Today I have listened to a concert of Finnish WW2 hits on the TV: Eldankajärven jää, Röhön ranta, etc., and the one about the man standing on guard alone, made fun of in The Unknown Soldier by Pte. Honkajoki. All of course performed by Korsuorkesteri, which has been an unavoidable nuisance ever since the real wartime singers have been gone.

And finally, inevitably, I watched The Unknown Soldier, the original Edvin Laine version, which I definitely prefer to the Rauni Mollberg version. Before the Mollberg version had been made in the 1980s people used to criticise the actors in the Laine version for being too old for their roles, although otherwise excellent. They of course were too old in years, which is most apparent in the beginning of the film. But at the end they feel just right, unlike the actors in the Mollberg film, who remain inexperienced brats from the beginning until the end. The one exception is Kari Väänänen as Ltn. Lammio, who I think is more credible as a person than Jussi Jurkka, as delightful and unforgettable as he is, but somewhat too comical. Still, I think everybody must know the story about the man who in the 1950s told he had seen Ltn. Lammio on the bus: "He's a Colonel now."

I had not planned to watch the film, quite the contrary, but somehow I always end up watching it on Independence Day. It is a good film after all, and somehow, if I start, I have to continue till the end. But I can't help feeling stupid watching something I know practically by heart, as I suppose most Finns do.