, whose husband was killed in a brawl and has not received any compensation from the killer, with a daughter receives her compulsive attention. She tries to help the family and make the life of the killer, who has already been released from prison, ever more difficult. The killer is represented as a fairly nice guy who just happened to be far too drunk and feels sorry for what happened. Maire does not really recognise her own problems until it's too late. Interesting and realistic drama, more like a tv play than a movie, a sad story with some black humor that might have benefited from being a bit more genre loyal to some direction.

Tommy and the Wildcat (1998)

A nature movie about friendship between a boy and a lynx.

[6/10 · 27 September 1999]

The movie tells about friendship between a boy and a lynx. An animal park cannot keep a lynx any more, and the boy helps it to get to freedom.

Some hunters hate the lynx because it is after the game and also domestic animals. The story is rather sad and touching, acting partly okay, partly mediocre, but the winter scenery is very beautiful and worth to see.

The movie is best suited for families and children, but not too young watchers.

The Unknown Soldier (1955)

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

[8/10 · 27 September 1999]

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).