''Ambush'' ( fi, Rukajärven tie) is a 1999

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

war film directed by

Olli Saarela Olli Juhani Saarela (born 16 March 1965) is a Finnish film director. He has directed films such as ''Ambush (1999 film), Ambush'', ''Bad Luck Love'', ''Rollo and the Woods Sprite'' and ''Year of the Wolf (film), Year of the Wolf'', which is based ...

. Literally "Road of Rukajärvi", the film debuted on 22 January 1999 in Finland, after which it was released internationally. The film is based on a book written by

Antti Tuuri Antti Elias Tuuri (born 1 October 1944, Kauhava, Southern Ostrobothnia) is a Finnish writer, known for his works dealing with Southern Ostrobothnia. The ''Äitini-suku''-series tells the stories of the Finns who emigrated to the United States. ...

and its leads are played by

Peter Franzén Peter Vilhelm Franzén (born 14 August 1971) is a Finnish actor, author, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for his role as King Harald Finehair in ''Vikings'' (2016–2020). Personal life Franzén was born in Keminmaa, north Finland. ...

as Lt. Eero Perkola and

Irina Björklund Irina Felicia Björklund (born 7 February 1973) is a Finnish actress and singer. Early life and education Björklund was born in Danderyd, Stockholm County, Sweden before moving to Finland with her family. Björklund also lived in France during h ...

as Kaarina Vainikainen, Lt. Perkola's love.

Rukajärvi Rukajärvi ( Karelian: ''Rugarvi'', Russian: Ру́гозеро, ''Rugozero''; fi, Rukajärvi) is a rural municipality and its central village in the Muyezersky District in the Republic of Karelia in Russia. It is located on the eastern shore o ...

(Rugozero) is a municipality (as well as a lake) in

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, and it was occupied by the

Finnish Army The Finnish Army (Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft ...

during the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...

of 1941–44.

Plot summary

Cast

as Lieutenant Eero Perkola *

as Lotta Kaarina Vainikainen *

Kari Heiskanen Kari Heiskanen (born 16 March 1955) is a Finnish actor. He appeared in more than seventy films since 1978. Selected filmography References External links * 1955 births Living people Finnish male film actors {{Finland-actor-st ...

as Lance Corporal Jussi Lukkari *

Taisto Reimaluoto Taisto Reimaluoto (born 28 September 1961, in Helsinki) is a Finnish actor. Reimaluoto began his career in films and in 1994, he appeared in '' Aapo'' as the lead character. However since 1995 he has become a prolific Finnish television actor o ...

as Corporal Unto Saarinen *

Kari Väänänen Kari Kyösti Väänänen (born 17 September 1953 in Ivalo) is a Finnish actor and director. Domestically he is a member of the Ryhmäteatteri group of actors. He was introduced to international audiences by Aki Kaurismäki, and belongs to the lis ...

as Corporal Tauno Snicker *

Tommi Eronen Tommi Johannes Eronen (born 18 September 1968) is a Finnish actor, best known for starring in the movies '' Jade Warrior'' (2006) and ''Bad Luck Love'' (2000). His performance in ''Bad Luck Love'' garnered him a Jussi Award for Best Supporting Ac ...

as Private Simo Karppinen *

Pekka Heikkinen Petter (Pekka) Wilhelm Heikkinen (24 April 1883 in Nilsiä – 4 February 1959) was a Finnish farmer and politician. He served as Minister of Trade and Industry from 17 December 1927 to 22 December 1928 and from 16 August 1929 to 4 July 1930, as ...

as Corporal Evert Rönkkö *

Pekka Huotari Pekka is a Finnish male given name. It was most popular around the middle of the 20th century. As of 2013 there were more than 100,000 people registered with this name in Finland. The nameday is the 29th of June in the Finnish tradition and the 25th ...

as Private Martti Raassina *

Tero Jartti Tero Jartti (born 16 March 1962 in Valtimo, Finland) is a Finnish actor, director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (p ...

as Private Moilanen *

Rauno Juvonen Rauno is an Estonian and Finnish masculine given name, and may refer to: * Rauno Aaltonen (born 1938), Finnish former professional rally driver * Rauno Alliku (born 1990), Estonian professional footballer * Rauno Bies (born 1961), Finnish former ...

as Private Hämäläinen

Awards

The film won seven

Jussi Award The Jussi Awards are Finland's premier film industry prizes, awarded annually to recognize the achievements of directors, actors, and writers. History The first Jussi Awards ceremony was held on 16 November 1944 at the Restaurant Adlon in Hels ...

s in 2000 including Best Film, Best Direction, Best Photography, Best Edit, Best Staging, Best Sound Design and Best Score. The film was also entered into the

21st Moscow International Film Festival The 21st Moscow International Film Festival was held from 19 to 29 July 1999. The Golden St. George was awarded to the Japanese film ''Will to Live'' directed by Kaneto Shindo. Jury * Fernando Solanas (Argentina – President of the Jury) * Flor ...

References

External links

* 1999 films Continuation War Eastern Front of World War II films Films based on Finnish novels Films set in Russia 1990s Finnish-language films Films directed by Olli Saarela Films scored by Tuomas Kantelinen 1990s war films Finnish World War II films {{WWII-film-stub