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  Gennady Dertkin

 THIS KIND “CUCKOO”…

            Toronto based company “Mongrel Media” has kindly invited our editorial staff to the premiere of the Russian movie “The Cuckoo” ("Kukushka”) by director Alexander Rogozhkin of which I have already heard.  But the business away from city called upon me and I had to miss the Canadian premiere.  Imagine my surprise when the film has “come” to YSR by itself – the company has delivered it to our office.  So we have gathered around the TV set…

            While watching the movie I felt that something from it was already long known to me.  It is explained easily.  My father, a professional soldier, just before my appearance to this world in March, 1940, had hurriedly left the family for “a business trip”, he did not even have time to say “goodbye” to his wife and daughter.  One month later, a letter was received in which he has informed that he was to take part in the “Finnish Campaign”; as shamefully the Soviet Union were calling the aggression against an independent Finland, the result of the facilitation of the disgraceful Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.  Not able to conclusively break the resistance of the Finns and, saying gently, stumbling on the “Mannerheim Line”, the USSR had given up on the plan of total occupation of Finland, instead, cutting a big chunk of its Southern territory.
            While there was a life and death battle with Hitler’s Germany, the “Finnish Campaign” had taken a form of a subacute confrontation without initial hatred and atrocities.  Moreover, the Finnish population, as my father had told me later, in no way sympathized with the fascists, while to the Soviet soldiers their attitude was based if not on love but, at least, on no animosity.
            And “The Cuckoo” is accounting one of such occurrences in this “strange war”.  A young Finnish woman Annie (debuting Annie-Christine Juuso) is the “cuckoo”, a lonely widow.  Her husband was killed either by Germans or by Russians…  She does not know for sure, for four years she lives alone in a hovel, there is no single soul around for tens of kilometers and she, like Robinson Crusoe, is trying to survive no matter what.
            But suddenly, other humans have trespassed into this tiny world of loneliness.  Annie becomes a witness of the bombardment of her own car by Soviet planes, in that car there was soldier-felon Ivan (actor Victor Bychkov, a participant in dozens of movies such as “Beautiful Stranger” – “Prekrasnaya neznakomka”, “Lilac Twilight” – “Sirenevye sumerki”, “The Peculiarities of National Hunt” – “Osobennosti Natsionalnoi okhoti”, “Damned killing power” – “Uboinaya sila” and other Russian films), who had the nerve to say aloud his wish for an end to the war. The accompanying convoy, an officer and the driver die and Annie drags the shell-shocked Russian to her hovel, cures him with herbs and spells, and brings him back to life.

            “The Cuckoo” had reminded me of a beautiful movie by Grigory Chukhrai called “Forty First” (with Oleg Strizhenov and Izolda Izvitskaya) up to the moment when there emerged the third character – Finnish sniper Veiko, played brilliantly by Finnish actor Ville Haapasalo, who, by the way, has gone through a distinguished Russian cinema school. The animosity of the Soviet soldier, Ivan, towards the “fascist” Veiko is fading away to show pacifist tendencies, much like Veiko's using the scope-sight of his rifle as a field glass.  Furthermore both men have one flame, and this traditional love triangle ultimately conciliates them at the end of the movie.  The finale is logical, both men are leaving for their respective homes and Annie is left to cuckoo again… alone.
            In spite of a high-stakes drama plot, the film is taken easily, I would say, with some bright sadness and belief in humanity and the kindness of people.
            It brings me pleasure to inform the readers that at The Moscow International Movie Festival, “The Cuckoo” has received a few prizes: Alexander Rogozhkin – “Best Director”, Ville Haapasalo – “Best Actor”, Annie-Christine Juuso –“Best Debut”.  The film has earned Grand-Pris of “International Festival of Festivals” in Saint-Petersburg, is noted with high prize at Russian National Festival in Vyborg (Best Actress – Annie-Christine Juuso) and other movie festivals.

Editorial stuff thanks “Mongrel Media” for provided materials.

 English version by Michael Yakobi 

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