Fun fact, the drinking scene was not acted. The actors actually got hammered for that scene.

When Finns make something, it is always good. Greetings from Sweden This comment section: "peace was never an option"

I was one of the two historical / military advisers on the film. We trained all the actors and extras and made sure everything on set was as historically correct as possible. This is my favorite review of the film so far. You obviously get the state of mind of these characters as they are thrust into that unfamiliar and stressful world, and how they each change as the result of the things they experience. Great commentary!

Every time I watch this movie I have tears in my eyes in the ending scene with Finlandia playing. I feel so grateful to our great grandparents and other relatives that we are a free nation.

What i like about this movie is that it has no propaganda. Everyone gets hurt the same. Thats war, not this "Hell yea, get some" glorified bs where the other side seems to somehow be enjoying themselves while the others get shredded...

The story is realistic because the writer of the book (the Unknown Soldier) actually served in the Continuation war and the story is based on his unit and his experiences. In addition to being a squad-leader, he wrote notes and observations about his and his unit's experiences. Many of those characters are based on a real person and some of the movie quotes were actually used in a real life, especially Rokka's quotes.

I am Finnish. My grandfather fought in the continuation war in 1941. He was in artillery battalion. After some 2 few months of war, they all were hit by russian artillery...and everyone went for cover. It was a direct hit and most of their unit was decimated on the spot. He lost his leg...only some skin was holding his leg together. His best friend cried for "mother" and was dying few meters away. He had lost both arms and legs...in that hit and was bleeding out. My grandfather crawled to him and hold his friend on his arms. He begged "kill me...shoot me since it hurts so much". My grandfather had a pistol on his hand and tried but coudn't do it and his friend bled to death in his arms very soon after holding him and crying. It took him 30 years to be able to tell his sons what happened that day. My father told me that story what his father told him...some 50 years later. Only lesson there is. War is and can be horrible and can and will scar you for life mentally. Sacrifice you make for yourself and for others and pain and suffering for all. When i was a little boy in 80´s.... i was some some 6 yo kid...i was smiling and asking my Grandpa "hey since you are one leg short...and jumping around sometimes like a kangaroo...tell me what sucks most when you are one leg short (omg omg children can be so straight shooters and not understanding any pain or concequences"....( i was latter told i was asking stuff like that) My grandpa always smiled and said "you know it sucks mostly when my toes on this lost leg are tickling and i can't scratch them since they are not there" :) He then asked me "can you imagine when you need to scratch something what is tickling and it is not there....just imagine?".... We always made up everything since i volunteered to scratch his leg stump and asking "will this help?"....and he always smiled "yes son...it does" :) Now 42 years later i understand what he went through and how nice he was with all that. And also knowing now the pain him getting up in the middle of some nights when his (missing leg) was hurting or tickling or so... War....it is not nice ever not in any form. Now when he is gone...I appreciate his and all the Veterans dedication back then and all they had to sacrifice. We as younger generation should never ever forget their sacrifice....ever. Most of the western world now sees it in "Call of Duty" and sadly most of the Ukraine sees it once more as realism. Help...Support....and never forget...Amen

I really wish there was a way to properly translate the accents and dialects they use, it adds so much to the movie. Obviously it's impossible and you have to be Finnish or have to have been talking the language most your life to pick up on them/understand them at all.

Composer here. So amazing to see how you completely nailed understanding every little nuance the whole cast and crew was going for. Thank you!

"Hakkaa päälle" war cry is 400 years old. Hakkapeliitas were most feared cavalry in europe back in 1600.

One comment about the dialogue is that the soldiers in the movie are from all around Finland and without proper dialect differences it might even be impossible to dub and also it's one major point in the novel too, since it's been just over 20 years after the civil war that tore people apart, and yet here they are together against a common foe. A huge point in the novel is that former reds and whites are now in the same grays together.

Hey! A Finn here. This movie was really popular here when it came out in 2017, but its most famous version was produced in 1955 by Edvin Laine, and is very often played on TV during independence day (Dec, 6). Even if you're not very patriotic, most Finns hold these stories about the Winter War and the Continuation War in high regard, as they reveal a lot about the nuances of wartime living and the attitude of the common soldier and man towards war. This commentary is really good, btw! Very detailed and respectful of the source material!

We have mandatory military service in Finland so almost all actors in this movie have actually been in military.

Here's a fun fact: in the early phase of the war, all movement on screen is from left to right, representing the advance east into Soviet territory. Later, as the troops are retreating, they move from right to left.

Koskela's face when he is getting chewed out for dumping the machine guns in the lake. I just can't even handle that level of sass.

This movie and the novel is also very famous in Sweden. I am half Finnish half Swedish, just like 80 % of the people in my hometown so we all knew about this story and used to watch the older version as kids.

You did a way better review than any proffessional movie critics. Hats off. 👌

“The Unknown Soldier” in the title is not a reference to a soldier who is unknown (like the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier), but to the unknown side of soldiers. “We do not know what soldiers are really like” -> “Soldiers are unknown” -> “Unknown soldier” The traditional view of soldiers is that they are all heroes, selfless and self-sacrificing paragons of virtue. It makes sense: you wouldn’t want to badmouth the men who fight for the country, after all. But anyone who has actually fought in a war knows what soldiers are really like: normal men put in a horrible situation. Aside from the heroics, which do happen, they also get angry, they summarily execute prisoners, they steal booze and get drunk, they run away in panic in a fight… Or how unfair war is sometimes: the gallant officer in the beginning gets unceremoniously mowed down; a new recruit gets shot in the head on his first day… That’s what The Unknown Soldier is about: depicting what men fighting in a war are really like. It’s a slice-of-life of soldiers.

As a Finn I must say this breakdown of Unknown Soldier is great. I have never ever watched review this long. Actually I've never watched any reviews more than few minutes long. This sucked me in even though I've watched the movie a few times. I think too that this is one of the best war movies there is, even though I am finnish (no offense to Band of Brothers nor Saving private Ryan etc.). Keep up the good work man, you seem to be well focused and your video was pleasant to watch and hear your points and thoughts of the movie. 5/5 review.

The women riding the car in the clip beginning at 13.05 are Lottas, a voluntary auxilary organisation comprised of women working closely with the armed forces, they operated hospitals and other support tasks but they weren't a part of the army. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotta_Sv%C3%A4rd if anyone is interested.

- A Finnish soldier can take on 10 Russian ones. - What happens when the 11th one comes? A great piece from the conversation at the 4min mark

This movie is on my shelf. I watched it about 2 years ago with my (Finnish) wife. It’s really awesome. My stepfather received some of the highest Finnish military awards. He told a lot about what he experienced during the war. I am French but I can speak fluently Finnish. By the way, my son did conscript in the Finnish military.... Greetings from the beautiful Helsinki.

As Im a half finn and half chinese and voluntarily completed my service at Nylands Brigad during 80's, had a great experience. I must watch this movie.

Respect! From a Norwegian lieutenant (reserves, though)... Enjoyed this a lot! And... Don't fuck with the Fins!!! ;-)

My son and I had just ordered and watch it last week as well. He’s looking forward to going to Finland next year to do his conscription service. 🇨🇦 🇫🇮

28:17 To me it opens yet another layer when knowing that Rokka fought in the previous Winter War, lost his home and farm in Karelia for the enemy and had his family moved to another part of the country as refugees (like 11% of the Finnish population at that time). Then he needs to join this Continuation War, still having glimpses of hope for getting his own home back. At one point in the movie, you may notice when Rokka's family is in another house, which is the old home in Karelia, in the area occupied by the Finnish army. Then when the war events start to go south, his family leaves their dear home for the second time while at the same time the army retreats in front of a seriously outnumbering and overpowered enemy. Already before Rokka's character became disconnected, but when all hope of returning back to his home farm is lost, that is when he turns seriously grim.

I am from Finland and this movie captures Finnish nature, atmosphere, and the personality of Finnish people so accurately that I cried my eyes out since it's my third year living in Spain and I started to miss Finland sooooo much. Best movie I've ever watched.

I'm Swede and I love your reaction to this very well made movie. I think I'l have to see it again soon.

The battle cry in 22:53 Hakkaa päälle Pohjanpoika! basically it means Cut them down son of the north! and it comes from Thirty Years' war when finnish light cavarly hakkapeliittas attacked the enemy. And it was my units motto.

This was a great movie definitely underrated especially as an American

I'm swedish and I have seen it! It's really a great movie!

Excellent movie... Love the Finnish fighting spirit.. regards from Sweden

Every year on the 6th of December, the Finnish independence day, they'll show the original version from 1955 on tv, black and white. No matter I've seen it countless times, I'll get stuck on watching it. There is something... it brings the memories of my own served time and I honor these guys what they sacrified for this country.

My grandfather fought in the neighbouring regiment as a runner and was pretty much in the same battles. He also knew personally the author Väinö Linna as they came from the same area. Grandpa never spoke about war until he was 80 years old. After that he shared a lot of war memories. He passed away at the age of 92 having still schrapnels in his hip.

My mothers father survived the hell of Ihantala. His name was Helmer Selin, infantry scout and commando specialist for volunteer-only-missions. He was a warrior poet who died peacefully at the age of 98. What wisdom he taught me, I consider my privilege to pass on to my son. My fathers' side of family is from the Karelian isthmus, which we lost. And the sorrow of the loss of the beautiful Karelia has followed us throughout times, over generations. I, myself, am trained as a arctic guerilla warfare, as a sniper team leader. And even those prime service days are behind me, I still am going to take my precision rifle and nordbotten spetz tomorrow to have a field day at hunting grouse. Not just to walk the dog, or get sustenance or to have physical exercise or fun. But to maintain some of what I've been given. Ci vis pacem, para bellum. Thank you for your videos, sir. You made my day.

I was honored to be part of the making of this film. If I recall right it was July 2016 when I was at Vekaranjärvi for 5 days as an extra. 12-14h of shooting( the film) every day. My legs will never forget.

The author Väinö Linna fought in the war himself so he had a pretty good understanding about what they were going trough

I watched the entire movie on KZfaq after watching a bit of this video. It's a great war movie, I didn't feel good about war after watching it. Some war movies do that, they make war seem cool and glorious. Unknown Soldier shows that there is no glory in war

My grandfather was a messenger during the Continuation War and he actually lied about his age because at the time he was too young to join. He got wounded but survived to be funny and loving husband, father and grandfather. I miss him and it's sad that he passed away when I was too young to truly understand, appreciate and ask about his experience and all he and his brothers in arms did to protect our home.

My grandfather served in the winter war and the continuation war. The book has been made into a movie multiple times, but when i saw this version and as a father myself the full emotional load of having to leave your family really hit home. My grandfather never really wanted to talk about his war experience but did tell me one story. At some point his buddy had time to shoot first, and if he hadn't then my father and myself would never had existed. Those kind of stories really put things into perspective. Sometimes it's not about anything else than trying to survive.

To me the best "part" about the movies is that all the characters are on the same line...There is no action heroes...They are just average guys

The fact that only a few of the company survived the war, really shows the horrors of the war.

So.....Finland is one BAD ASS little country....GOT IT. RESPECT!

Good movie. IF you liked this you will love movie about "forgotten war" called "Talvisota", when soviets did carge to finland with 400+k troops, planes and tanks making normady charge look like childs play. Those Finns were insane against all odds. Best war movie ever still is "come and see" tho.

The uncut miniseries is a lot better than the movie.

The book Unknown Soldier was first filmed after the war in 1955 and 30 years later in 1985 came a new version for a new generation. This third one was released in 2017 when Finland celebrated its 100 years as an independent country. It was a really big production and nearly all the actors are nationally famous. The original movie has probably the most amount of fans in Finland but the latter is also popular. It's a tradition to watch the first one in Independence Day, 6th of December. The national broadcast company sends it annually.

I still feel a sense of despair and sadness when I think about the old 1955 Unknown Soldier movie where a soldier had lost his leg and was being pulled away, all the while screaming about how he couldn't feel his legs. It just felt extremely real, and the acting at the time was just really good for it.

It's a tradition that our whole family warch it on indepence day, they always show it on tv 6.12. Greetings from Suomi Finland 💖🙏🇫🇮

Had a chance to travel to Helsinki, Turku and Eurajoki before COVID hit Europe. Amazing people and beautiful country. I met two gentlemen that fought the Russians, and the stories they told were eye opening.

My dad had his dad and his family's horse send to this war. His dad, my grand dad, came back with injured leg on september 1944 after spending some time in military hospital, and the horse came back with injured mind. Every time the horse heard sound of an aeroplane it went totally out of control. Poor thing probaply got pts from the war.

Saw this in cinema in Sweden where we have a lot of "Swede-Finns" and people were screaming/being extremely emotional during some scenes

The best unknow soldier version is The oldest from year 1955 directed by Edvin Laine. Tuntematon sotilas in Finnish.

This is one of the best shows you have ever done. God bless! This film is based on a book, "Unknown Soldier", by Väinö Linna. And when I was young this book was used at the Swedish War Academy in the officer's indoctrination phase to give the "cadets" av understanding for how to be a good officer in relation to your NCO:s and your men in the field (i.e. "when should discipline be enforced; when should be relaxed?", etc.)

Finally someone outside Finland took the movie as a sort of buddy movie.. as it is exactly that. Well done mate

18:06 this officer getting yelled at was the GOAT, one of my fav characters. From the beginning he was good to the soldiers with him, never required any formalities, drank with them when the other officers were in a house by themselves, he was truly part of the group, not just the guy who yells commands. I really liked too how some of the other officers started by being super strict and expecting formalities, but then ended up on the same level with everyone else, understanding what they were all going through together and loosening up a little bit.

Thanks for this! My grandpa was 17 when he was sent to the front in this exact war. It affected him for the rest of his life, like it did for so many Finnish veterans. It's important to remember that these men fighting to protect our little nation against the Soviet Union, they weren't military, they were just regular boys and men, taken straight from home, given a weapon, and told to start shooting Russians. Most of them had little to no training. They didn't choose this. It wasn't like enlisting in the military in the US, where you actually make a choice to attend. The Finnish men didn't have a choice.

Every time watching this movie gives me tears in my eyes, knowing what it’s based on and the sacrifice that generation had to give for us to be independent today.

I am not going to lie, but i really was scared how would you think about the movie. You nailed it. You understood parts that are kinda hard if you are not Finn. Great job.

One thing that really stuck with me through British Army officer training: My company commander told me once: "Your guys can afford to lose you (meaning the platoon commander) more than they can afford to lose a sergeant who's been in for eight years. Remember that when you need someone to restart the momentum." He was right about that then, he's right about that now.

first time watching your channel and i expected the regular "reaction" video but you analyzed every scene and understood whats happening respect

It's an amazing movie, I was in the Canadian forces and deployed, and even despite not being a Finn, never having been to Finland, met a Finn or been exposed to the culture, and despite my war and theirs being so completely different, there's just something that I can identify with in this movie. The men, the sense of humour, the small things you mentioned, we all have the platoon goofball, the hardass, the softies, the guy who is kinda the father figure or big brother, we've all seen the green junior officers etc, it just hits in a way other movies don't. The fact that towards the end they just look done, done with the dumb missions, the dumb war, the dumb officers, the hopeless situation, which I certainly felt towards the end of my deployments. Like you I really sympathized the most with Rokka, maybe because I'm a family man too now, or that I'm getting closer to his age than the 19 year old kid with a rifle but yeah, it's well worth a watch and worth buying, for those who never served or fought this is kind of a glimpse into what it's like to be 19 and caught up in a war and how you deal with it.

Beign a finnish man who has completed hes mandatory service and had a grandfather who fought for my indepence in the war, im really happy you did this review so more people can see this great movie and understand partially what our elderly had to go through during that period of time. Thank you sir!

This video put tears in my eyes. You really understood this movie throughly.

Most Swedes of my generation and older has seen "unknown soldier" and Vaino Linnas book "unknown soldier" that it's based on is one of the great 20th century classics in literature. That and Alexis Kivis seven brothers are perhaps the two greatest literary works out of Finland the last 100 years.

And if nobody mentioned yet, Antero Rokka was written into this movie from reality. The real person behind Rokka was Viljam Pylkäs. You can find his story from internet, of course. Also you should watch the original version of this movie from 1955. The book was written in 1954. Also worth reading imo. Btw, i work for finnish military and nice to see lot of our stuff on your channel. Cheers.

I have seen all 3 cuts of this movie, the international cut (ca 2.5 hours), the Finnish cut (3 hours) and the 5 episode TV series cut (5 hours) love them all, the 5 episode gives really the best depth of the characters in the movie.

I was in FDF Reserve Officer School and we studied the characters, and especially the officers of the Unknown soldier very carefully. The book itself is considered, at least in Finland, to be one of the best studies of the soldier mindset under wartime conditions that has ever been written. The three main platoon leaders are three archetypes of junior officers. Lammio is bit too pompous, thinks very highly of himself and his rank and as you said, considers himself to know more than the enlisted, and hates when underlings question his decisions. Which puts him in constant conflict with the Winter War veteran Rokka. He is nonetheless very brave, and reasonably competent leader. Koskela on the other hand is bit too friendly with his troops, lax with the discipline so long as the job gets done. His men love him, but he's unable to make the decicions that would serve the greater good best, and the lack of discipline becomes a problem a few times, atleast in the book. But he too is very brave and very effective combat leader. Kariluoto is weakest link of the lot in the beginning. In the beginning he freezes with fear and indecision until Captain Kaarna's sacrifice shames him into action. He is also very hesitant to take decisive action in the beginning, even when no obvious danger is present. But as he develops, he becomes the ideal officer, right in the middle of the spectrum between Koskela and Lammio. He is humble enough to take advice from enlisted men, but stern and aloof enough to maintain authority. His spirit is almost unbreakable by the end, as you see in the movie. Everyone else, enlisted, NCOs and officers alike have lost all hope, but he just figures that "Guess we'll have to fight hopelessly then" with a little smile. There's a 5 part miniseries of the Unknown Soldier, that is basically the same you watched, but with all the deleted scenes. I recommend that also, it adds even more depth to the story and to the characters. But the book really should be on every soldiers "To-Read" list. Slight mindset differences might arise since the characters are conscripts and I figure volunteer fighter would see the world differently, but grunts are grunts, no matter the time period or location. Also, Finns can only be lead from the front. Which is why the platoon leaders are doing heroics all the time, since your Friendly Neighbourhood Conscript is not going to run into machinegun fire on someones say-so alone. It's not that the officers want to, nor that they are glory hounds, it's because it's expected and they have to. Cost of this is that percentage wise the junior reserve officers suffered the most horrific casualties in both the Winter War and Continuation War. In Winter War, 7% of MIA and KIA were reserve platoon leaders. C.G.E Mannerheim even had a speech that was purely dedicated to the sacrifice of the platoon leaders that is still framed on the wall of the Reserve Officer School.

I've seen it, and I'm not Finnish :) I loves me some Finnish metal bands, so I started getting into all things Finnish a few years back...this one came highly recommended from several sources, so I bought the DVD. Awesome movie. I recognized several of the actors from other Finnish movies/tv shows.

I dont cry very often, but I did during watching this movie. My grandpa was out there, he barely survived(lost a leg). He lost his farm(next to Laatokka), but after the war he started new one in central Finland.

The Finns do make great warmovies in my oppinion they are the best at it. I love the original unknown soldier even more than the latset remake. Cheers from a very old Swedish guardsman.

Just saw this on netflix sweden but it is not a 2h 13 min movie, it´s a 5 hour mini series and it was really really good.

The author of the unknown soldier was from my tiny hometown and somehow seeing a random person from us talking about the story, absolutely amazing

If you like books, the Unknown Soldier (by Väinö Linna) is also found as an English translation. This movie is based on that book, which is like THE Finnish classic about WWII. The author was in the front himself, most of the stories are from what happened to his company, or what he heard from the neighbouring companies. And he changed some incidents a bit, like who destroyed a certain tank in a certain battle etc., and changed the names of course. Though the book was censored a bit in the 50 - the war was still a bit too close that Finns didn't want to upset the Soviets, so some of the more touchy issues the author needed to leave oit from the book. The uncensored version is called War Novel, I'm not sure if that's in English as well.

I've totally missed this movie!! As a Swede i love finland. Have to check it out asap! The happyness you feel when you've missed out on a movie gem :D

Thanks for making this video. I haven't heard of this movie before, though after watching your video i definitely will get a copy of this and watch it. I particularly enjoy watching war movies that focus on the human elements of how traumatic experiences can change a person and how they react to those experiences. Really good video, thanks for sharing some personal feelings about how realistic the movie captures the emotional experiences of being in combat and how the film-makers did a really good job of capturing that on film.

Thank you for opening everything "behind the scenes". Very well evaluated/opened things to the viewers. Awesome.

On that drinking scene at 7:25, those actors were actually drunk. The scene continues to commanders bunker. Method acting.

Thanks for this one. Nice to hear a review from someone who has seen what the movie portrays. One detail about this movie: The world record of high explosives was used filming this movie, so more real explosives than in Saving private Ryan, Pearl Harbour, Hacksaw Ridge etc. So, this Rokka: the real guy was Viljam Pylkäs from the Karelian Isthmus but the name Rokka came from ingerian guy who served in Finnish army.

I worked with Aku Louhimies in January 2018 just after the release of this film. He was very proud of what he had achieved with this film and he was very passionate about his work. He did a great job with this.

I was truly impressed how you dissected some of the scenes analyzing the acting down to the smallest detail and showing how it portrayed the kind of experiences that you've also had yourself in your military life, particularly when it come to the relationships between the soldiers and their families during leave in the film. I think the popularity of your channel has to have a lot to do with your ability to pick up details like this and put them into context and shed light on what goes on in the minds of the people you're talking about.

Both of my grandfathers fought in the Continuation war and one of my grandmothers was a lotta, the other took care of her younger siblings during the evacuation (she actually met her husband then). The clip of the lottas getting a lift made me chuckle, because my grandma actually got a lift from Field Marshal Mannerheim, when she was walking to an event during her time off.

I recently got my grand father's letters from the front. As you can guess there are no details about anything. One thing struck my eyes while reading them. He wrote a lot about how much "work" there is and how tired he sometimes is. Mostly he wrote about how he fared in running competitions during the rare free times he got. In those letters everything seemed nice. Some "work" and some athletics. He was in the intelligence so you'd imagine that can't be that bad. But apparently it was. Especially when he had to decypher the letter where the HQ said we'll put our last men in a specific line and after that it's do or die. He had no one to talk about it, obviously.

Really enjoyed the realness in this video, I appreciate how you explained the perspective of a serviceman of how it felt like to be on that side.

Last SISU mindset was seen 2019 ice hockey world championships. Unknown finnish ice hockey team took gold fighting against top NHL players.

I was actually in the defence force at the time they were filming it in 2016. And i can tell you the army did help them filming this. I drove some stuff to the army training area where they were set up at the time in vekaranjärvi, but unfortunately i did not get to meet anyone actually working on the movie. But i still remember that we all thought it was funny that there seemed to be more secrecy around this one movie and what was going on with it, then most other military activity, like training and stuff like that..

I spent a month+ as an extra during this film's shoot, so a couple of behind-the-scenes notes regarding your themes. Production costs - it's amazing how much time and personnel are needed just to be present on the set. Especially behind the cameras (plural!): directors, catering, SFX/explosive/animal specialists, wardrobe department, lightning and audio crew... The amount of people present must've accrued quite a bill in food alone. Though most of scenes were filmed in FDF grounds, so it was pretty easy to rely on support of their facilities (IDK did they pay "rent" for this). We also had an international SFX team (IFX), with experience from Band of Brothers and Batman Begins. They even made a World Record with Unknown Soldier: most high-explosives detonated in a single take. And there were lots of explosions. Camaraderie - I actually joined the shoot by invite from an another NCO, with whom I served in same basic platoon, later company and eventually same battalion. Most of us had gone through military and slept in the same military accommodation (tents). There were definitely same elements as in active duty: we didn't know what exactly is going to happen, where, for how long, is the lunch soon... Some of the days were comparable to the miseries of military service, particularly with combination of long overtime + any form of wetness. There was a bunch of us "veterans", who after time would start to guide the new guys in. Some would stay in for 40+ days, some came just for a day. This veteran group had a very tight bond. Many of us came to the press showing in Helsinki with the same wartime uniforms for the one last time :) We've even taken part in some the voluntary exercises of the actual military with guys recruited from the filming. Feeling at the back of the head - We had a few things during the shoot that slightly "traumatized" us and made us to be on our guard all the time. One was the command "AP!", short for "starting positions". Sometimes this meant very fast movement back to our starting points very frequently. The worst was waiting behind a T-34 tank. The exhaust was rather painful for the eyes and throat. You didn't know if you'd be thrown into something unpleasant or when any movement orders would be give. It was stressful. The second was the spray bottle (remember pointing out wetness earlier?). Some scenes had to have us look like wet. Cold air and wind + water sprayed all over you was hated by everyone. Just like in the military, people starting cursing the wind, forest, clouds and whatnot! Overall though 10/10 experience. Met great people, different experience, traveled around and got my name in the credits of this Finnish cultural milestone.

Just gotta say. Man your react videos are really good. It shows how you really get into what you're watching. Thank you for making these videos!

I remember once when were in a training in the army, we were all geared up and there was a pause. Some sort of break from the exercise and we were all lying down on the ground with our rifles and gear, jackets a little bit open and helmet strap was open you know. In the forest. Kinda like "just chilling" and resting and laughing, telling bad jokes etc. There was like... maybe 10-15 of us. Our batallion commander came there, with his entourage. He was a colonel(?) not sure if it's similar to US army rank... His next rank would be general. Like first of the 4 general ranks. So he was a really high ranking officer. He had like captains and majors walking with him, maybe 5-7 people group that came to us. They came to see how the exercise is going, how are the men doing in the field or something. We immediately stood up, strap our helmets and lock the gear's belt etc. you know. To look sharp and correct... The colonel just said like "Nono guys, lay down, it's ok, no need to stand at attention" and he laid down with us, leaning into a rock and just chatted with us, laughed with us and his entourage was just standing there looking like "wtf". No need to salute or use "sir" to him now, we're in the forest and in a real combat training. It was a great experience, to see someone with that kind of rank, which you normally don't even see in the military in Finland. It was rare to see someone above captain. And he was so... "human" with us. He sat down with us, we had collected some blueberries from the forest nearby, to our helmets. He ate those with us :D You know, the basic jokes about "girls and cars", which 18-20 year old guys do... He was ofc an older man, but he could relate to that and he was telling us the same kind of stuff :D Great moment which I will always remember, from my year of service in Finnish military.

You should see the original version filmed in 1955. That is hardcore! Black and white and it wasn't that long time from the winter war, only 15 years. Great review, thanks :)

We used the book and also the original movie (1985), as educational in the leadership education at Krigshögskolan Karlberg (War Academy Karlberg est. 1792, the oldest war academy in the world that still exists in the same place).

Based on a novel, there are three versions made. The one you presented is the latest and in my view the best.

Not Finnish myself, just someone who loves a good roadtrip set in WW2

I felt like it was hard for you to understand the situation those people had back home. When you are serving and you lose a war, it doesn't mean that the enemy is going to kill your kids. There was more at stake. In your situation it doesn't mean that all those things you fight for are lost forever. The women back home had to do the mens jobs to addition to their own. The army often took their horse, so they had to do jobs without one. Army took their share of food, people could have been starving. Your family back home is not. It wasn't just "inconvenience". It was working yourself to death. If a women gave birth, she might had to go to take care of the cows in the morning. In Finland we have a celebrity, when she was 14, she found her father dead in the woods. Killed by that war. The frontier was so close. Your child cannot be in that situation. There was no food left to feed elderly in retirement homes, so they starved to death and were put in a same grave in the yard. In the end of continuation war, the troops were also starving. When the men came back, they were scarred for life and there was no therapy. All of them. Imagine if all American men had mental issues all at once. Different times, different type of warfare.

What I like about this movie is that it's one of the most realistic war movies ever, if not the most realistic.

In times like these it's good to look back to the time when the important stuff actually mattered. This movie helps us remember that, hopefully. Thank you for reviewing!

This video was very well planned and delivered. I can tell you put alot of time and effort into it and i really respect it. You can also tell that you are really enthusiastic about this and want to tell us these things. Huge props and great video!

Not at all the kind of review I would have expected. Much better, brilliant and insightful.

There are actually two types of officers in the Finnish army. There are the professional career officers that have gone under a higher level of military education and they serve in the HQ level; leading armies, divisions, battalions and so forth. Then there are reserve officers, that are conscripts that have been trained to lead platoons and companies, some times even battalions, during their conscription period. So the junior officers, lieutenants and 2nd lieutenants, are actually also conscripts like the privates are and that might be the reason why they relate to them well. The reserve officers actually had the highest death rate of any cohort during the war, this is explained that they led by example and from the front because that was the most efficient way to lead men in combat, but it put them under huge danger.

Also the old Tuntematon sotilas made in 1955 is top class. Thanks for a nice video!

I've seen it, and I'm not Finnish! Guess being Norwegian almost counts 😁 You should also take a look at another Finnish production called "Talvisota" ( means the Winter War in Finland ). Its almost a prequel to this one, as the action is taking place during the first winter war against the Russians, while "Tuntematon Sotilas" takes you to the Finnish continuation war. Love your channel btw!