The Missile

Miia Tervo's 2024 Finnish film is set in a small town in the north. Niina, a single mother working for the local paper, takes up the story of a Soviet missile that came down in the area and finds that the official statements do not hold. The film starts from a real incident. The everyday condition of living in a border region during the cold war sits inside the narrative; no one talks about the danger and everyone implies they know something. Niina's investigation is also about her own position. She is not taken seriously at the paper and meets obstacles when she wants to write; the narrative gives this in a register between comedy and drama. Who it's for: those who like Nordic drama and narratives of the cold war period. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a thriller; the film shows the investigation as everyday work.