Best Finnish history movies

A personal and captivating account of the extraordinary life and work of Ingrid Bergman (1915-82), a young Swedish woman who became one of the most celebrated actresses in world cinema.

Anna is a 16-year old in a village where women are accused of witchcraft. It's based on the witch hunts on Åland, Finland in the 1600s.

Aliide experienced The Great Terror under Stalin’s regime, and decades after her hometown people were deported to Siberia, she lives alone in an isolated house. One night, she finds a young woman in her yard – Zara has just escaped from the claws of the Russian mafia that held her as a sex slave. Survivors both, Aliide and Zara engage in unearthing each other’s motives and gradually their stories merge into one, revealing the tragedy of a family during the cruelest years in Estonian history.

Jussi Ketola, returns to Finland from the great depression struck America only to face growing political unrest. One summer night of 1930, nationalist thugs violently abduct Ketola from his home. Beaten and forced to walk the Eternal Road towards a foreign Soviet Russia, where cruelty seems to know no end, his only dream is to return to his family cost it what it may. Hope dies last.

In Eastern Finland, in Liperi to be exact, Anna-Liisa Ihalainen asks her husband Antti to get some matches from the Ihalainen household. Unfortunately that trip takes a little longer than expected...

The Soviet army breaks through the Finnish defences on the Karelian Isthmus in June 1944, advancing with overwhelming force. Somehow, the Finnish troops must find the strength to fight back, with all odds against them. The Battle of Tali-Ihantala was the largest battle ever fought in the history of the Nordic countries. This film depicts the true events through five separate stories.

Parikka, the actor once called the Funniest Man in Finland, and his troupe are about to be executed for the atrocities committed during the Civil War in Finland. Jaeger Lieutenant Nyborg, an admirer of Parikka, suspects a definite miscarriage of justice. He wants to save the actors. The forthcoming visit of the German General von der Goltz to the prison island provides him with a suitable opportunity. Nyborg suggests that the actors prepare a comical performance for the visitor and not be shot. Instead, they will be given a new trial. Preparing a comedy in the horrible circumstances, in the midst of hunger and death, seems quite an overwhelming task. Only a handful of real actors are still alive, the rest of the troupe consists of stagehands. Parikka has to use all his inventive skills to be able to produce something funny.

Anni, a daughter of a wealthy family and used to secure life, falls in love with Veikko, a war invalid of the Continuation War. Anni leaves her past behind her and starts leading the life of a pioneer, in the wild forests of northern Karelia, in a settlement farm. After a rosy start, the fate crushes Anni’s dreams and her love for Veikko is put to a test.

Wager is Count Mauritz Armborg, the young master of the estate. Linnanheimo plays Katariina (Catherine) the nanny to Mauritz's nieces and nephews. The two fall in love and decide to escape to Italy via Denmark where they have planned to get married. There are always complications because Mauritz's grandmother doesn't want him to marry below him - she has decided that Mauritz is to marry the Swedish beauty, Ingeborg Liliecrona.

An exhaustive explanation of how the military occupation of an invaded territory occurs and its consequences, using as a paradigmatic example the recent history of Israel and the Palestinian territories, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, from 1967, when the Six-Day War took place, to the present day; an account by filmmaker Avi Mograbi enriched by the testimonies of Israeli army veterans.

Based on the novel by Väinö Linna, the story takes place during the time of the Finnish Civil War.

On December 6, 1917, Finland declared its independence from Russia. A detailed chronicle of the major events in the history of this young European nation.

A biographical film about Finnish singer J. Alfred Tanner and his path through a failed career as a construction master to become a highly successful couplet singer - the "king of couplets".

Tracing the past of her deceased grandfather who worked as a young doctor in the Red Cross hospital of HirSwiss-Japanese filmmaker Aya Domenig, the granddaughter of a doctor on duty during the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, approaches the experience of her deceased grandfather by tracing the lives of a doctor and of former nurses who once shared the same experience. While gathering the memories and present views of these last survivors, the nuclear disaster in Fukushima strikes and history seems to repeat itself.oshima after the atomic bomb was dropped over the city, the filmmaker encounters doctors and nurses who went through similar experiences to his at the time. Right up until his death in 1991, her grandfather was never able to speak about his experiences, but the formidable stories and openness of her protagonists bring her closer to his past.

Set in the final weekend of the year 1995 Ice Hockey World Championships, 95 tells through overlapping stories why Finland became a ice hockey world champion and how it affected the whole nation.

A story about the life of reindeer emperor Mosku in Eastern Lapland at the beginning of the 20th century, when social conditions and the practice of traditional livelihoods are in transition. Mosku is involved in reindeer disputes and skirmishes and is also involved in the bandit hunt on the side of Soviet Russia led by Wallenius, the commander of the Lapland border guard.

A Danish writer travels to Mexico with the purpose of locating a mysterious Apache tribe that fervently seeks to remain in obscurity.

The young man must set up a clear border between Finland and Russia, white and red, enemy and friend, us and them. While the task seems clear he finds out the execution of his command in concrete situations is very difficult. Right choices turn out to be wrong ones and correcting them make things worse.

Director Timo Koivusalo point of view about life of classical music composer Jean Sibelius, who is a national composer of Finland.

Täällä Pohjantähden alla is based on the book with the same title. It is a story of the little village. The movie starts in the 1890's and it ends to the Finnish civil war in 1918. Story concentrates around a tenant farmer family, although it gives us a good look at the society at whole. While the class struggle depends, people of the village are driven to bloody civil war.

Stars above follows the stories of three women from the same family across three different decades. The main characters – Saima, Tuulikki and Salla – each lives in the same country house. Saima´s story takes place in the war time 1942, when Finland fought against Soviet Union, Tuulikki´s story in colourful year 1978 and Salla´s story in the present day. Each woman is between 30 and 40. This deep and beautiful, yet humorous film pictures the encounters between people and the possibilities for choice. How much does the time we live in affect us - and our ability to hold on to our dreams? What are those things which we pass on from one generation to the next? What changes, what remains the same? And to what extent do mothers´ choices, let alone their unspoken secrets, affect their daughters´ lives?

War and Peace of Mind explores what war does to the human mind and how both, the individuals and the nation as a whole, survive it psychologically. Finland and WWII, locally known as continuation war, is the backdrop of this documentary.

In 1980, Finland’s most famous hypnotist Olavi Hakasalo, a.k.a Olliver Hawk, was put on trial. His mission in life had been to spread the gospel of the power of suggestion, and he was willing to risk everything to become a player of political influence on the big stage. But in the corridors of power, with a nation’s destiny at stake, an eccentric loudmouth sitting on too many secrets is considered a liability.

A teenage orphan girl Salome lives within a sect lead by charismatic and ruthless Maria Åkerblom. During a pivotal summer, Salome is faced with standing up against Maria, the woman who had saved her.

In the comedy set in Etelä-Hämee in the middle of the 19th century, Esko, the son of a cobbler, goes with the speaker Mikko Vilkastu to find a bride for himself from Karri's adopted daughter, Crete. However, not everything goes according to plan.

In 1860s Lapland, gold diggers Jakob Ervast and Nils Lepistö, who previously worked in California, embark on an arduous journey towards the north. The friends find gold at the first excavation site, which Kittilä's crown prince Konrad Planting and Edvard Manninen also start looking for.

Aleksis Kivi (1834-1872) was a Finnish author who wrote the first significant novel in the Finnish language, "Seven Brothers/Seitsemän veljestä". Although Kivi was among the very earliest authors of prose and lyrics in Finnish language, he is still considered one of the greatest of them all.

The stories of the aristocratic Lilliehjelm family, the middle-class Widing family and the poor Kajander family from the Finland's independence through the Civil War and the Roaring Twenties ending during the Second World War.

A hauntingly beautiful and unusual coming-of-age tale. Set in 1890, Iris's artist mother leaves Stockholm for the summer and sends her 9-year old daughter to stay with an uncle in the Finnish archipelago. The girl learns to play with other children and discovers the joys of friendship in the remote Åland Islands.

Based on a novel by Aleksis Kivi. Follows the story of seven brothers of Jukola in 19th century Finland.

The story of a young poet who became a symbol for Finnish optimism and was subsequently forced underground during Tsar Nicholas II's oppressive dictatorship.

Dramatized documentary of the early hours of Finland's Civil War in January 1918.

Rakel is a strict Christian believer living in the far north of 1930s Sweden. When her husband forms a sectarian movement, with directions straight from God, she has no choice but to join the increasingly explicit cult.

Young and innocent maid Elina is persuaded into forgetting her childhood sweetheart Uolevi, and to marry Klaus Kurki, a local nobleman with money and influence. An ideal match according to her family and the greedy parish priest, but all is not as it seems: Kurki is a vicious man, tormented by the spirit of his last wife.

The story of the first elections in Finland. Farmer Topi Romppainen lives a modest life with his family in Kainuu in the early 20th century. While shopping in the village, Topi hears about the upcoming parliamentary elections. His wife Riikka decides to find out more and ends up at a meeting of the Social Democrats.

An anthology of stories about the indigenous Nenet peoples of the Northern Russian tundra, and how their way of life was disrupted by the advent of Soviet power.

In the 1860’s Alaska and Finland are simultaneously parts of the Russian Empire. A Finnish mining engineer Simon buys a Tlingit girl named Tsamo and decides to bring her to Finland. The child, Tsamo, is baptized and Simon starts to teach her European manners. Tsamo thinks she’s married to Simon and acts accordingly, but when Simon marries a lady of his own age and class, she gets confused. Simon is forced to send the girl away and the battle over Tsamo’s identity takes complicated turns.

Evakko is a portrayal of Soviet-Finnish winter war of 1939/40 and the associated evacuations in different parts of the country. It tells the story of a Karelian family along with their whole village who were forced to leave their homes because of the war. The film has a surprisingly perky tone for the subject matter.

February Manifesto was Yrjö Norta's and Toivo Särkkä's Finnish movie from 1939. It is a Finnish historical drama about developing independency based on book of the writer Mika Waltari. Movie Starring Tauno Palo and Regina Linnanheimo. For it's anti-soviet thematics it was banned in Finland from 1944 to 1987.

Depicting the Finnish Civil War from the White army's point of view. Lieutenant Melin's soldiers mission is to penetrate the heart of the city and overtake the Nasilinna Palace from the Reds.

The film is based on history of the Russian Military garrison in Sveaborg (Suomenlinna, near Helsinki) in Finland, which was an autonomous part of Russian Empire. In 1906 Russia had about 12 thousand troops stationed in Sveaborg fortress. The riots were provoked by the Socialist - Revolutionaries who spread influence on the minds of Sveaborg garrison. First acts of un-subordination broke on July 17, 1906, when revolutionary sailors were supported by mine-men. Minemen were arrested and disarmed by the infantry regiment. Gunners decided to release their comrades. The following fight ignited a bloody revolt, that was headed by lieutenants A. Yemelyanov and Y. Kohansky, members of the Lenin's Bolshevik party. A general strike began in Helsinki on the next day. The revolt lasted three days and was crushed by the Baltic Fleet naval bombardment. Over 40 men were executed, hundreds were sentenced to prison.

On the eve of the Finnish Civil War, the film follows the last days of Alfred Kordelin, the richest man in Finland.

The boisterous good humor of Jurmala, the nickel-mine owner, is, if anything, only barely dented by the raging battles in Finland before, during and after World War Two. In fact, everywhere he goes, he meets prospective customers on all sides of the conflict with his all-inclusive greeting "Friends, Comrades." Indeed, the resource he is wrenching from the earth's bowels is necessary to all forms of industrial activity, and is especially necessary for military applications. Thus, he has no reason to fear that he will ever run out of customers. This doesn't prevent him from using every possible means to entice them. At home, his relationship with his wife is not so prosperous, and they resort to some extraordinary means to try and keep on an even keel.

Set in early 16th century Finland, a knight Olavi Gideoninpoika meets Mirjam Raakelintytär and falls in love. Mirjami hides in a monastery disguised as a choir boy, but is revealed by a monk Rasmus, who also desires her, and is put on trial.

In 1916, Finland is still a part of Russian Empire. Eugen Schauman murders the governor of Finland, and his fellow activists take on smaller tasks in the fight for freedom.

1942. The State of Finland has formed an alliance with Nazi Germany. An elderly man single-handedly tries to stop a secret attempt by the Finnish State Police to hand over Jewish refugees directly to the Gestapo.

An interview documentary about Finnish military court sentencing procedures after the Continuation War.

Jussi Koskela clears a plot of land for his family in the village of Pentinkulma in southern Häme. His son Akseli joins the Red Guard and takes part in the Civil War of 1918, at the end of which he is imprisoned. After his release, Akseli returns to Pentinkulma and tries to raise his family with his wife Elina, as well as acquire more land for his croft in a politically hostile environment. The Winter War and Continuation War take a heavy toll on the Koskela family, but despite this, life goes on.

Based on Josef Julius Wecksell's play. The story is set during the era of political unrest in 1590s Sweden.Daniel Hjort, the grim and lonesome assistant to the powerful Fleming family, finds himself caught up between the two opposing parties when Turku Castle is close to coming under siege. In the midst of this he finds out the truth about the death of his father and sets out to get revenge.

A new ice age is coming to England. All energy sources have been depleted and despair is taking over the earth. The young king decides to use his last trump card before his power collapses and anarchy reigns over the island kingdom.

In the farce, the producer has invited people to his place to plan a film celebrating the centenary of independence. They get drunk and come up with three possible films, which they also act in themselves. The topics chosen, in the spirit of Finnish nationalism, are the life of Colonel Sandels, moonshining, and the 1974 presidential election.

Captain Kaarnoja finds himself caught up in intrigues and a dispute between the noblewoman Elisabeth and her cousin, Captain Gyllenskiöld. Kaarnoja comes into possession of a mysterious letter, which leads him and his loyal companion Sergeant Erkinpoika into battles, ambushes, and sword fights.

A fictional love story between famous composer Gabriel Linsén and opera singer Maria Sawina in 19th century Finland.

Set in rural Ostrobothnia in 1859, Tuomas Kantola, a farmer, is the only peasant in the village who does not sell his land to Lohikoski's boss Adler, and even starts to annoy him by building a dam to defy the project to drain Lohikoski's lands. During the summer, Harri , a student, and Kantola's daughter Annika fall in love, which is not accepted by either of their fathers or Annika's ex-fiancé Tuomas.

The headmaster of a private girls' school is doing her best to maintain strict discipline in the school. In addition to the loosening morals of the students, the warm relationship between two girls is a causing concern.

Esko is going to a neighboring village to marry Kreeta after her father arranged the marriage with Esko's father. Esko takes Mikko as his travel companion and that's where Esko's ordeals begin.

In the 1880s, an unruly group of Cossacks stays in Sankola's house in Hämälä. Soon the group's leader Kuisma sets his sights on the house's adopted daughter Helina . Isma, the owner of the farm, has also fallen in love with Helina.

In the early 1800s, Finnish governor's daughter first detests but soon falls in love with Russian Czar Alexander I who has just taken Finland over from Sweden's rule.

Baron Metter is threatening to evict a crofter family from their home. Lauri Vaara a student passing by, falls in love with Marja the family's daughter, and promises to help save their home. Baroness Olivia Metter falls for the young student and helps him with the rescue plan.