Kukushka - Der Kuckuck

Inhaltlich wunderschön lyrisch, poetisch, voll subtilen und intelligenten Humors sowie wirtschaftlich skizzierter Charaktere. Das zentrale Dreieck wird sehr glaubwürdig dargeboten und die Chemie zwischen einem Russen, einem Finnen und einer Lappländerin funktioniert fabelhaft. Nicht wegzudenkende lyrische Einheiten sowie die Betonung der Natur gehören ja bereits zum russischen Konzept, bzw. zu Rogozkin, ähnlich wie die obligatorische Sauna sowie der naive Ville Haapasalo. Der winzige Haken am Film Kukushka – Der Kuckuck, ist dessen formaler Aspekt, der insbesondere am Ende ziemlich unsortiert ist und dank der metaphysischen Szene sowie dem Anlocken der Seele, in den Körper zurückzukehren, erweckt hier einen leicht krampfhaften Eindruck. Ebenso passte es mir das Platzieren der abschließenden Pointe in die ansonsten sehr authentische Geschichte überhaupt nicht. Sofern denn Kukuschka – Der Kuckuck wie ein ungeschliffener Diamant anmutet, voller Rohheit und unzusammenhängender Dialoge, bringt der Höhepunkt vielleicht ein etwas zu schematisches Element ins Spiel. Dennoch habe ich mich hervorragend amüsiert, denn diese skurrile Geschichte über Menschen, Krieg und Natur sprüht einfach voller subtiler Poetik, die für mich ansprechend ist. (29.01.2007)

The Cuckoo has an absolutely incredible story. It throws a Lapp woman, a Russian soldier and aFinnish soldier together. They all have to come to an agreement during the WWII and since the Lapp woman’s been living there alone for a couple of years now, she’s going to get something out of the two guys; especially sex. The whole movie is told in a beautiful and sincere way and makes you smile from the beginning till the very end. The ending then confirms the age-old phrase “nothing lasts forever” and so even a The Cuckoo’s chapter has to come to an end. I watched this for the Challenge Tour 2015. (17.04.2015)

Movies where the characters stop speaking properly right at the beginning always have a hard time. However, the creators managed to skate around it surprisingly skillfully, and the three characters who keep talking without understanding each other at all can create a very pleasant, albeit tragicomic mood. It's a shame that the story changes its storytelling tone at the least appropriate moment and in the span of a minute we find ourselves in a hypnotic scene reminiscent of The Seventh Seal, which would suit most war-themed dramas, but in the case of The Cuckoo, it's unbearably disruptive. (30.01.2007)

A black slapstick on the absurdities of World War II. A Finnish deserter - a university-educated intellectual - and an uneducated Soviet soldier facing a military tribunal due to Stalinist purges, manage to escape certain death and meet in a hut belonging to a young Lapland woman whose husband disappeared in the chaos of war. They don't understand each other a bit; the only thing connecting them is the desire to live. High-quality performances, especially from Ville Haapasalo, who seems to belong to Rogozhkin's world organically. An intriguing, intelligent script about events and places that have so far escaped filmmakers' attention. Quality direction, and only the overly idyllic ending spoils the overall impression. Overall, it deserves 90%. (13.01.2007)

This Russian film with two collaborating Finnish actors (the Russians have probably adopted Ville Haapasalo by now :-)) was excellent. A conversational comedy drama about three characters, each speaking their own language. It's such an absurd idea that I still can't figure out how it could have worked out so well. Again, I was greatly amused by how the sexually frustrated Sami managed to calm things down between the Finn and the Soviet. (23.10.2020)