Ambush

1999
6.7| 2h3m| en| More Info
Released: 11 November 1999 Released
Producted By: SVT Drama
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

It is the summer of 1941 and the Finnish army has been mobilized along the border with Russia. A platoon led by Lt. Eero Perkola is waiting for orders to go on the offensive. The platoon receives orders for a recon mission through the wilderness around the Lieksa lake to search for possible Russian defensive positions.

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Reviews

Twilightfa Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.
KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
korppoolainen I will start by stating this is a review about a movie, not about the conflict itself. I am sick of reading peoples personal opinions on the conflicts themselves, this site is about discussing movies not actual conflicts so you should watch a movie with a neutral standing. And you should certainly post without prejudice, because at the end of the day, it is just a movie!Although I watched this movie and to an extent enjoyed it, I can't really recommend this movie to anyone. Again let me illustrate the fact I am basing all my opinions on the movie itself, not the war it is based on! I don't wish to offend anyone, but the characters were mostly annoying, there was no cohesion amongst the soldiers or the commanding officers and the soldiers didn't for one second convince me that they were soldiers. Added to this there was zero discipline shown which even the poorest American war movie has a little of. I'm not sure if it was poor casting or poor script but it was unconvincing. And to me this was a let down.This is a 90% drama 10% action war movie, which needs seriously good plot, scripting, acting and very strong characters to keep you enthralled. It almost pulls it off, but there is something missing, as such this is a good movie - not a great movie. Also if the film was made to showcase the little known war, then it failed, because I am non the wiser now as I was before the movie. Also, these guys went deep into enemy lines to do re-con yet I failed to see any re-con being done? And the only way they could get word back to HQ was to send injured people back?I am married to a Finn so I watched this because I am interested in Finland, however to anyone who doesn't have ties to Finland, I think this is just another uneventful war movie. Which there are hundreds if not thousands of. Although as I said, this movie had the potential to be great, but something let it down, I can't put my finger on what, but after the movie I was left a little empty inside. For this reason I rate it 7 out of 10.It is worth a watch, but I couldn't say to people "wow, you must watch this film" because it brings nothing new to the table, there is nothing here that stands out or that hasn't been done before.
quetiapine I liked this movie. However I do not understand people who rank it as a masterpiece. This is an ordinary war movie. Not bad but nothing else. Hovewer it has really funny moments which will make you laugh, for instance Finnish soldier pierced by a dozen of bullets was not only still alive but was able to run and fight. Or a booby trap made of a black powder with such a primitive fuse that was obsolete I think in 16 century. Or a bunch of Finns who assaulted and kicked asses of an entire Russian battalion in a Rambo style. Sorry to say that but it was not very pleasant for me to look how my fellow countrymen were represented in this masterpiece. The stone age barbarians must have had better and cleaner cabins then "Russa". It was laughable for me but almost all my friends who watched this film felt a little bit offended. As a conclusion: I am glad that I watched it but saved my money and didn't buy DVD. Peace.
stefanreig "Ambush" had me interested for about the first half of the movie, but after that I realized that not much more is coming. The film is dragging on occasion and doesn't really get to the point. The end is also a little too over the top with a handful of Finnish soldiers taken on hundreds of Russians. The director seems to have put a great deal into the details, which I liked. However, the storyline is very thin. You mostly watch a platoon of Finnish soldiers walking around for the better part of the movie, which makes you tired pretty quick. Nevertheless, to have never seen a Finnish movie before, it was much better than I expected it to be. Like I said, the movie itself was done well, but the story could have been much more interesting. Not a whole lot happens in that movie. Maybe if they had cut about 30-40 minutes from that movie then it would have been more fast pace and easier to watch. In the end I have to say that this movie is O.K. to watch once, but definitely not worth buying the DVD.
rkj This movie has gathered huge crowds in Finland, but as an outsider with only a superficial grasp of Finnish history you loose a lot of the points.Focusing on a small Finnish bicycle unit as they penetrate into Russian held territory in 1941 the film has a lot of poetic moments and a high degree of tension in some scenes. Just seeing combat from a Finnish perspective is interesting for anyone brought up on mainstream American war tales, but there are problems...As said in another comment, there is a lack of realism in the unit tactics displayed and some fighting scenes are ridiculous (especially the last unnecessary heroic showdown). Given that the soldiers portrayed are veterans of the Winter War they do *not* act sensible.Well, that might be a minor point had it attempted a more thorough investigation of the motives of the soldiers and the inherent conflicts that must arise given the situation. Instead it centers on a banal lovestory as seen many times before in Northern European films. Mandatory nakedness, melancholia and a touch og golden light is the name of the game. Argh!For those of you that don't know, Finland was an ally of Germany at this point, though they probably had no other choice, and the fighting in this film is not heroically defensive, but offensive. Nationalist sentiment was high at this point and just a tiny bit racist, ala the German kind. Had it more explicitly discussed these topics and the views of the soldiers in the unit, it might be more interesting for a foreign audience and in the end more balanced.Instead it avoids discussing if there was a real need for the Continuation War and the huge drains it made on Finland. There are attempts at portraying conflicts among soldiers of different background, but no more.As it goes it's mainly a crowd pleaser for the Finnish audience, showing that war is hell, love triumphs and the Finns were heroic, after all (which they were, but was it worth the losses?).