Amazon Prime viewers can tune into a “lesser known masterpiece”. The gripping military drama first released in 1989 is now available to watch on the streaming platform. It has received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike who have branded the gritty tale a must watch. Pekka Parikka’s epic The Winter War was based on the 1984 novel Talvisota by Antti Tuuri. It stars actor Taneli Mäkelä, a farmer who joins the Finnish Army’s 23rd Regiment.

Set in 1939, Finland held back the might of the Soviet army which stormed their borders with massive tanks, artillery firepower, a large airforce and well armed infantry. The war went on for 105 days in extreme weather conditions, through a cold and hostile winter. Despite the odds, the army held strong and the historic battle has come to be known as the Finnish Miracle.

The Winter War was released in Finland on November 30, 1989 and was the country’s most popular film with over 600,000 admissions.

It won six Jussi Awards and was Finland’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 63rd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

The main character is Martti Hakala, a married farmer who deploys to the front line with his younger brother Paavo.

Their mother sends them off with a request that Martti look after Paavo at the front. Martti asks their platoon leader to put them into a squad together, and so the brothers train, march, and dig along battle lines.

Film enthusiasts have continued to express their admiration for the epic war drama which has received a superb 88% rating, as one reviewer gushed: “A relatively less known Finnish masterpiece about The Winter War 1939-40. One of first ‘gritty, realistic war movies’, if not The First, which had direct or indirect influence to most war movies directed after it. No Hollywoodisms, no artificial forced plot, no superheroes, no glorification of war.”

They added: “There are no false notes in this masterpiece, even considering relatively small budget and production values relative to contemporary movies of this kind. Talvisota’s realism goes that far that even landscapes of battles were chosen to depict rather accurately to their historical place.”

Another commented: “Though I’m not a great fan of war-movies I must say this one made quite the impression. I can’t really tell what it was but the story struck me. Not only did this movie give you a story about the war itself, but also on the impact it had on the families afflicted by it. Excellent acting and a chillingly choice of filming made this movie one to remember. Forget about ‘saving private ryan’ this movie shows a war in all it’s roughness without the fancy actors doing their best to be the “brave soldier” (no offense to some, but lots to others).”

A third shared: “Could be greatest Finnish war movie,” while a fourth added: “Why are the Europeans so much better at producing hard hitting, gritty war films than those in Hollywood? I wish I knew. Talvisota is an excellent example of this and is infinitely better than what has been produced in the U.S. If you have seen ‘Saving Private Ryan’ or ‘Enemy at the Gates’ and think you have seen the best…you’re sadly mistaken.”

The original release ran for three hours with the international version just over two hours long.