WINTER WAR, THE [FInnIsH: TALVISOTA] 337
casualties (including at least 150,000 dead) on the Rus sian invaders— five times
that of Finnish losses. Nearly a half- century later prolific Finnish writer/filmmaker
Antti Tuuri published Talv i sota [The Winter War] (1984), a terse and gripping his-
torical novel about the conflict that follows soldiers from his hometown of Kauhava
as they fight and die on the Mannerheim Line in Karelia. Based on au then tic war
diaries, interviews with veterans, and other firsthand sources, Tuuri’s book strove
for a high degree of historical accuracy. Taken with Tuuri’s novel, Finnish TV
director Pekka Parikka secured the film rights and teamed with Tuuri to adapt
his book to the screen, in collaboration with producer Marko Röhr through the
Helsinki- based studio, National- Filmi Oy.
Production
Filming of The Winter War began in October 1988 and ended in April 1989. The
film was shot on location at the following sites: Kauhava (the Hakalas’ hometown,
in the Southern Ostrobothnia region of Western Finland); Kankaanpää (in south-
western Finland); Seinäjoki (in Southern Ostrobothnia); Ristiina (in southeastern
Finland); Keuruu (in south- central Finland); Lapua (in Southern Ostrobothnia),
and Hyvinkää (in the Uusimaa region, 30 miles north of Helsinki). The original
bud get of 13 million Finnish marks went up to 19 million FIM (€5.3 million in
2017 or $6 million in 2017 dollars): the most costly Finnish film to date.
Plot Summary
The date is 13 October 1939. The Soviet Union has demanded territorial concessions
from Finland. The Finns have sent J. K. Paasikivi, their ambassador to Sweden,
to Moscow to negotiate with the Rus sians to try to avert a war. In the meantime,
Finland mobilizes its armed forces. Martti Hakala (Taneli Mäkelä) and his younger
brother, Paavo (Konsta Mäkelä), report to their local military induction station in
Kauhava, where they are outfitted with uniforms and weapons. They then join the
rest of the Finnish Army’s 23rd Regiment. An officer informs them they’ll be going
on training maneuvers. After bidding farewell to loved ones, the men board a train
headed to Seinäjoki, 25 miles south. Yrjö “Ylli” Alanen (Esko Nikkari) a 50- year- old
veteran of the Finnish Civil War (1918), counsels the young soldiers, teaching them
a few fundamentals about warfare (e.g., that the men will have to fight waves of
Soviet attacks one after the other). Upon arrival, Martii asks his commanding offi-
cer if his brother, Paavo, can be placed in his squad with him; permission is granted.
Their half- brother, Vilho Erkkilä (Heikki Paavilainen), is also assigned to the same
unit. The soldiers vie for possession of a field kitchen, are issued dog tags, attend
religious ser vices, and then march off to board their train again, which now takes
them 360 miles southeast to Karjalankannas (the Karelian Isthmus). Over the next
day the men march to the Mannerheim Line and camp. Martii is attracted to a local
woman. He ploughs her field— her husband had to report to the front before he
had a chance— but discovers that Arvi Huhtala (Martti Suosalo) is also courting
her. Paavo is also attracted to a local woman whose fiancé is at the front. The sol-
diers shore up fortifications as civilians are evacuated. Vääpeli Hannu Jutila (Kari
Sorvali) tells Martti that the Soviet Union has invaded Finland and the war has