55 minSeason 1 • Episode 5
LatestThe Finns lose their defensive positions one after another against an overpowering enemy force. The chaos of retreat takes its toll on the troops. Finally, peace is declared - but war has left its mark on individuals as well as the nation.
The Unknown Soldier miniseries expands the story of the 2017 film of the same name. The World War II series based on Väinö Linna's classic novel closely follows a machine gun company of the Finnish Army on the Karelian front during the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union, from mobilization in 1941 to the Moscow Armistice in 1944. It's a story about how camaraderie, humor, and a desire to survive connect men on their journey. War upends the lives of both the individual soldiers and those left on the home front, and leaves its mark on the entire nation.
Acting
Eero Aho's Rokka—chaotic, feral, unforgettable.
Practical Effects
No CGI heroics, just mud, blood, and frozen misery.
Writing
Dialogue that finds humor in the mouth of hell.
Creator
Aku Louhimies
Eero Aho
Rokka
Jussi Vatanen
Koskela
Aku Hirviniemi
Hietanen
Johannes Holopainen
Kariluoto
Hannes Suominen
Vanhala
Arttu Kapulainen
Susi
Max Ovaska
Määttä
Vincent Willestrand
Sihvonen
Severi Saarinen
Lehto
Eino Heiskanen
Riitaoja
Jarkko Lahti
Viirilä
Akseli Kouki
Salo
Paula Vesala
Lyyti
Marketta Tikkanen
Sirkka
Samuli Vauramo
Lammio
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This is Finland's national scripture—Linna's novel is required school reading, and every Finnish man has opinions about which adaptation got Rokka right. (It's this one.)
The Continuation War's moral thorniness—Finland fighting alongside Nazi Germany against the USSR while denying Jewish soldiers to the Gestapo—lingers unspoken in the men's jokes about 'our German friends.'
FI
