"Who's that talking gibberish?"

A good pal gave me a DVD of the original (1955) version of Tuntematon Sotilas (Unknown Soldier), and I watched it through on Wednesday. With English subtitles on naturally - I'd be lost with normal conversational speed of dialogue especially as this has a range of different regional dialects. 

And what a great film it is. Very different in some ways to the 2017 version that I watched three years ago. I won't say it's any better or worse. Just different. 

Both capture the sarcasm and the moaning of the soldiers, and the divide between officers and ORs. Both also capture the humour. Some of it was laugh out loud funny. Another aspect that comes across well is the challenge of maintaining discipline in a democracy's citizen army. In essence "I'll fight but don't expect me to put up with bull."

There's more blood and gore on show in the later film. But unlike British war films of the 50s, this one doesn't entirely hold back on the 'claret'. In a way it is more shocking than the later version because it is used more sparingly. In one scene a character is shown coughing up copious amounts of black blood. In another, an NCO who'd rescued a young recruit, fell on top of him dribbling blood on the lad's horrified face when he too got injured. Another difference with British films of the same vintage is the "soldiers' language. Fewer euphemisms equivalent to "flaming 'eck" or "blighter".

One such was the morning after our heroes get blind drunk on hooch. In the morning one of them wakes up and utters the immortal phrase "Mun suullan on vissi joku syöny kissanpaska". I'll spare you the translation, but be warned if you pop it into a translation tool 😆.

I couldn't help but feel the film was partly a religious experience. The Via Dolorosa of the Finnish nation if you will. There was a lot more incidental music (as old films do). Often quite dramatic and portentous. It closed with a burial scene, the background music to which was an excerpt from Sibelius' Finlandia. Moving. But not in the jingoistic earlier nationalistic way. It seemed to have a bitterness to it. Traditionally shown on TV on Independence Day (6 December), the film is one of those common national experiences as far as I can make out. Everyone's seen it, has a view on it, and can quote chunks of dialogue.

There's some clever shots to portray the passing of the seasons or as a way to link episodes. Soldiers marching through sodden ground etc. Lots of shots of troops riding or pushing bikes, horse drawn carts and artillery, men yomping with heavy loads. Some scenes seemed to have wartime newsreel spliced in, in a way where it was difficult to see the joins. Very well done.

If you can get hold of a copy, I'd highly recommend it. Not because it's on a subject close to my heart. In its own right as a work of art.

Here's my previous post on the 2017 version https://horseandmusketgaming.blogspot.com/2019/09/tuntematon-sotilas-unknown-soldier-and.html

The answer to the question in the title (from the hooch drinking scene) was, "Koskela the Finn! Eats iron and shits chains."