THE WINTER WAR (Talvisota)

Just a correction though. Finnish males between the ages of 17 and 25 are required to serve 6-11 months. Nobody is actually required to keep guns and the gun control laws in Finland are relatively strict. But if guns were ever needed in the hands of law-abiding citizens, that was the time.

See this movie!


great movie   July 10, 2002
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

for all people who are for gun control should watch this movie,had the finnish not had the civilan guard the russians would have run right over them.to this day all people from the age of 18 to 52 must serve and keep weapons as i understand it.it's also a time in our history were we should hang our heads in shame because we stood by when they asked our help and we refused.a great movie for a courages country.my deepest respect to the finnish.i also recommend reading the book The Winter War


A truly magnificent war film !!   June 10, 2002
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

During the war, I lived 6 miles from the village from which this regiment left for the front. Totally authentic! Watch especially for the 'good bye' scene at the railway station to get a sense of the undemonstrative Finnish mind-set. This movie is comparable in impact to Saving Private Ryan -- at 1/100th of the production cost. A real gem!


Great!   April 29, 2002
 5 out of 7 found this review helpful

This is the best and most realistic war movie ever made. Buy it, buy it, buy it, buy it, buy it NOW! Note: You will enjoy this movie more if you speak Finnish. The subtitles fail to capture all the nuances of the language. So if you speak Finnish buy this movie, now, buy it now. Add this to your shopping cart. Saving Private who?


Excellent & Historically Accurate   February 16, 2002
 114 out of 118 found this review helpful

The Winter War is the most historically accurate and realistic war film I have seen. During the film, we follow the lives of a small group of friends as they find themselves in the frontlines facing a soviet invasion. All aspects of the movie are well conceived and finely filmed. The best aspect of the Winter War, however, is the fact that there are no underlying subplots. Unlike Saving Private Ryan (which I must admit I also thought was excellent), the characters do not spend the movie attempting to accomplish an unlikely (albeit intellectually satisfying) objective. Rather, the characters try to stay alive, protect their friends, and follow orders as real soldiers might.

Another very compelling aspect of the film is it's historical accuracy. Tactics and equipment all correspond to those employed by Russia and Finland in 1939. T-26 tanks, I-16 fighters, and human wave attacks fill out the Russian Arsenal, while the Fins remain on the defensive aside from local counter attacks. Adding to the realism is the fact that much of movie is filmed in a limited geographic area. This allows the viewer to become familiar with local terrain features in a way that few other films permit. Hence, the viewer begins to sense the directions from which attacks might come and beings to get a feeling of what constitutes a "Full-scale Attack," a "Probe," etc.

Overall, I would highly recommend the Winter War to anyone who enjoys war films or who is interested in Military History. Due to the lack of subplots, however, people simply looking for an action film or for a simple diversion are likely to be disappointed.