Somewhere not far from the Kandalaksha Bay, three strangers cross their paths: a Russian Ivan, a Finnish Veikko and a Saami Anni. None of them speaks the other two’s languages, and two of them, additionally, are not quite adept at surviving in the wild. Nevertheless, they will have to spend several together long weeks together: the climate is harsh, the food is scarce, and the other people are too far away…

With the exception of the Nazi artillery unit.

The (not so sudden) twist is that the film takes place in 1944. Anni is the only one in her settlement who escaped forced transportation to a concentration camp. Ivan is a Soviet army captain (falsely?) arrested by NKVD for anti-Soviet correspondence. Veikko is a Finnish soldier whom recent German “allies” abandoned in the wilderness to die of hunger or unfriendly fire.

Yes, in a few weeks the USSR and Finland will declare an armistice. Yes, Veikko is a democrat who has his own reasons to hate the Nazis. But how does one explain it without speaking the language? And even if one did, would explanations help anyway?

“The Cuckoo” is a drama about war and the lives it twisted irreparably. But it is also a series of most mundane comedic moments. Moreover, as every good film, it is a thought-provoking experience. What was the factor that allowed the main characters to stick together for so long in (relative) peace? The threat of not surviving in solitude? The gratitude to Anni who showed them equal hospitality?

What is, then, the main condition for peace?