It's set not in Finland, which the Russians invaded in 1939, but in Russia, which the Finns invaded in 1941. However, it fails to mention they did so along with another political entity of the time, called the Third Reich. No mention is made of the fact that down the way, men in black were herding peasants, intellectuals and Jews into pits and machine-gunning them.
This whole "review" is just another example of a self-styled "liberal intellectual" who likes to explain the world to others, but can't tell the difference between "Russia" and "the Soviet Union" while he believes the SD was wearing black uniforms because the SS did so in "Hogan's Heroes". (The pity is, reviews by the "conservative" Tea Party media of Rupert Murdoch are usually even worse.)
But let me talk about
Rukajärven tie. This is my favorite Finnish war movie (okay, maybe I don't know them all, but at least I know films like
Talvisota or
Tali-Ihantala), because it focuses on a small group of soldiers rather than portraying great battles with mass scenes, a lot of tanks etc. As of yet, I know of no English or German translation of Antti Tuuri's book, so I can't tell whether the movie is close to the novel. Even a film about as small a number of men as 14 soldiers cannot give the same depth to each character, so it can be said that half of the cast are little more than extras, but we still have a mix of very different personalities. Ironically, it is Peter Franzén's lead that remains a rather colorless and superficial character in my opinion. When he receives the report of Kaarina's (alleged) death, Lieutenant Perkola is assumed to change into a mood of hate, rage and fatalism that causes him to risk the lives of the whole platoon by reckless actions, but I don't think that Franzén's acting gets that change of personality across with the necessary emphasis. But the supporting actors are really great: Sergeant Saarinen is the platoon's living conscience, a devout Christian full of compassion, altruism and humanity. Corporal Lukkari is his exact opposite, a cold-blooded cynic who seems indifferent to the suffering of others and doesn't refrain from shooting a wounded prisoner. Private Karppinen was shell-shocked in the Winter War and is now obviously suffering from PTSD, so he has frequent mood swings and is always nervous on the verge of hysteria. Private Heikkinen is something like the platoon's clown, constantly joking and mocking the others. Private Raassina is the son of a communist who was executed by the "Whites" in the 1918 Civil war, he is mistrusted and constantly mobbed by the nationalistic Lukkari. And there is Sergeant Tauno Snicker, a veteran soldier who has the (good or bad?) luck to serve in the same unit with his teenage son, Ville, whom he doesn't want to favor over the others while still trying to keep him from being killed. The movie is probably unique in that it deals with a bicycle unit, providing for many great and impressive scenes in the beautiful Carelian landscape. Most of the suspense originates in the internal conflicts between the platoon members and from the remoteness of the unit's area of operation, being alone in enemy country, travelling through dense forests and searching deserted villages. The battle scenes are not quite convincing, with nine men successfully attacking at least a whole company, complete with orange-colored gas container explosions (who produce huge flames but no dirt fountains at all) and machine guns who never need reloading.
There are times in history when staying neutral means taking sides.