#217: Sisu

Release Date: April 28th, 2023

Format: Streaming (Tubi)

Written by: Jarmali Helander

Directed by: Jarmali Helander

3 Stars

Is it possible that Finnish writer/director Jarmali Helander’s film Sisu is a clever satire of Nazi propaganda films, disguised as a big action crowd pleaser?

Yes, it’s possible. But not probable.

Instead I think Helander set out with straightforward intentions, no satire or disguises needed. I’ll show you all my cards, he seems to be saying, because I know I have a winning hand.

And what are his cards? Well, he’s basically re-purposing some of the best elements from some of the greatest action-adventure flicks from the last 60 years. 

Set during the end of WWII, Sisu’s protagonist is war veteran and gold miner, Aatami Korpi, who lives in the vast uninhabited tundra of Finland. He rides a horse and is a man of few words - think Clint Eastwood from his The Man with No Name trilogy. But Korpi isn’t just any war veteran, he’s basically the Finnish John Rambo, capable of decimating an entire enemy squadron single-handedly, especially when he’s backed into a corner. 

When Korpi comes across a huge vein of gold in Nazi-occupied Finland, he must make the dangerous trek to Helsinki with his beloved dog to cash in (don’t worry, Helander doesn’t kill the dog off John Wick-style, but he does borrow the film’s stylized violence). Along the way Korpi encounters a platoon of murderous, rapist SS officers making their way across the countryside. They underestimate the old man and leave him for dead in an impassable minefield, only for him to escape and wage an all out war of righteous vengeance (think Inglorious Basterds).

The next hour is an onslaught of blood and guts (are they ever going to figure out how to make CGI blood look better? Can we just go back to blood squibs?). If you can overlook the derivativeness of the script, it’s a fun flick. It’s simple, sure, but who doesn’t love seeing some fascists get machine gunned to death every now and then?