Sisu is a historical action film set in Finnish Lapland during World War II,w hich has been written and directed by Jalmari Helander. The film premiered at TIFF back in September 2022, however it wasn’t released in theatres worldwide. Now finally it has been released in theatres all around the world for a limitied time and will quickly go off theatres. So, in case you are planning to catch Sisu on theatres, you might not have much time and that is why our NON-SPOILER review might come in handy as it may help you arrive a decision!
Sisu – A Violent and Captivating Tale of a Ruthless Victim of War
Rating – ★★★★
I was really amped up for this John Wick-esque semi war drama and for the most part it delivered quite well. Talking about the plot, Sisu follows a gold prospector who attempts to secure his gold and defend himself from a Nazi death squad led by a brutal Schutzstaffel officer. It stars Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan and Mimosa Willamo but basically it can be wrapped up by saying “Jorma Tommila and the others”. More on that later, but first let us talk about the themes of this film. Even after having a no-brainer plot, it talks about some thought provoking themes like cost of war, isolation, revenge, greed, and a human’s will-power.
In an overview, however, the plot and premise of the film is fairly simple and packs no surprises. The film features almost no dialogues and we never see the main character speaking till the very end of it. So, the dialogue and performance potential of the film is limited to facial expressions, grunts, screams, and panick induced cuss words or orders. But in this limited scope itself, Jorma Tommila has delivered an exceptional performance, and so has the antagonist played by Aksel Hennie. Jorma Tommila’s character aka Aatami is all you’d expect from a badass legendary hitman while Aksel Hennie’s character is a pretty cliche greedy and ruthless Nazi commander who’d rather sacrifice all his men than give up Aatami’s pursuit.
The film does feel a bit unrealistic especially with main character’s refusal to die after all he endures throughout it. However, that’s what “Sisu” as a term means, so you have to be ready to accept that the Aatami is basically immortal and nothing would kill him till he wills so. Moving on to technicalities, like almost all War films, it has some exceptional cinematography (by Kjell Lagerroos), a menacing score, and quite a few creative kills which might fill for appetite for gore. People getting crushed by tanks, being blown up into bits, disfigured-beaten-to-pulp faces, body parts flying around, it’s got it all. Also, throughout the film you’ll hear certain Finnish chants in the BGM which further enhance the tone of the film as well as make Aatami feel like a supernatural force of nature.
The best thing about this film is that even with severe lack of dialogues, it conveys a lot of meaning. Even after losing everything and having no apparent reason to live for, Aatami’s will to live and carry on is something that’s bound to leave a lasting impact on the audience. Also, “Sisu” as term can also be described for the antagonist as he too refused too showcased utmost determination throughout the film. So, technically the film featured a battle of perseverance between two rutheless men acting in their personal interests. However, Aatami is a bit more compassionate, relatable, and sympathetic character, hence he is our protagonist and of course, Nazi’s serve as the antogonist. You if you enjoyed Inglorious Bastards and want to see Nazi’s getting killed in brutal entertaining ways, this is a amust watch film for you!
Final Verdict – Aside from the immortal factor mentioned above and the “no brain involved” plot, there is hard to find another flaw in this film. So, for a film which lasts barely 1.5 hours, Sisu should definitely be on your must watch list! Also, I’ll recommend catching it in theatres as the visuals and score of the film make it a spectacle that needs to be enjoyed in theatres.
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This post exceeded my expectations, thank you.