The Cuckoo

A weird and beautiful story about a Finnish sniper, a Russian lieutenant and a Lapp woman who form a menage-a-trois during the closing days of World War II. Each speaks only their native tongue, and after they meet, they spend about 45 minutes misunderstanding each other while the camera pans across one of the best sets ever constructed. It’s a bit slow, and you have to tolerate the strange monologue-as-dialogue format, but I think it’s worth it, as the end pays off in a kind of quiet and unobtrusive sorrow that you don’t often see.