The Unknown Soldier (1955 film)

Set against the events of the Finnish Continuation War, the film follows a machine gun troop's journey into the Soviet Union. The troop includes the simple-minded Hietanen, the jokey Vanhala, the cynical Lahtinen, the cowardly Riitaoja and grumpy Lehto. The film also follows the commanding officers, such as the happy and slightly senile Captain Kaarna, the young and idealistic 2nd Lieutenant Kariluoto, the calm and modest 2nd Lieutenant Koskela and the strict and unsympathetic Lieutenant Lammio. They face many struggles, such as seeing the supportive Kaarna die in their first battle, three of the soldiers refusing to leave their punishment post during an air-raid as well as defending the trenches after the Finns have taken back parts of Karelia. Part of the way, the troop is joined by Rokka, a Karelian veteran of the Winter War, who also clashes with Lammio due to having little respect for military discipline despite being an excellent and capable soldier. Throughout the film, several of the main characters die. Lehto is injured during night-patrol, left behind and shoots himself. Riitaoja dies the same night when he runs off frightened and gets lost in the woods. Lahtinen dies during the winter, defending his position as his fellow soldiers flee. Hietanen is blinded by shrapnel in an artillery attack when he saves a young serviceman from being shot. His military ambulance crashes and the blinded Hietanen is gunned down by passing Russian planes while trying to save the other injured soldiers. Kariluoto dies while leading a counter-attack, and shortly afterwards Koskela gets shot while destroying a tank using a satchel charge. ==Cast==

The film began production and was released only a year after the release of the novel. There had been immediate competition for film rights, which were won by SF Film, led by T. J. Särkkä; Linna received one million Finnish marks in the deal. The role of Rahikainen has also been downplayed considerably; in the novel he is Hietanen's closest friend but merely a supporting character in the film. Due to disagreements with SF Film, the Finnish Defense Forces refused to assist with the filming. Edvin Laine and Väinö Linna became good friends during the production. Laine would go on to make several more films based on Linna's novels after the mid-1960s, when SF Film had gone bankrupt. Upon completion, The Unknown Soldier was the longest and most expensive film in the Finnish cinema history up to that point: 181 minutes and, according to the account book, FIM 46,667,761. The music used in the film is a mixture of original music composed by Ahti Sonninen and stock music. ==Release==

The Unknown Soldier was presented as an invited guest performance at the Bio Rex theatre in Helsinki on Monday, 19 December 1955, for Väinö Linna's wartime unit, , as well as the film's actors and production staff. Among the invited guests was Sergeant , who was Antero Rokka's role model. In addition, representatives of the Finnish military leadership and government were present. The performance was given for the benefit of war invalids. A second invited guest performance was on 22 December, when those involved in the making of the film and members of the Finnish Government were invited. The actual national theatrical premiere was on Friday, 23 December 1955, in Helsinki, Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Lahti and Pori, as well as in Riihimäki. ==Legacy==

Since 2000, Yle has broadcast the film every year on the Independence Day of Finland (6 December). In 2015, it was moved to Yle Teema, away from its usual slot on either Yle TV1 or Yle TV2. In 1985, with Väinö Linna's approval, Rauni Mollberg directed a new adaptation in color. This film follows the novel more closely but also features obvious visual nods to the 1955 version. The latest adaptation, directed by Aku Louhimies, came out in 2017. The film made its television premiere on the Independence Day of Finland (6 December) in 2021. ==See also==