Kukushka (Aleksandr Rogozhkin, 2002)

A small and unpretentious gem of a film, The Cuckoo is something like what you'd get if you crossed Hell in the Pacific with Down by Law, and added a dash of Jules et Jim. In Lapland during the dying days of the Russo-Finnish war, a Russian political prisoner and a condemned Finnish sniper find themselves under the roof of an independent Lapp woman, at each other's throats and eventually with a begrudging mutual tolerance.
None of the trio speak each other's languages and the film exploits this to rather sweetly comic effect as they continue to yammer on regardless, with no end of talking at cross-purposes even as they fully believe to have understood each other. It works as a neat metaphor for the barriers of mutual comprehension that lead to wars without labouring the point unduly.
The characters are attractively drawn, too, from the coquettish but gutsy woman to the motor-mouthed and pragmatic Finnish soldier and the distrustful but fundamentally decent Russian. They are all fallible and likable without becoming caricatures. Add some evocative Arctic landscapes and a sparing reliance on soundtrack or histrionics, and the end result is a breath of fresh air.

7/10