“Sisu” Review
After being attacked by a caravan of German soldiers, a lone prospector (Jorma Tommila) becomes a one-man kill squad in “Sisu.”
If there are three words to describe “Sisu,” they are dirty, bloody and fun. At just 91 minutes, this Finnish action film is a refreshing, quick jolt of energy that is sure to invoke the strongest feelings out of adrenaline cinema’s biggest fans.
Set in the final days of World War II and Nazi’s Germany’s hold on Europe, a Finnish prospector named Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) has abandoned the conflict in pursuit of gold in the northernmost region of Finland. After a successful mine, Aatami is on his way to Helsinki with saddlebags full of gold and his trusty dog by his side when he is intercepted by a platoon of German soldiers led by the sadistic SS officer Bruno Helldorf (Aksel Hennie). Wanting his gold, the Nazis wage an all-out war on Aatami without realizing that this lone prospector is a former Finnish commando with an estimated 300 kills and he doesn’t care for fascists.
What’s so effective about a film like “Sisu” is that it has such a strong self-possession. This film knows exactly what it’s going for and never lets up from entertaining the viewer with purely visual and violent storytelling. Despite hardly speaking, Jorma Tommila is able to get across so much through an outstanding physical performance than asks a simple question. How many times can a man be punched, shot, stabbed, whipped and beaten before he can kill all of those Nazis?
As for the villains, they are the perfect flavor of despicable with a simple goal. They want gold to escape the war. Aatami has gold. Not that being a Nazi is a redeeming quality, but “Sisu” makes it pretty clear that these are people that you’re just waiting to see die in a variety of creative ways. And is there anything more fun than watching Nazis die? Think about it. Films like “Inglourious Basterds,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” even the unrated cut of “The Sound of Music” know what the key to a great film is. And, according to writer/director Jalmari Helander, that key is showing a bunch of guys wearing swastikas having their heads blown up.
Using many lethal methods, Aatami dispatches his foes in a variety of ways that would blow the mind of Sergio Corbucci’s ghost. If you like the kind of movies where people get lit on fire and a landmine is used as a projectile weapon, then “Sisu” is what you need to be watching. But the violence is carefully balanced with a rich atmosphere that immerses you in this cruel world. With beautiful cinematography by Kjell Kagerroos, you can feel the dirt and mud and all of the grittiness of the environment.
Along with a group of captive women who Aatami teams up with to gun down German soldiers and a distinctly strong sensibility for the over-the-top, “Sisu” feels like it was cut from the same cloth as all of the great exploitation films and Corbucci westerns. Had this film come out sixty years earlier, it certainly would have been one of Quentin Tarantino’s influences.
With so many movies trying to be on-message or overstuffed sagas, “Sisu” is a perfectly short masterpiece of action, endurance and amazing visuals. If a fun time at the movies is what you crave, “Sisu” is it.
