The end of the war is approaching and two enemy soldiers – the Finnish sniper Wille and Red Army captain Ivan – manage to escape. Both are condemned to death, but they speak different languages and fought on opposite sides of the barricade. But they find shelter together on Laplander Anni’s farm.
It is September 1944, a few days before the Second World War ends for Finland, which has been fighting on the German side against the Russians. The Finnish sniper Wille, resolved to do whatever is necessary, is planning his escape to freedom. Ivan, a captain in the Soviet army who was arrested and imprisoned by the “Smersh” secret military police, decides to join the Finnish kamikaze. Each man belongs on a different side of the barricade, both were condemned to death, they don’t speak each other’s language, they are arch-enemies but together they find shelter in no-man’s land, on a farm owned by the Laplander Anni. She, however, does not regard them as enemy soldiers, but simply as men.… “Cuckoo” is the nickname the Russians gave Finnish snipers during the 1939-40 war. Despite their inadequate firepower, they still managed to cause the Red Army considerable losses. “Cuckoo” is also the secret name of a woman.…
100 min / Black & white, 35 mm
Director Alexandr Rogožkin / Alexander Rogozhkin
/ Screenplay Alexandr Rogožkin/ Alexander Rogozhkin
/ Dir. of Photography Andrej Žegalov/Andrei Zhegalov
/ Music Dmitrij Pavlov/Dmitri Pavlov
/ Editor Julija Rumjantseva / Julia Roumyantseva
/ Producer Sergej Seljanov / Sergei Seljanov
/ Production CTB Film Company
/ Cast Anni-Kristina Usso, Viktor Bychkov, Ville Haapasalo
Alexander Rogozhkin (b. 1949, Leningrad) first studied history at Leningrad University, then worked at Lenfilm studios while, at the same time, attending the teaching faculty. In 1982 he graduated from Moscow’s VGIK film school having studied under Sergei Gerasimov. He began with shorts, in 1989 winning the Alfred Bauer Award and, a year later, the FIPRESCI Prize at the Berlin IFF for The Guard. Filmography includes: The Golden Button (1983), Miss Millionaire (1988), The Third Planet (1990), Security Officer (1991), Life with an Idiot (1992), Peculiarities of the National Hunt (1995) and its loose sequel Peculiarities of National Angling (1998).
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