Ohjus (2023)

The film is set in Lapland in December 1984. Niina Kuittinen, a single, unemployed mother, causes an accident that shatters the glass window of the local newspaper’s building. To pay for the damage, she offers to write articles for the paper. The editor-in-chief, Esko, is not particularly enthusiastic about the idea, but agrees to let her try. One night, Niina hears a loud bang and wants to investigate it. However, the townspeople act as though they have not noticed anything suspicious. After the military arrives in town, Niina becomes convinced that a Soviet missile has entered Finnish airspace. The local population is not bothered by this either, and Esko suggests that she write articles about food instead. Niina refuses to be deterred and continues investigating. It is unclear whether the missile was even carrying nuclear warheads. Niina grows closer to a soldier named Kai and tries, without success, to get more information out of him. Niina lives with her children and her parents. Her father, who has dementia, is a war veteran, and the subject of the crashed missile affects him emotionally. For example, he regularly hides in a kind of garden bunker. Niina’s ex-husband, Tapio, is in prison but is released. He seeks out Niina and the children and wants to get back together with her. When she resists, he becomes violent toward her—apparently as he has in the past—and the police take him away.