Tuntematon Sotilas (The Unknown Soldier)
1955
****
Director: Edvin Laine
Cast: Kosti Klemelä, Heikki Savolainen, Reino Tolvanen, Veikko Sinisalo, Åke Lindman, Pentti Siimes, Leo Riuttu, Kaarlo Halttunen
This adaptation of Väinö Linna's fantastic novel gives us a group of Finnish soldiers who fight in the Continuation war against the Soviet Union. The men provide a crosscut of the Finnish population, they come from around the country and represent different social backgrounds, but they all share a hate of authority. The novel managed to avoid any kind of flag waving, which the film doesn't. The book was refilmed in 1985.
