HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Cissy Évelyne It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

WakenPayne Okay, I know in Finland this is like Citizen Kane to them, I've even looked at message boards here to see how much Finland loves this movie. I thought that I might take a look.My overall reaction of the 169 minute version was that it displayed the violence like how you'd want it to be, for a 50's movie I was expecting tamer violence, Although... As far as Finnish war films go I prefer the 1989 film Talvisota, it's all opinion. The one thing I did find weird was that the characters went through violence like that and they're acting light-hearted for what you'd expect the dialogue to be, I was expecting the dialogue to be more grim than it actually was, Not that it wasn't grim - There is a scene where a soldier gets shot and injured, the platoon then believes he's dead and he then wants to die and that The Russians can't aim for him and he then commits suicide, it's just the dialogue that's light-hearted.In my opinion this movie has full reason to be considered a classic, (I rated The Seven Samurai the same rating) I will watch the remake done by Rauni Mollberg, I will not expect the same quality type of movie though I will expect a remake that is still good yet nothing on this, maybe a perfect example of a remake being not as good as the original yet still good is the remake of the German movie Nosferatu.In my opinion I think this does have full reason to be considered a classic (unlike a few American films I've seen) but it's not as good as the hype around it was suggesting - will watch the remake though.

cinna665 Tuntematon sotilas (The Unknown Soldier) is an epic story and part of Finland's history. The movie is based on famous Finnish novel by Väinö Linna, and it is set in the Continuation War (1941-44), just about a year after the Winter War, between Finland and Soviet Union. The movie is fully black and white.The Unknown Soldier focuses on a very diverse group of soldiers and is packed with black humour. The different Finnish dialects, that make a huge part of the fun in the jokes, are understandable only for people who know Finnish, but the overall feeling is there in the amazing acting by Reino Tolvanen (Rokka), Kosti Klemelä (Koskela) and Pentti Siimes (Määttä) - to name a few. The most powerful scene is probably the one where Lehto, Määttä and Rahikainen are stubbornly serving their disciplinary duty after refusing to obey their superiors - directly under the enemy aerial fire.The Unknown Soldier is one of the most realistic war movies ever made. It shows the horrible facts: people die for their home land and it's not pretty. The Finnish soldiers fight against the tenfold enemy in impossible situations. They made heroic acts in their attempt to save their country, and many of these acts have been captured brilliantly in the movie as well. But the true fact of war - death - is always around, even among the war heroes. War does not make one great.The teaching of The Unknown Soldier is that even a small country has a chance in war against an impossible enemy if the will to protect the homeland is strong enough, the people are stubborn enough and are ready to die for freedom.The main music in the film - Jean Sibelius' Finlandia is legendary.

Shaolin_Apu MILD SPOILER WARNING Edwin Laine's 'Tuntematon Sotilas' has got to be the best sentimentalist war movie ever. It is the story of Finnish war for freedom, war of survival and a war of David and Goljath. The film itself is a tribute to those warriors who saved Finland from communist yoke and occupation. The war cost a lot of blood but Finland survived and came up second in conflict, which was better than total defeat. The film as a whole is nothing but fabulous and the musical score is not just good, it is much more, it is mythological.The film is based on Väinö Linna's novel 'Unknown soldier' (1954), which concentrates more on soldier stereotypes than historical events. Hietanen is an easy-going and well-liked Sergeant while Lehto is a cold-blooded nihilist. Vanhala is a private, who always finds out something funny about everything and Rahikainen is a soldier who's just trying to survive the war without any personal sacrifices. Rokka is a fearless but lovable hunter, who doesn't get well along with commanding officers. Lammio is a lieutenant, who is hated by his men and who'd like to employ German-like discipline into his company. Koskela is a quiet lieutenant who leads by his example and doesn't want to be called "Sir".Private Honkajoki is the total clown of the company, who speaks like a propaganda minister or priest, but makes official precept look ridiculous. Honkajoki is also seen manufacturing a 'perpetuum mobile' and carries with his rifle a wooden crossbow, because he has found out that "new type of weaponry is crucially needed in the present large-scale conflict". And there is also private Asumaniemi who says "when will the Russians come so that I could start killing them?" The film has started to live a life of its own. It is no more the same story as told in the book. The Film has become nothing else than the new national epic of Finland. It has taken the place of 'the Kalevala' and is really 'the Iliad' rewritten.My commentary is now made, but I still want to review the comments made by author called 'politi kasse'. It is notable that 0 out of 33 users found his comments usable. That whole commentary is risible, though it has some humorous elements with a reference to Renny Harlin and the idea that the novel is an obligatory reading at the schools, because the official movie is so bad that no one could figure anything out of it without reading the book.

fugu_286 I haven't ever heard such incomprehensible gibberish in my life. The Unknown Soldier (Tuntematon Sotilas) is not Soviet propoganda but a poignant and still very relevant look at the inhumanity of war. It is probably the only film that takes place during the little known Continuation War (1941-44), the sequel to the also little known Winter War (1939-40). Unlike Talvisota, the other great Finnish war movie, some knowledge of the chronology and background to this conflict is required. In 1941, Finland mobilized its forces along the 1940 armistice line incurring the wrath of the Soviet Union which bombed several Finnish cities in response. Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began shortly after. With most Soviet forces tied down in defending the motherland against the Germans, Finland seized the opportunity and reoccupied the land it had lost in the previous war. The plucky Finns made significant gains until the war entered its 'static phase' with neither side giving or taking any ground for nearly 2 years. The Finns did, however, refuse to link up with the Germans at Stalingrad which consequently may have cost Germany (and Finland) the war. There was a color remake of this film but in my opinion, this appears to be the superior version. If you can get a copy of the novel in English, I would recommend reading that as well.