
Angela's War
Angelan sota
Synopsis
In this melodrama about love in wartime, Angela (Ida-Lotta Backman) is a Finnish nurse in Lapland who begins a torrid affair with Thomas Schmidt (Mathieu Carriere), a wounded German army captain. Their love for each other is verboten in Finland, where the Germans occupy northern Lapland until the end of the war. Finland had formed a brief alliance with Germany to fight an invading Russia in the winter of 1939, but when the Russians won that battle and took more than 16,000 square miles of land away from Finland, it was too late to successfully rout the Germans from Finnish soil. So for the entire war, the Finns were fighting Germany on their own national territory -- which makes the love affair between a Finnish nurse and German soldier a very complex issue. While Angela receives different reactions from her friends, acquaintances, and relatives, she continues on with her love for the German, against odds which are greater as time goes by.
Top Cast
Explore Star Directory →Key Information & Fast Facts
- Director
- Eija-Elina Bergholm
- Screenplay & Story
- Eija-Elina Bergholm
- Original Score
- Esa Helasvuo
- Original Title
- Angelan sota
- Country of Origin
- Germany, Finland, Sweden
- Spoken Languages
- English, Swedish, German
- Runtime
- 1h 37m
- Production Studios
- Jörn Donner Productions, SVT Drama, Trebitsch Produktion International GmbH
Creative Leadership & Key Crew
Eija-Elina Bergholm
Eija-Elina Bergholm, Jörn Donner
Esa Helasvuo
Kari Sohlberg
Irma Taina
Jörn Donner
Department Leadership Roster
Pertti Hilkamo
Production Design
Kari Sohlberg
Director of Photography
Eija-Elina Bergholm
Director
Eija-Elina Bergholm
Screenplay
Jörn Donner
Producer
Irma Taina
Editor
Esa Helasvuo
Original Music Composer
Featured In Curated Collections
Editorial lists, community rankings, and cinematic collections featuring Angela's War.
list4
War: World War II
Auto-filled from Letterboxd lists
Similar Titles to Angela's War
Movies sharing stylistic DNA, tone, and thematic storytelling
More Like Angela's War
Recommended titles matching themes, cast, and genres.












Frequently Asked Questions About Angela's War
Quick factual answers about cast, synopsis, director, box office, and release information.
What is Angela's War about?
In this melodrama about love in wartime, Angela (Ida-Lotta Backman) is a Finnish nurse in Lapland who begins a torrid affair with Thomas Schmidt (Mathieu Carriere), a wounded German army captain. Their love for each other is verboten in Finland, where the Germans occupy northern Lapland until the end of the war. Finland had formed a brief alliance with Germany to fight an invading Russia in the winter of 1939, but when the Russians won that battle and took more than 16,000 square miles of land away from Finland, it was too late to successfully rout the Germans from Finnish soil. So for the entire war, the Finns were fighting Germany on their own national territory -- which makes the love affair between a Finnish nurse and German soldier a very complex issue. While Angela receives different reactions from her friends, acquaintances, and relatives, she continues on with her love for the German, against odds which are greater as time goes by.
Who directed Angela's War?
Angela's War was directed by Eija-Elina Bergholm.
Who stars in Angela's War?
The principal cast of Angela's War includes Ida-Lotta Backman, Mathieu Carrière, Jörn Donner, Erland Josephson, Matti Oravisto.
When was Angela's War released and how long is it?
Angela's War was released in 1984 with a total runtime of 1h 37m.
Who composed the musical score for Angela's War?
The original motion picture soundtrack for Angela's War was composed by Esa Helasvuo.
Is Angela's War based on a book or true story?
Angela's War is adapted from the following source material: Novel: "Jörn Donner".




















