"Sisu" (2023)

by Mike Imboden

Normally here at “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict”, both Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. However, here and there they will be taking the reins in a solo outing. For this installment, it’s Mike with a solo review of Sisu, an action-packed war drama written and directed by Jalmari Helander (Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale) and distributed by Lion’s Gate.

Synopsis

During the last desperate days of WWII, a solitary prospector (Jorma Tommila) crosses paths with Nazis (Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, and crew) 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.

The Good

The target audience for something like Sisu knows who they are and Helander delivers exactly what they should want. The story (as seen in the synopsis above) is simple and there’s no extraneous filler - and not a whole lot of dialogue - getting in the way of the action, violence, and over-the-top bloodshed that awaits.

The cinematography by Kjell Lagerroos (which took home an award at the 2022 Sitges Film Festival), is exceptional, showing off the bleak and lifeless landscapes of the Lapland countryside resulting from the scorched earth retreat of the Nazis through Finland.

As mentioned, Sisu is very light on dialogue, but that doesn’t stop everyone involved from turning in a memorable performance, most notably by Tommila who does an excellent job at bringing the former Finnish commander “who lost his family fighting against the Russians during the Winter War and now pans for gold” to life.

The Bad

There’s really nothing bad about Sisu, however some caveats should be laid out on the table. The movie is grisly with a ton of bloodshed and gruesome injuries along with a high level of violence and is pretty over-the-top with its depiction of the aforementioned to a point where it might almost seem comical to some people. There’s also not a very layered plot with the film basically a “they messed with the wrong dude” story, so if any of that doesn’t sound like your bag, then I guess that it would all qualify as “bad” for you.

The Verdict

If films like the ones in the John Wick and Rambo franchises get your adrenaline pumping and you don’t have an aversion to insane violence and bloodshed, then Sisu is a great addition to get your fix from. And, if I’m being honest here, watching a Finnish dude who became a "one-man death squad" nicknamed Koschei (meaning "The Immortal") following the Winter War, getting his revenge on, and destroying, a company of Nazis is a darn fun way of spending and hour and a half.

Sisu, from Lion’s Gate, is in theaters now.

Sisu