This is an excellent film, brutally honest and tightly reality-bound depiction of the defense of Finland against a better equipped, many times larger, but (fortunately!) poorly led Soviet army, in a bone-chilling arctic winter. Like an image of what a hell frozen over would be like.
Though I am a Finn, and understand the language, out of interest I watched the film with English subtitles. I was dismayed to discover how much was lost in the translation; the subtitles are more like short summaries of the gist of what is being said, without any of the flair and flavour.
As such, the film is a bit spartan and bleak for Hollywood-saturated eyes, but so is war.
In all, an excellent war film, depicting the horror of war more tangibly than any other that I've seen, save for "The Thin Red Line".
Though I am a Finn, and understand the language, out of interest I watched the film with English subtitles. I was dismayed to discover how much was lost in the translation; the subtitles are more like short summaries of the gist of what is being said, without any of the flair and flavour.
As such, the film is a bit spartan and bleak for Hollywood-saturated eyes, but so is war.
In all, an excellent war film, depicting the horror of war more tangibly than any other that I've seen, save for "The Thin Red Line".