The Cuckoo

Black grotesque on the absurdities of World War II. A Finnish defector - a highly educated intellectual - and an uneducated Soviet soldier, who faces a military tribunal with all its consequences as part of Stalin's purges, manage to escape certain death thanks to their own tenacity and a series of fortunate coincidences, and meet in the hut of a young Lapp woman whose husband has disappeared in the turmoil of war. They don't understand a word of each other, the only thing that connects them is the desire for life. High-quality performances, especially by Ville Haapasala, who already belongs to Rogozhkin in an organic way. An interesting and intelligent script about events and places that have so far been outside the attention of filmmakers. High-quality direction, only the overly idyllic ending spoiled the overall impression. Overall, it's a 90% rating. (13/01/2007)

Beautifully lyrical and poetic in content, full of subtle and intelligent humor and economically sketched characters. The central triangle is very believable and the chemistry between the Russian-Fin-Laplander works excellently. Inseparable lyrical units and emphasis on nature already belong to the Russian concept, or to Rogozkin, similarly to the obligatory sauna and the great simpleton Ville Haapasalo. A tiny problem of The Cuckoo are the formal aspects, which are, above all, quite unsorted at the end, and thanks to the metaphysical scene of luring the soul back into the body, it gives off a slightly spasmodic impression. In the same way, the setting of the final point in an otherwise very authentic story did not entirely suit me. If for the most part The Cuckoo feels like an uncut gem, full of rawness and incoherent dialogues, its culmination perhaps brings into the game a bit too much of a schematic element. Still, I really enjoyed it, because this whimsical story about people, war and nature simply abounds in subtle poetry that appeals to me. (29/01/2007)

The Cuckoo has an absolutely incredible story. It throws a Lapp woman, a Russian soldier and aFinnish soldier together. They all have to come to an agreement during the WWII and since the Lapp woman’s been living there alone for a couple of years now, she’s going to get something out of the two guys; especially sex. The whole movie is told in a beautiful and sincere way and makes you smile from the beginning till the very end. The ending then confirms the age-old phrase “nothing lasts forever” and so even a The Cuckoo’s chapter has to come to an end. I watched this for the Challenge Tour 2015. (17/04/2015)

This Russian film with two collaborating Finnish actors (the Russians have probably adopted Ville Haapasalo by now :-)) was excellent. A conversational comedy drama about three characters, each speaking their own language. It's such an absurd idea that I still can't figure out how it could have worked out so well. Again, I was greatly amused by how the sexually frustrated Sami managed to calm things down between the Finn and the Soviet. (23/10/2020)

Movies where the characters stop speaking properly right at the beginning always have a hard time. However, the creators managed to skate around it surprisingly skillfully, and the three characters who keep talking without understanding each other at all can create a very pleasant, albeit tragicomic mood. It's a shame that the story changes its storytelling tone at the least appropriate moment and within a minute, we find ourselves in a hypnotic scene reminiscent of The Seventh Seal, which would suit most war-themed dramas, but in the case of Kukuška, it's unbearably disruptive. (30/01/2007)