Battle for Finland - Tali-Ihantala 1944 - DVD

Film: June 1944: After the German Wehrmacht has been driven out of the Soviet Union, the Red Army launches a major offensive against Finland. Having succeeded in 1941, with the help of the German Reich, in regaining territories lost to the Soviet Union during the Winter War, the Finns must now once again go into battle against Soviet forces. In order to prevent a complete occupation, the Finnish army prepares a major offensive, which finally culminates in the Battle of Tali-Ihantala (25.06. - 09.07.1944), in which Finland, after suffering heavy losses, succeeds in driving back the Soviet troops with the help of a new strategy in artillery fire. As a result of this warlike confrontation, a peace treaty with the Soviet Union was signed a short time later, by which Finland had to give back the territories it had won in 1941.

In his final directorial effort, filmmaker Åke Lindmann, who died in 2009, reconstructed the events of June 1944. Using interviews with veterans, film footage and documents, he and his co-director Sakari Kirjavainen wanted to create as authentic a picture of this battle as possible, without watering down this horrific sideshow of the end of World War II with bloated dramaturgy. So the whole thing is told episodically, almost matter-of-factly, while also dispensing with real main characters. Admittedly, there are some supporting characters, such as Major General Ruben Lagus (Marcus Groth), leader of a tank division, who must fear for his son Olof (Onni Thulesius), who is just completing his first combat mission. Or Lieutenant Osmo Mustakallio (Tommi Liski), the leader of the anti-tank battalion. These characters don't remain interchangeable and as a viewer you definitely sympathize with their fate. But a real emotional connection can hardly be made due to the sometimes almost documentary-like staging, which some viewers might find disturbing.

On the other hand, what is convincing is how Lindmann and his team have been able to create such an authentic-looking picture of the war action with a relatively low budget. Costumes, weapons, tanks, all of it looks very realistic and even the battle scenes themselves have a very effective intensity. The whole thing can't quite keep up with comparable big productions from Hollywood, but the claim to stage an exciting, instructive and believable (as far as that can be judged at this point) reconstruction of the battle of Tali-Ihantala, Åke Lindman has absolutely done justice. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: Especially at the beginning, a slight noise, blurring and small drop outs are noticeable in the picture. The impression improves a little after some time, but overall the quality remains only at a decent level. Especially in the dark scenes, the whole thing turns out rather disappointing. However, the reduced color scheme does not have a negative impact, as it contributes significantly to the atmosphere of the film. In terms of sound, especially gunshots and rocket fire provide for proper use of the surround channels, whereby the whole thing turns out a little more powerful on the DTS track. The dialogue, on the other hand, is mixed very front-heavy, which is especially noticeable in a direct comparison with the Finnish soundtrack. Overall, though, there's still a: Good!

Extras: In addition to a Making of (approx. 25 min.) worth seeing and the trailer for the film, the DVD still has a nearly 30-minute veteran interview to offer, which provides even more background information on the events covered in the film. Good!

Conclusion: Battle for Finland is an authentically staged war film with relatively few resources that somewhat soberly but absolutely effectively rehashes what was arguably the most important chapter in World War II for Finland, the Battle of Tali-Ihantala. The DVD reveals some room for improvement in technical terms, but it still has some informative bonus material worth watching, which allows the viewer to delve deeper into the subject matter. Who appreciates demanding war films, which can lead this DVD confidently to mind. Recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp