Nyrki Tapiovaara, who was killed at the age of 28 behind Russian lines just before the end of the Winter War would acquire a posthumous reputation based on the strength of just five features. Varastettu kuolema (Stolen Death,1938) stands the most intriguing and imaginative of the canon and takes place in the dismal and dubious years at the start of the century when 'activists' were engaged in an underground campaign to thwart the expansionist designs of Tsarist Russia.
War has frequently been the inspiration for imposing films from Finland. None more so that 1955's The Unknown Soldier directed by Edvin Laine (1905-1989) from the famous novel by Vaino Linna. It captured the peculiar blend of joviality and bitterness that characterized the Finnish people's attitude toward the Soviet Union, and the wars of attrition that would engage both of those nations.