Kino Aurora: Lapland War

Age limit: 16. Running time: 2h 38min. Genre: drama, war. Year of completion: 2026. Director: Aku Louhimies. Language: Finnish. Subtitles: none.

The film is set in Lapland in the autumn of 1944, during the conflict between Finland and Germany at the end of the Second World War. Young soldier Heikki fights on the Karelian Isthmus alongside his friend Pauli. Arvo, recently released from prison, joins their company, and his worldview challenges the others’ ideas about war and duty. The armistice raises hopes of returning home, but it soon becomes clear that Finland must turn against its former German allies in Lapland. At the same time, Saara, who works as an interpreter for the Germans in Rovaniemi, must choose her future: stay in Finland or flee to Germany with her beloved, Major Duisberg.

Lapland War is a story grounded in the human experiences of its characters, people caught up in historical upheaval. Amid the horrors of war, they search for meaning, humanity and forgiveness—and ask how mercy can be found in a merciless environment.