Battle for Finland

Tali-Ihantala 1944 is a 2007 Finnish war film directed by Åke Lindman and Sakari Kirjavainen, based on the Battle of Tali-Ihantala. Filming began during the summer of 2006 and was screened in autumn 2007. Åke Lindman himself wanted the film to be as real as possible, and only include facts. He also wanted Finns to remember the sacrifices the soldiers made in those battles. The film received 350,000 euros in production support from the Finnish Film Foundation. The organization created to raise money for the movie was led by Admiral Jan Klenberg and was protected by the former Finnish President Mauno Koivisto. The movie was made using a wide array of genuine wartime vehicles and, when it was not possible to acquire originals, replicas were used. Some of the tanks used were actual individual vehicles which had participated in the actual real life battles depicted in the film, and stored in museum. Also used was a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 replica, made by the German company Flug Werk. During the shooting of the movie, the aircraft was decorated with markings similar to that of Major Erich Rudorffer's aircraft in 1944. The reception for the film was mixed. Most of the criticism was targeted at the lack of main characters and a proper plot, even though the lack of these was intentional.