Friday, October 29
The Cuckoo
dir. Alexander Rogozhkin, Russia 2002

September 1944. Several days before Finland, an ally of Nazi Germany, pulls out of World War II, Veiko (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. Veiko is thus left to die in a remote Lapland forest, with nothing but a few supplies and his wits. Days pass, and after several failed attempts, he succeeds in freeing himself and heads for safety, shackles still attached. - Rotten Tomatoes