That Kiljunen familys sets out find their two missing family members, who have been sent to Tampere by the Matalamäki boarding school for retraining due to poor school performance.
The boisterous good humor of Jurmala (Mikk Mikiver), 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.
Second silver screen adaption of the Finnish war book by Väinö Linna. The story is based on Linna's experiences as an infantry man in the Finnish army during the so called "Continuation War" (1941-1944).
Laila es una inocente niña Lappish y la única hija de un pastor de renos. Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, Los rescates de Laila estrellaron al piloto de combate alemán Hans y los dos desarrollaron cálidos sentimientos el uno por el otro durante su convalecencia. Años más tarde, después de la guerra, Hans regresa a Laponia como fotógrafo independiente y logra atraer a Laila para que huya con él a la capital, Helsinki, para comenzar una carrera como modelo fotográfico, para disgusto de su padre tradicional, Aslak. Sin embargo, después de la felicidad inicial, Hans abandona a Laila y el estilo de vida decadente de una gran ciudad envía su vida a una espiral descendente.
