The Cuckoo

The title of this lean, potent satire set in World War II-torn Finland refers to a Finnish college student (Ville Haapasalo) who was forced into service by German forces. The reluctant soldier is chained to the top of a rocky hill by his superiors and told to shoot at any passing enemy forces. He escapes in a lengthy and nearly wordless preface and wanders into the nearby wilderness settlement of a young Lapp lady (Anni-Christina Juuso) who is caring for a bomb-battered Russian soldier (Viktor Bychkov). The earthy lass, who has not had a man in four years now, has two now and enough sex drive for the three of them. Each of the trio speaks a different language, and their deadpan exchanges propel an optimistic story of conflicted humanity in which the two men’s mutual distrust of each other is surpassed only by their attraction to their sprite-like hostess. This was written and directed by Aleksandr Rogozhkin.