This movie was a huge disappointment. After reading several glowing reviews on this website and seeing the astronomical rating, I thought it would be a great way to learn a little bit about the Winter War and see some good war drama. It is a terrible movie: there is no plot whatsoever (and hey, I live in Europe so I am used to, and even enjoy, low tension plot) but even for a lover of Eric Rohmer films, this was a long, hard slog through through endless (and yes I DO mean endless) scenes of battle which alternate between Russians advancing, then retreating, or characters you don't know that well or care to know that well, getting blown to smithereens. Then, as a scene changer, there are shots of planes flying which are always Russian and are always just about to strafe some Finnish guy who is way too far from his trench. There are 3 whole hours to kill this way sans any directorial intelligence or insight to be found anywhere in the vast winter wastelands he manages to create. By the end, there seems to be only one game left to play: find a way to shoot explosions in yet another setting, because Finland is not that big.
If you're looking for a quality war movie from a European perspective (and which take place in Winter) Stalingrad is much, much better than this impressively made but utterly empty and lumbering production.
If you're looking for a quality war movie from a European perspective (and which take place in Winter) Stalingrad is much, much better than this impressively made but utterly empty and lumbering production.