Y/N? Yes.
Director: Jalmari Helander
Stars: Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, Mimosa Willamo & Onni Tommila
Review by Damocles
It’s lean, fun and pulpy. Everything a movie like this should be.
Jalmari Helander’s Sisu is unbridled fun. In many ways, it reminds me of the joy and fun I had whilst watching The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008), another foreign take on the famous Western genre (something that I will review soon).
Sisu’s story is as lean as it gets. Set during WWII, a Finnish ex-commando, Aatami Korpi lives alone in the Lapland wilderness, prospecting for gold. Finally striking gold, he is then confronted by a retreating Nazi German armoured unit, that wants Aatami’s gold for their own reasons. What ensues, is chaotic, bloody and in some parts, genuinely hilarious and crazy.
Accompanied only by his dog and horse, Aatami is your classic, silent, gruff and stoic protagonist, although in Aatami’s case, it’s a uniquely Finnish characteristic instead of a trope. The villain, Bruno Helldorf, is your moustache twirling Nazi, but played with a desperate and slimy nuance, that makes him more compelling as a character. There is a cowardly element to his character, constantly hiding and sweating in his large tank, that makes him all the more despicable.
But it is Jorma Tommila’s Aatami that really steals every frame of the movie. His completely silent performance is belied only by his facial expressions that do a wonderful job of grounding the movie, even when it gets completely ridiculous. It is his sheer, angry determination that drives his character to do what he does even in the craziest scenarios, because Aatami is the embodiment of the Finnish concept of sisu, which roughly translate to “a man of focus, commitment and sheer will.”
And ridiculous is the entire point of the film. The action scenes, the premise, the kills, the gore … all of it is treated with a fun reverence that makes the run-time move quickly. In fact, the kills only get more and more creative as the film speeds along, with the action ramping up significantly as the director, Jalmari Helander, seeks to conquer all three spheres of Earth, land, water and air.
Having watched Helander’s more fun and ridiculous prior film, Big Game (2014), I can safely say this Helander’s perchance for the ridiculous, the fun and his love for Finland has not abated one bit in this film. This is a director who wants to put Finland on the map with his films and is determined to show that Finland isn’t just famous for its saunas, legendary F1 racers and rally courses.
Whilst I won’t spoil anything in regard to the action, this is a movie that glorifies in how Aatami kills Nazis and that alone is the reason why you chose to watch this film. It is a simple, direct film, about how this one-man army annihilates all the despicable Nazis in his way, so that he can continue to live his simple existence.
It is actually so simple and direct, that there is very little to discuss in terms of cinematography, music and costume design. The cinematography is almost functional, with nothing really standing out, bar a few scenes that invoke the horrors of war. In this aspect, the cinematographer did an incredible job creating a strong atmosphere for Aatami’s actions against the brutality of the Germans. There are some genuinely haunting scenes of burnt down buildings that invoke more horror elements, but these are far and few in-between. Overall, the film looks great, and the Lapland wilderness is truly well captured with the blending of green screen with the Finnish landscape done well-enough.
Credit also must be given to the score, which showcases the almost immortal nature of Aatami extremely well, with deep, dark, vocals that echoes old Viking music or something more ancient. Aatami’s constant ability to take hits, and push through pain, is almost mythical and the score reflects that, invoking sounds of a more ancient and dark time.
As for costume design, Aatami’s primary attire gets more and more worn over time. He never really changes out of his strong, dark, functional clothes that showcases the realities of living alone in the wilderness. Instead, this outfit gradually gets more and more stripped down, as he is forced to shed layers or in some cases, get completely wrecked as he rises from the proverbial dead.
To sum up Sisu, I would describe it as your perfect, throwaway action film, with some truly great kills and a simple, direct plot. It’s fun, fast-paced and there is a single wasted moment in this film.
And the pay-off at the end, is just hilarious. Sisu is worth your time, simply because …. it won’t waste it.
A scene to recall: When Aatami throws a certain mine-shaped object and there is a glorious wide shot of the resulting bloody explosion.
Damocles' Journal 