Directed by:
Jalmari HelanderScreenplay:
Jalmari HelanderCinematography:
Kjell LagerroosCast:
Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, Mimosa Willamo, Onni Tommila, Arttu Kapulainen, Tatu Sinisalo, Vincent Willestrand, Wilhelm Enckell, Elina Saarela (more)VOD (4)
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During the last desperate days of WWII, a solitary prospector crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-earth retreat in northern Finland. When the Nazis steal his gold, they quickly discover that they have just tangled with no ordinary miner. While there is no direct translation for the Finnish word “sisu”, this legendary ex-commando will embody what sisu means: a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination in the face of overwhelming odds. And no matter what the Nazis throw at him, the one-man death squad will go to outrageous lengths to get his gold back - even if it means killing every last Nazi in his path. (Lionsgate US)
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Reviews (9)
Sisu is an entertaining B-movie from inhospitable Lapland. Stylish, bloody, funny, lively and even a bit cartoonishly fantastical. It’s not exactly innovative in terms of its subject matter, but it is unpredictable and imaginative in some scenes. The presence of Aksel Hennie as a top Nazi was pleasing.
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A bunch of Nazis steal gold from the Finnish Santa Claus, but unfortunately for them, he's an ex-commando of Finnish elite assassins and he doesn't like it very much. Don't be fooled by the film's description and look, as this is no serious murder mystery, but a pure swag satirical comedy that just happens to have the premise it does. Anyone expecting a Finnish killing spree John Wick should go into the film with caution and temper expectations, but anyone who wants to see a pissed off SISU grandpa tearing limbs off, destroying tanks and slicing up Nazis by the hundred-sixths in a very wacky and far-fetched format (10 minutes underwater, holding on to a plane and sprinting with a shot leg...) should go for it. Because I'm afraid this "festival film" for a narrow spectrum of viewers won't be available for download any time soon, so I'd take the cinema screening option. Although it may not have been the aim, I had a good time, and even though I don't often seek out this unrealistic and over-the-top genre, I enjoyed this one.
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This Finnish World War II revenge film wowed with the trailer of the year. The film itself may not be a new genre milestone, but it's pretty cool. The not too experienced Jalmari Helander has originally enriched the popular library of current action movies. He chose a feared main character (John Wick, Nobody), whom everyone is afraid of, has a dark past and is a brutal beast in action, and swapped classic gangsters for Nazis, which is cool and fresh. Story-wise, however, it's very simple. The protagonist finds gold at his house and decides to take it to the nearest bank, but along the way he has to beat up a bunch of Nazis who want to steal it. The protagonist doesn't say much, the actions simply speak for him and when it comes to the getting down and dirty, it's a nicely brutal and dirty affair with an almost western feel to it. Unless you're willing to accept what all the main character can and can't survive, you won't enjoy it (if that bothered you in Wick, it's doubly true here), but I'm OK with it. Outside of the action sequences, it's a bit slower and more intimate, but luckily it's only 90 minutes long, so the movie goes by very quickly. I must also praise the villain, who played the evil Nazi brilliantly. There aren't many genre films like this being made and it's definitely my kind of thing. If you like revenge movies and Nazis, you shouldn't hesitate to go to the cinema. 75%.
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Quentin Tarantino fans present… Once upon a time in Nazi-burned Lapland… When northerners make something like a Western, can it be called Northern? The initially low-key conflict between a lucky prospector who stumbles upon a hefty pile of gold and a beaten Nazi commando in a stolen Soviet T-55 turns into a bloodbath that should be taken with a grain of salt and treated more as entertainment than as a statement with historical value and philosophical insight. There’s a lot of blood and everything is filmed by fans of the genre with gusto, good ideas and a feel for visuals. There's no one well-known in the cast except for Aksel Hennie as the Nazi Obersturmführer.
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The creators seem to have experimented with some unearthly psychedelics, because this supposed Tarantino-esque film set during World War II turned out to be absolutely insane. Fortunately, Sisu offers a brutal and visually striking spectacle from the Finnish plains, which we don’t get to witness every day. The main character doesn’t speak much (his first and last words come right at the end); instead, his actions do the talking. And those actions have a lot to say!... The action is over the top, completely ignoring any conventional modesty. Some sequences even stretch logic to the point where the poor guy might never recover :D (the scene in the river, the hanging, the ending with the airplane, etc.). Even for me, it was too much (and I’ve seen quite a lot in my relatively short career as a reviewer, I’ll be honest). But as I said, it does have a certain flair. So, leave your brain at home and head to the movie theater. For me, it’s 6.5/10.
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