GLORIOUS
Movie Review – Sisu
Review by Ray Schillaci
Lionsgate Home Entertainment roars in with the bombastic, brutal and highly entertaining Sisu. Writer/director Jalmari Helander ignites the screen with a magnificent magical blend of Tarantino, Eastwood’s the Man With No Name, John Wick and Indiana Jones. All of this with a budget of just over $6 million dollars, but you’d never guess that with the astonishing visuals, sound and production design. The entire cast and crew are to be commended, especially the legendary lead character, Aatami Korpi, ferociously played by Jorma Tommila.
It is 1944 during the Lapland War and the Nazis have been ordered to leave Finland. But, they have no intention on leaving peacefully and instead go on with a “scorched earth policy.” In the meantime, Aatami, who once fought in the war against the Russians, has left it all behind, thriving in the wilderness of the Lapland panning for gold with his horse and his Beddington Terrier. He keeps his past at bay and has no intention on ever turning back.
Although Sisu is a Finnish film it is mostly in English with only a few subtitles and there is far more action than there is dialogue. That is not to say that the story is sacrificed for all that mayhem. On the contrary, the characters we are presented with are fascinating from beginning to end.
As the Nazis continue to pillage and burn villages, shoot and hang villagers, kidnap women, Aatami is wrapped up in his own world in the middle of the quiet wilderness, continuing to pan for gold until he catches sight of a possibility. This makes him begin to dig and it will be a long and arduous process. In the dusk he witnesses fighter planes descending, the sound of cannon fodder and the echo of machine guns penetrating the night air. But, he pays little attention to it. His fight is done. His challenge lays far into the ground itself.
Once Aatami strikes a gold vein he is beside himself. He breaks down at his finding, frantically digs it all up, pack it away, saddles his horse and has his faithful dog follow him to where he can cash it in. While on the way, he passes by a battalion of Nazis. They taunt him, but he minds his own business and the commander finds him no threat. He tells the others that he will meet his death sooner than later.
Further down the road he is approached by a second group of Nazis not so interested in just letting him pass. They want to know what is in his bags. Once one of them realizes it’s gold, they decide to kill him and take the gold for themselves.
This unleashes the fury that has built up inside Aatami for years and he quickly and brutally vanquishes them, grabbing one of their machine guns, and continues on his destination. He is a man with only one purpose and nothing will stop his determination, hence the title, Sisu. A hard word to translate. A Finnish word meaning strength of will, determination, perseverance; acting rationally in the face of adversity.
When the original Nazi battalion turn back to check on their brethren they are bewildered. How could one old man take on four young armed soldiers. The commander discovers Aatami’s dog tags left behind and a nugget of gold and has one of his men radio in to find out who this man is. The high command orders them to turn back.
It turns Aatami Korpi was a man who had lost his family in the Winter War fighting as a commando. He eventually became a legend among the Russians as a “one-man-death-squad” having killed over three hundred Russians. Even the Finnish said he was uncontrollable. The Russians nick-named him Koschel (translation, “the immortal”).
This does not deter the Nazi commander, who sends his entire battalion to retrieve the gold and kill the man. Needless to say, it does not go well for the Nazis. What transpires from there is jaw dropping excitement and rousing suspense. Writer/director Helander credits the 1982 film First Blood and the real-life Finnish military sniper Simo Häyhä (aka The White Death) as the inspiration for his film, but Sisu is far more clever than Stallone’s one-man army. It’s gruesomely funny, outrageous and its star is far more believable. Here is a film where you can’t help but cheer on the old man and have a good laugh at the end.
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Directed by: Jalmari Helander
Release Date: April 28, 2023
Run Time: 91 Minutes
Rated: R
Country: Finland/U.K.
Distributor: Lionsgate
