AllMovie

The plight of displaced Finnish children sent to Sweden and Denmark to escape the horrors of World War II are explored in director Klaus Härö's tale of a young boy failing to adapt to his strange, and sometimes harsh, new surroundings. Following the death of his father, nine-year-old Eero (Topi Majaniemi) is sent by his mother to live with a foster family in rural Sweden for the duration of the war. Eero is begrudgingly accepted by a surrogate mother who had been hoping for a young girl to help with the chores, and he's mocked by his classmates for his frightened reaction to passing planes. Eero's already troubled childhood is further complicated when his resentful foster mother takes it upon herself to act as a filter for his mother's incoming letters.