Krigsfilm på g!
Förutom de svenskspråkiga finnarna skall visst några av karaktärerna var
frivilliga svenskar, skall bli mycket intressant att se. Finnarna har ju gjort
klockrena krigsfilmer förrut så jag tror knappast de misslyckas med dessa två.
"Details gathered from STT / FNB :
Two movies, "Etulinjan edessä - Framom främstä linjen"
and "Tali-Ihantala 1944".
Budget for the first: 3,5 million euros.
Budget for the second: 4,5 million euros.
In total: 8.0 million euros (VERY HUGE sum for two Finnish-based movies).
Director: Professor Åke Lindman
Shooting is supposed to start in the winter of 2003. First opening night should be in January 2004 and the second in January 2005.
Screenplay is written by Stefan Forss and Benedict Ziliacus. Forss is for example, an expert of military history and weapons technology and a member of Swedish military academy. Ziliacus is a Captain in the reserves, who served in the artillery at the Tali-Ihantala battle.
Finnish government is said to be funding partly the project and the Finnish Army will provide some material and personnel help for the project. Several communities, individuals and corporations are also involved. Even the Swedish government is supporting this very ambitious project.
In the first movie, leads to the decisive battle between the Finnish Army and the Red Army in Summer of 1944. The movie looks at the men of swedish-speaking 61st. infantry regiment and it's involvement in battles, first at the further side of Syväri in 1942-1943 and afterwards in Tienhaara in 1944.
Finnish Artillery and the Infantry Regiment 61. won the first of the summer's defensive battles and stopped the Red Army's advance to West from Viipuri. The leader of the Finnish Army, Mannerheim
described that this win the save of Finland.
Tali-Ihantala" starts from where the first part ends, but it has it's own independent story. The movie starts with General Major
R. Lagus and his tank forces' counterattack at Kuuterselkä. Finnish forces weren't enough at that point and the Red Army continued advancing towards Northwest. After the bitter loss in Kuuterselkä, the movie looks at the Russian's severe breakthrough in Tali and the efforts of the Finnish Army in trying to stop the advance. Finally when the fall back-order is announced, Finnish troops are very fatiqued. In that battle, several Swedish voluenteers served well with their Finnish comrades.
From this point the movie progresses to Ihantala, where the last reserves, the 6th division commanded by General Major E. Vihma are sent to meet the Soviet attackers. This is the moment when the badly outnumbered and outgunned Finnish forces with the backup provided by the artillery achieve "the miracle of Ihantala" and stop the advance."