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Mother of
Mine
During
World War II, more than 70,000 Finnish children were evacuated to
neutral Sweden to avoid the conflict. "Mother of Mine," the latest from
the award-winning Klaus Haro ("Elina"), tackles that
painful patch of
history in a tale of 9-year-old Eero, a child who increasingly feels
abandoned by his biological Finnish mother and yet not attached to his
Swedish surrogate mom. When he is returned to Finland, his confusion
intensifies.
Winner of Three Finnish Oscars 111 minutes $19.95 The Winter War (Talvisota) Directed by Pekka ParikkaThe overwhelming Soviet army ceaselessly stormed tiny Finland's borders with massive artillery, a powerful air force and well-armed infantry for 105 days during the Soviet invasion of 1939-40. What gave the defenders of a small nation the strength to hold back an awesome enemy in the face of countless odds? The Winter War is the first film made about this epic struggle; recounting the war from the soldiers' point of view, letting us experience the brutality of daily life in the trenches. The screen play, based on Antti Tuuri's book Talvisota, is a dignified tribute to the tenacious Finnish heroes who preserved their coun try's independence. BelIe & Blade Studios 125 mm. abridgment of the origi nal 1988 film. In Finnish with English subtitles. Available in both VHS and DVD video formats VHS and DVD $ 29.95 *************** Fire and Ice The Winter War of
Finland and Russia
Fire
and Ice tells
the story of the Winter War, the Soviet Union's invasion of Finland in
November, 1939. The Soviets were convinced they could win the war in a
matter of days. No one expected that tiny Finland could resist the
highly mechanized Red Army, the largest military force in the world.
And no one anticipated that 1939 would be one of the coldest winters in
recorded history.
During 105 days of intensely bloody and brutal combat, Finland improvised a devastating and deadly defense, for an environment historians have called a frozen hell. The Winter War changed the course of what would soon become World War II. Produced, directed and written by Ben StroutA MasterWorks Media Production DVD Format only: $20.00 ***************************** Letters from KareliaFather, Brother, Comrade, SpyTaimi Pitkanen last saw her
brother Aate (AH-tay) in a Leningrad
railway station in 1931. Taimi was returning to Canada from
Moscow; Aate was headed for Soviet
Karelia, on the border with Finland, where his skills in electricity
and languages - both English and Finnish - were badly needed.
Aate
never came back. Even when the dream went sour, Aate held on, writing
home until, in 1941, Hitler attacked the USSR. After that, no one in
Canada heard anything more of Aate Pitkanen.
Sixty years later, the discovery of his last letters - written but never mailed from a Finnish prisoner-of-war camp - reveals his fate and brings together Taimi and Alfred, the son Aate never met. Visiting Taimi in Canada, Alfred Pitkanen learns the dramatic story of his father's Canadian family and of "Karelia Fever," the enthusiasm that gripped so many Finnish Canadians in the 1930s. Almost forgotten now, it lured thousands to a tragic fate in the Soviet Union. Alfred follows his father's
journey from Thunder Bay, Ontario, to Karelia, from young communist
pioneer to ski champion of the USSR to Soviet spy.
With him we learn Aate's fate and the story of one of the great dreams of the twentieth century. Directed and Edited by Kelly Saxberg A National Film Board of Canada Production Available in DVD or VHS format (please specify) $29.00 ******************
Through hardship and adversity, they struggled only to see their commune eventually fail, but the dream lived on and evolved into a community that still thrives today. This is the story of the People of Sointula. Produced by Karvonen Films, Ltd. in VHS format. $21.95 |
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