10 Best Finnish Movies to Watch First

10 Essential Finnish Films

Ranked native cinema in Finland’s own creative voice.

1. 

   1. Sisu

   2022

   In the war-scarred wilderness of Lapland, a grizzled ex-soldier turned prospector strikes gold — and when a retreating detachment of ruthless Nazis tries to take it, the near-unkillable loner unleashes a one-man reckoning. A brutally stylish action thriller.

2. 

   2. The Man Without a Past

   Mies vailla menneisyyttä · 2002

   Beaten and left for dead on arrival in Helsinki, a man wakes with no memory of who he is and must build a new life from nothing among the city's kind-hearted down-and-outs. Aki Kaurismäki's deadpan, tender comedy-drama.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: Arriving in Helsinki, a nameless man is beaten within an inch of his life by thugs, miraculously recovering only to find that he has completely lost his memory. Back on the streets, he attempts to begin again from zero, befriending a moody dog and becoming besotted with a Salvation Army volunteer.

3. 

   3. Fallen Leaves

   Kuolleet lehdet · 2023

   Two lonely, unlucky souls — a supermarket worker and a hard-drinking laborer — meet by chance in a Helsinki karaoke bar and inch toward each other despite a comedy of missed connections. Aki Kaurismäki's wry, gentle, quietly hopeful romance.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: In modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a karaoke bar. However, their path to happiness is beset by obstacles – from lost phone numbers to mistaken addresses, alcoholism, and a charming stray dog.

4. 

   4. Iron Sky

   2012

   In an alternate history, Nazis who fled to the dark side of the Moon in 1945 have spent seventy years building a space fleet, and now return to conquer the Earth. A gleefully absurd sci-fi comedy.

5. 

   5. Sisu: Road to Revenge

   Sisu 2 · 2025

   The indestructible loner returns to the ruins of the home where his family was killed in the war, loads it onto a truck to rebuild elsewhere — and when the officer responsible resurfaces, sets out on a fresh trail of vengeance. A pulpy action sequel.

6. 

   6. Compartment No. 6

   Hytti nro 6 · 2021

   Fleeing a fizzling romance in Moscow, a young Finnish woman boards a train to the Arctic and is forced to share a cramped sleeper with a boorish Russian miner — a grating pairing that slowly, unexpectedly warms. A tender, wintry road movie.

   Why & details

   Curator’s note: A young Finnish woman escapes an enigmatic love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the arctic port of Murmansk. Forced to share the long ride and a tiny sleeping car with a larger than life Russian miner, the unexpected encounter leads the occupants of Compartment No. 6 to face major truths about human connection.

7. 

   7. Christmas Story

   Joulutarina · 2007

   Centuries ago in Lapland, an orphaned boy is taken in each year by a different family, and to repay their kindness he begins carving wooden toys for the village children — the humble origins, this Finnish tale imagines, of Santa Claus. A warm holiday fable.

8. 

   8. The Unknown Soldier

   Tuntematon sotilas · 2017

   This sweeping war epic follows a Finnish machine-gun company through the grinding Continuation War against the Soviet Union, from bravado to exhaustion. Adapted from Väinö Linna's beloved novel, an unromantic portrait of ordinary soldiers.

9. 

   9. The Winter War

   Talvisota · 1989

   When the Soviet Union invades Finland in the winter of 1939, farm brothers and their fellow reservists are thrown into a desperate, freezing defense against overwhelming odds. A grueling, authentic account of a small nation's stand.

10. 

    10. The Angry Birds Movie

    2016

    On an island of flightless birds, a perpetually furious outcast and his misfit friends are the only ones suspicious when a boatload of smiling green pigs arrives with hidden motives. Based on the hit game, a colorful animated comedy.