Unknown Soldier

Unknown Soldier, directed by Aku Louhimies, is a 2017 Finnish war drama film featuring an array of celebrated Finnish actors such as Eero Aho, Johannes Holopainen, and Jussi Vatanen. The film is an adaptation of Finnish author Väinö Linna's patriotically renowned 1954 novel "The Unknown Soldier," also known as "Sotaromaani."

The story is set in World War II, sharing the life events, brave exploits, robust camaraderie, and tragedies encountered by a company of Finnish soldiers who serve their nation bravely on the front lines against the Soviet Union's Red Army from 1941 to 1944, during the Continuation War. This is not just a movie about the physical act of wartime but about the psychology, lust, fear, ambition, and above all, the search for courage and identity amongst the turmoil.

Eero Aho, Johannes Holopainen, and Jussi Vatanen successfully bring life to their characters, each representing different layers of human emotions and reactions under tremendous pressure. Eero Aho portrays Rokka, a character renowned for his audacity and cocksure authority, demonstrating a comfortable and believable competence within incredible battle sequences. Johannes Holopainen, as Kariluoto, is an idealistic lieutenant from the Finnish gentry who faces an overwhelming maturation on the bloody battlefields. Jussi Vatanen plays the role of Lieutenant Koskela, a stoic squad leader whose hard exterior shields a well of compassion.

The film invites viewers into this intimate world of these soldiers and their struggles, humanising the brutality of war through the lens of Finnish stoicism and occasional dry humor. We see the men grapple with tough decisions and the strain war puts on friendships and loyalties. Outside of the traumas of the front line, the film also touches on personal relationships, where the men share stories about their lives before the war, girlfriends, countryside, and families back home, reminding audiences that behind every soldier uniform stands a person with a full, complex life.

Scenes of camaraderie break the tension of combat, providing a sense of everyday life at war while demonstrating the intimate bonds that form among the men in the trenches. Director Aku Louhimies does service to the story with his meticulous attention to historical detail and preservation of the authentic Finnish spirit, even while contextualizing international wartime relations. The movie doesn’t shy away from highlighting the hard realities of war, including depicting graphic scenes of battle to convey the brutal stakes faced by Finland in the throes of wartime.

Several scenes are marked by brilliant cinematography, with the Finnish landscape permeating the narrative as not just a theatre of war but also a character in itself. The contrast of the pristine, snow-covered woods and the harsh, grim state of war renders a particularly striking visual experience, thus emphasizing the turbulence beneath the tranquillity that war often forces upon societies and individuals. The movie also makes optimal use of a rocking soundtrack to create an intense sense of urgency, danger, and uncertainty.

"Unknown Soldier" is a novel adaptation and war movie that doesn’t fall into the trappings of glorifying conflict. Instead, it gives audience members a thoughtful and occasionally sobering look into the lives of these soldiers fighting not for some abstract national pride but their place, their home, their Finland. It tackles the battle seen from various perspectives, showing the toll war can take on both victorious and defeated fronts.

Overall, "Unknown Soldier" is an epic tale of courage, brotherhood, endurance, and hope. It is a poignant dedication to every Finnish soldier who fought during the Continuation War and a moving exploration of the human spirit in the time of conflict. Although it is firmly rooted in Finnish history, this film, like all great war dramas, has a universal appeal, examining the lengths that ordinary people go under extraordinary circumstances. It encapsulates a mesmerizing and compelling narrative that is imbued with raw emotion and humanist warmth, making Unknown Soldier an unforgettable viewing experience.