The character Iivo played by Olli Riipinen speaks Karelian language, which is traditionally spoken in the areas that were ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Continuation War. Karelian is still spoken on those areas. Finland also has Karelian-speaking minority.
The title "Oma maa" means "Our Own Land", the promise of land made to war veterans.
The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war and invasion on June 25, 1941 and ended on September 19, 1944 with the Moscow Armistice. The Soviet Union and Finland had previously fought the Winter War from 1939 to 1940, which ended with the Soviet failure to conquer Finland and the Moscow Peace Treaty. Numerous reasons have been proposed for the Finnish decision to invade, with regaining territory lost during the Winter War regarded as the most common. Other justifications for the conflict include Finnish President Risto Ryti's vision of a Greater Finland and Commander-in-Chief Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim's desire to annex East Karelia.