The Cuckoo

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The Cuckoo
Directed by Aleksandr Rogozhkin
Produced by Sergei Selianov
Written by Aleksandr Rogozhkin
Starring Anni-Kristiina Juuso
Ville Haapasalo
Viktor Bychkov
Music by Dmitry Pavlov
Cinematography Andrey Zhegalov
Distributed by STV (Russian: СТВ)
Release date(s) Autumn 2001
Running time 105 mins
Country Flag of Russia Russia
Language Finnish
Russian
Saami
Budget $4000000
Gross revenue $310827 RUS, $243936 USA
IMDb profile
This article is about the 2002 Russian film. For the forthcoming British film, see Cuckoo (film).

The Cuckoo is a 2002 film directed by Aleksandr Rogozhkin. Its Russian title is Kukushka. It takes place during World War II from the perspective of opposing Russian and Finnish soldiers stranded at a Sami woman's farmhouse.

Contents

[edit] Plot

September 1944. Several days before Finland, an ally of Nazi Germany, pulls out of World War II, Veikko (Ville Haapasalo), a lone Finnish sniper, is turned on by his compatriots for a being a pacifist and, in their eyes, a reluctant fighter. As a punishment, the young man is placed in shackles, nailed to a heavy rock and forced to wear a German uniform, knowing full well that Russian soldiers have orders to shoot Germans on sight, without accepting surrender. Veikko is thus left to die in a remote Lapland forest, with nothing but a few supplies and his wits. Days pass, and several failed attempts, he succeeds in freeing himself and heads for safety, shackles still attached.

While trying to escape, Veikko witnesses the following through his rifle’s telescope: Ivan (Viktor Bychkov), a captain in the Russian army accused of anti-Soviet correspondence, is being held prisoner by the Soviet Military secret police. En route to his court martial, Russian planes accidentally bomb the vehicle carrying the disregard captain, killing the driver and his guard.

Not far away is Anni (Anni-Kristiina Juuso), a Lapp reindeer farmer whose husband was drafted into the way by the Finnish authorities four years earlier, never to return. Hungry and alone, the young and resourceful widow locates the bodies of Ivan and his captors while foraging for food. As she begins to bury the dead, Anni discovers that Ivan is still alive, but seriously hurt. She carries him to her wooden hut and nurses him back to health. Meanwhile, Veikko, in search of tools to remove his shackles, stumbles upon Anni’s farm. Thus World War II creates the unlikeliest of bonds (between three different people, from three different cultures, speaking three different languages.)

Comic, and sometimes tragic, misunderstandings soon arise, resulting in a passionate and very human, three-way relationship. Unable to communicate with the others and unaware that the war between the USSR and Finland is over, Ivan is convinced that Veikko is a German soldier gone astray, to Ivan, the German uniform the Finnish soldier was forced to wear is further proof. But Veikko is unaware of Ivan’s hatred and just wants to cut off his shackles, return home and put the war behind him. Yet to avoid falling to enemy hands, Veikko opts to stay on Anni’s farm for temporary safety. The earthly and sensuous Anni, who has not been with a man in four years, could not be more delighted with her good fortune, language barrier be damned.

For Anni, Veikko and Ivan are not enemies, but just men. An uncommon and touching bond develops, as the three unlikely souls begin a domestic routine of hunting and gathering in preparation for the long Lap winter. The two men do what they can to contribute to Anni’s well-being. Veikko build a sauna and Ivan picks mushrooms… Veikko, Ivan and Anni communicate only in gesture. Starved for love and physical touch, Anni seduces young, strapping Veikko, much to the chagrin of jealous middle-aged Ivan. Then a plane crashes in the forest near Anni’s hut, spilling leaflets indicating Finland’s surrender to the Allies. Veikko thinks he can finally return home safely, but Ivan – who has not seen the leaflets – manages to rummage a pistol out of the wreckage and, still convinced that Veikko is a Fascist, shoots him. When he soon realizes that the war is over, Ivan is torn with remorse. The nurturing Anni brings Veikko back to life through a series of ancient Lapp rituals. With Veikko bedridden, Anni’s needs for companionship and sexual longing draw Ivan into her bed. Gradually, Ivan and Veikko, no longer separated by ethnic hate nor rivalry for the affections of Anni, become friends. As winter arrives and the two men head back to their respective homes in opposite directions, Anni is left behind with memories – and much more – of her two unlikely comrades in war and peace.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Crew

[edit] Prizes and Festivals

  • June 2002 - XXIV Moscow International Film Festival - presented as a part of the competition program
    • Prize "Silver Saint George" (Russian: Серебряный Святой Георгий) - best director
    • Prize "Silver Saint George" - best male role - Ville Haapasalo
    • Viewers' Choice Prize
    • Prize FIPPRESSI
    • Russia's Cinema Club Federation Prize
  • July 2002 - X Festival of the Festivals in Saint Petersburg - Grand Prize "Golden Griffin" - best film
  • August 2002 - X Film Festival "Window to Europe" in Vyborg - presented as a part of the competition program
    • Grand Prize - best film
    • Prize for the best female role - Anni-Kristiina Juuso
    • 1-2d place ( with film "The Star") in the external nomination "Vyborg's Count"
  • October 2002 - International film festival "Europa Cinema" in Viarego, Italy - presented as a part of the competition program
    • Main Prize - best film
    • Prize - best director
  • December 2002 — 3 awards "Golden Aries" of the National Guild of the Movie Critics and the Movie Press:
    • best film of the year
    • best screenplay
    • best woman role
  • February 2003 - 4 awards "Golden Eagle":
    • best film of the year
    • best director
    • best screenplay
    • best male role - Viktor Bychkov
  • March 2003 - 4 awards "Nika":
    • best movie of the year
    • best director
    • best woman role
    • best film artist
  • 2003 - International Film Festival in Troy, Portugal
    • Prize for the best film
    • Prize for the best woman role
  • 2003 — International File Festival in San Francisco — Viewers' Choice Prize
  • 2003 — XI Russian Film Festival in Onfler, France
    • Grand Prize best film
    • Best male role - Viktor Bychkov
    • Prize for the best female role - Anni-Kristiina Juuso

June 2004 - Russian Federation National Award in the Art and Literature Area was awarded to the crew of the film; to the director and the author of the screenplay Aleksandr Rogozhkin, producer Segei Selianov, main cast Anni-Kristiina Juuso, Ville Haapasalo, Viktor Bychkov, director of photography Andrey Zhegalov, director of the film art Vladimir I. Svetozarov, composer Dmitriy Pavlov, sound engineers Anatoliy Gudkov and Sergei Sokolov.

[edit] External links

[1]

Kukushka at the Internet Movie Database