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The Cuckoo

Kukushka

Russia

2002

99 Min
Color
1.85:1
German, Russian, Saami, Finnish
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
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DIR Aleksandr Rogozhkin

PROD Sergei Selyanov

SCR Aleksandr Rogozhkin

DP Andrei Zhegalov

CAST Anni-Kristiina Juuso, Ville Haapasalo, Mikhail Korobochkin, Viktor Bychkov, Aleksei Kashnikov, Denis Aksenov, Aleksei Panzheyev

ED Yuliya Rumyantseva

PROD DES Vladimir Svetozarov

MUSIC Dmitri Pavlov

SOUND Anatoli Gudkovsky, Sergei Sokolov

Telluride, AFI FEST (European Showcase), San Francisco (World Cinema): Audience Award, Toronto (Contemporary World Cinema)

Synopsis

As Finland’s withdrawal from World War II draws ever closer, a tentative relationship between an abandoned Finnish soldier, a Lapp woman, and a Russian captain accused of anti-Soviet correspondence offers momentary solace to a trio of lost souls. Dressed in a German uniform and tied to a rock after being branded a pacifist by his fellow soldiers, Finnish sniper Veiko (Ville Haapasalo) attempts to break free before being spotted by Russian soldiers and shot. Peering through the scope on his rifle after finally escaping, Veiko bears witness to the accidental bombing of a Russian envoy carrying a captain accused of collaborating with the enemy. As Anni (Anni-Christina Juuso), a Laplander whose husband is off to war, scavenges for food, she runs across the bombing and finds disgraced soldier Ivan (Viktor Bychkov) clinging to life. Bringing him back to her house to nurse him to health, Anni is shocked when Veiko arrives in search of tools to remove his shackles. As language barriers keep the threesome from effectively communicating, Ivan’s suspicions that Veiko is actually a German soldier begin to mount. Veiko and Anni’s bond begins to grow, and as the lonely widow seduces Veiko, Ivan’s jealousy and suspicions culminate in an attempt to murder the hapless Finnish sniper.

Director

Original

Aleksandr Rogozhkin

Alexander Rogozhkin graduated from Leningrad (Saint-Petersburg) State University’s History Department as an art expert and art researcher. In 1971, he began to work as an art designer at Leningrad TV; from 1974 – 1977, here he served as a production designer at “LenFilm” Film Studio, while studying painting and graphics at the Leningrad Pedagogic Institute. In 1982, Rogozhkin graduated from VGIK (Russian State Institute for Cinematography), having completed a director’s workshop with Sergei Gerasimov. Rogozhkin’s filmography includes the comedy “Peculiarities of National Hunt” (1995) and its sequel “Peculiarities of National Fishing” (1998), both certified Russian blockbusters; “Peculiarities of National Hunt” was at the top of the national box-office for several years. In 1998, the film “Checkpoint” proved Rogozhkin’s skill as a master of Russian psychological cinema. In addition to having directed several episodes of the popular Russian TV police serial, “Streets of Broken Lights”… read more

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