In Transit: revealing history through landscape in contemporary film

The film In Transit investigates an area of Karelia on the Russian/Finnish border close to the Arctic Circle, where, in 1944, an incident occurred that left a scar on the landscape and the psyche on both sides of the invisible line. Approximately 120 Norwegian soldiers serving voluntarily in a German SS unit were killed fighting Soviet forces in Karelia. The fallen Norwegian men, were left unburied and without identification until 2005, when locals found human remains in the forest under a thin layer of soil. In Norway, these men were, and are still regarded as political traitors. The film is an artistic and cinematic investigation, revealing history through the landscape where the battle took place. The potential repatriation of the remains of Norwegian political traitors is the central focus. The text discusses several issues that are portrayed in the film and its cinematic language. Although the film deals with contemporary issues of difficulties regarding repatriation, reconciliation and closure, it also deals with national identity and shame. It deals with current politics reconciling the many painful aspects of history, such as the potential homecoming of remains of political traitors. It deals with memory and perhaps more importantly, the forgotten and ‘buried’ chapters in history. It is an aspect of painful heritage. Art has - could have, must have - a unique role in illuminating the dark in such places. Through film, the specifics of place and landscape are haunting and compelling aspects of the story and its significance.