Rating: 
Summary: Three Cultures In One, Not Bad
Review: "The Cuckoo" is a wonderful russian film from 2003. Its plot of three people all of different cultures and speak different languages who meet and become friends is brilliant. The layering of the three different languages blend perfectly: russian, finnish, and lapp. The dramatic theme builds interestingly as the film reveals the characters' backgrounds. Many conflicts arise as more secrets are revealed, especially when it's discovered that the two men are enemies. The plot adds some humor in the perfect times. One of the most interesting humorous scenes are when the russian soldier speaks in his native tongue what the other two think is his name: Gerlost, which actually means "get lost". Few movies accomplish keeping the audience's interest for the whole duration with only three characters throughout most of it. Besides the plot, the actors perform their roles beautifully. They add their own drama in the dramatic scenes and their own humor in the humorous scenes. Without such acting quality, this movie wouldn't be nearly as interesting. "The Cuckoo" is a great movie for those looking for a unique film. This is sure to please many audiences.
Rating:
Summary: Three Cultures In One, Not Bad
Review: "The Cuckoo" is a wonderful russian film from 2003. Its plot of three people all of different cultures and speak different languages who meet and become friends is brilliant. The layering of the three different languages blend perfectly: russian, finnish, and lapp. The dramatic theme builds interestingly as the film reveals the characters' backgrounds. Many conflicts arise as more secrets are revealed, especially when it's discovered that the two men are enemies. The plot adds some humor in the perfect times. One of the most interesting humorous scenes are when the russian soldier speaks in his native tongue what the other two think is his name: Gerlost, which actually means "get lost". Few movies accomplish keeping the audience's interest for the whole duration with only three characters throughout most of it. Besides the plot, the actors perform their roles beautifully. They add their own drama in the dramatic scenes and their own humor in the humorous scenes. Without such acting quality, this movie wouldn't be nearly as interesting. "The Cuckoo" is a great movie for those looking for a unique film. This is sure to please many audiences.
Rating: 
Summary: What a neat little soft-spoken comedy
Review: A neat little Rusiian film that takes place in September of 1944, a few days before Finland dropped out of WWII, about a Finnish soldier (Veikko) dressed as a SS officer who was chained to a rock by Germans and left to die, a Russian soldier (Ivan) who is being taken to be court-martialed by his troops when a overpassing war plane kills everyone but him, and the Lapp woman (Anni) who finds both of them and takes them in.
Anni lives a simple life, living out of a hovel on the water and catching fish to survive. Her husband has been dead for years, so having these two men in her home, even if no one speaks a word of each other's language, is still a bonus for her. And therein lies the crux of the humor here. All three of these characters are total chatterboxes, yet no one understands a word anyone else is saying. It makes for some unexpectedly laugh-out-loud situations, and as the film plays out the characters become very well-defined and we see that language is clearly not the only impenetrable barrier between these three.
The first half hour of this film is just set-up, as we get introductions to the three characters and their dilemmas. Not much funny going on. But once they meet, it all becomes very enjoyable, and even a well-filmed but somewhat morbid scene with Anni calling one of them back from the "paths of the dead" doesn't change the pace, so much as it gives Anni a greater depth for us.
Rating:
Summary: An extraordinary delightful cinematic experience...
Review: At the end of World War II when the Nazis were leaving occupied Finland, Veikko, young Finnish soldier, is chained to a rock. Veikko struggles resiliently to get free from his chains as he knows that his life depends on it. After a long struggle with the rock he is finally free and he stumbles across the home of Anni, a Lapp, who is sheltering a Soviet soldier, Ivan, that has been injured from an attack. Ivan attempts to kill Veikko as he thinks he is a murderous fascist, however, Ivan fails in his slaying of Veikko. This is the beginning for a friendship among the three as Anni provides a sanctuary for both men. However, this sets up several misinterpretations and assumptions as none of them speak the same language. Cuckoo is a warm and funny drama that keeps the audience smiling and feeling the pain and happiness of each character as they regain some hope after a long and cruel war. This sets up a delightful and extraordinary cinematic experience that will keep the audience cheerful.
Rating:
Summary: An extraordinary delightful cinematic experience...
Review: At the end of World War II when the Nazis were leaving occupied Finland, Veikko, young Finnish soldier, is chained to a rock. Veikko struggles resiliently to get free from his chains as he knows that his life depends on it. After a long struggle with the rock he is finally free and he stumbles across the home of Anni, a Lapp, who is sheltering a Soviet soldier, Ivan, that has been injured from an attack. Ivan attempts to kill Veikko as he thinks he is a murderous fascist, however, Ivan fails in his slaying of Veikko. This is the beginning for a friendship among the three as Anni provides a sanctuary for both men. However, this sets up several misinterpretations and assumptions as none of them speak the same language. Cuckoo is a warm and funny drama that keeps the audience smiling and feeling the pain and happiness of each character as they regain some hope after a long and cruel war. This sets up a delightful and extraordinary cinematic experience that will keep the audience cheerful.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely film--but was it commissioned by the KGB?
Review: Despite a number of implausibilities, I found this film enchanting and moving, loved watching it, hope to see it again, and highly recommend it to others. However, it might as well have been commissioned by the KGB, as it invites Finns to wallow in pacifism and brotherly love to all mankind, especially to Russians, when Russia has not yet returned the stolen province of Karelia.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie, Must see!!!!!!!
Review: Even if you don't understand Russian, it makes absolute sense. Not understanding a specific language is the whole gist of the film. The 3 main characters don't even understand each other. I leave it at that. Funny and uplifting drama. One of the best films I have seen!!
Rating:
Summary: The Cuckoo: A History Lesson of Finnish Involvement in WWII
Review: HISTORY LESSON: To explain some things that a lot of people reviewing this film don't understand, Finland was NEVER allies with Nazi Germany. They were invaded by Russia at the beginning of the war, and appealed to Sweden, France and Britain as well as Germany for aid. France and Britain were the only ones to aid them, and very little at that. At the beginning of the war, German officers led the Russians into battle against the Finns. Later, the Finns fought to expel the Germans from Lapland. The Germans even scorched vast areas of Lapland in retaliation. My fiancée's grandfather fought the Russians during the Winter War and spent time in a Russian POW camp, but was also wounded by a German grenade.
(For more information Google "The Winter War" and "The Lapland War.")
As the Finnish population is so small, it was imperative that every able-bodied man fight in the war. Veiko was dressed as an SS officer as punishment for being a deserter. This was common practice. The Russians would shoot him on sight, since by the end of the war they were fighting the fascists. He had no choice but to fight to defend himself after being chained to the rock to die.
It is very interesting hearing Sami, since the Lapps guard their language and refuse to teach it to outsiders, and very few Lapps ever leave their villages (they might be likened to the Amish in the United States.) Much of their culture remains as it did in the film to this day.
I couldn't help but laugh out loud when Veiko went to build the sauna. Finns joke that they can't live without a sauna (sauna is, after all, a Finnish word.) Even during the war, groups of Finnish soldiers would build makeshift saunas.
This movie is absolutely brilliant. The cinematography and story are beautiful. At times you will laugh out loud but quickly want to cry. The ending, though bittersweet, fit the film well.
I recommend it to anyone who loves foreign, art, OR war films. My fiancée and I enjoyed hearing Finnish for the first time in ages, since his entire family moved back to Helsinki. The scenery even made him homesick.
Review by Lauren Thomas, Murfreesboro TN.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greates anti-war movies
Review: I would put this movie in the top ten war-movies ever made. The storyline is powerful, actor's play - magnificent and camera work - flawless. The only drawback is that viewer really ought to know at least one language - Russian, Finnish or Lapp to truly enjoy the intricacies of "he-said-I-perceive" word play that flows through the movie. For English speaking viewer it really helps to start not with the movie itself but go to "Special Features" and see "Making of Featurette" to fill the gaps in particular points of Russo-Finnish war in 1944 and better understand the movie. Like, a question that clearly baffles some of the reviewers- why was that Finn soldier (Veikko) chained to the rock by the fellow Finns and changed to the SS uniform? Well, for one, SS soldiers, being staunch followers of Nazi ideology and major participant in all these countless war crimes they committed against citizens of USSR, were rarely taken prisoners on Eastern front. Thus, for Veikko accused of being pacifist, the only way to prolong his own life, was to kill any Russian soldiers on sight. The morbid irony of this situation was not lost for him or his executors and was obviously intended as an additional punishment. Its quite useless to tell the story line - everybody will have own perception of the story and emotional impact of this movie also, will be different for every person. One thing is certain- this movie is definitely worth seeing.
Rating:
Summary: "My soul's been emptied by the war"
Review: Somewhere in the isolated and stark Lapland countryside a few days before Finland pulls out of World War II a Finnish sniper is chained to a rock after being accused of being a pacifist and a reluctant fighter. After he is deserted and left for dead he struggles and perseveres to unhinge the chains and break free. He then befriends a Lapp woman farmer and an AWOL Russian soldier on the farm and hides until he can safely return home. What follows is a marvelous film of friendship between unlikely individuals in difficult circumstances. There are obvious language barriers between the three but they continue speaking with each other in their own tongues. The farm is almost completely self-sufficient so there is much hard work to do before the winter sets in. In addition there are apparent romantic feelings between the farmer and one of the soldiers that leaves the other feeling bad. All three elements add for an interesting DVD experience. The cinematography of THE CUCKOO is excellent and the story is captivating. This is the second terrific Finnish film I have seen lately (THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST being the other) which makes me believe that Finland can produce entertaining and innovative films. I will definitely keep my eye out for more DVDs from this small yet impressive country.
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