The Cuckoo

The Cuckoo (, translit. Kukuška) is a 2002 Russian war comedy drama film directed by Aleksandr Rogozhkin. It takes place during World War II, and the action is seen from the opposing perspectives of a Soviet soldier and a Finnish soldier stranded together at a Sami woman's farmhouse. It received generally positive reviews from critics. Plot In September 1944, in the final moments of the Continuation War against the Soviet Union, Veikko (Ville Haapasalo), a Finnish soldier, is turned in by his German compatriots for being in their eyes a would-be deserter. As punishment, the young man is placed in shackles, chained to a rock outcrop in a remote Lapland forest, and left with nothing but a few supplies and a rifle and ammunition - effectively forced to be a forlorn hope kukushka (cuckoo sniper). To ensure his willingness to fight, they dress him in the uniform of the German Waffen-SS, as Soviet soldiers feel little mercy towards SS men. Days pass, and after several failed attempts, Veikko succeeds in freeing himself; and he heads for safety, shackles still attached. Meanwhile, Ivan (Viktor Bychkov), a captain in the Red Army accused of anti-Soviet correspondence, is arrested by the NKVD secret police. En route to his court martial, Soviet planes accidentally bomb the vehicle carrying the disgraced captain, killing the driver and Ivan's guard. Veikko, at this stage still chained to the rock, witnesses the bombing through his rifle scope. Not far away is the farm of Anni (Anni-Kristiina Juuso), a Sámi reindeer farmer whose husband was taken away together with their whole reindeer herd by Germans 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.