Sisu

Sisu is a complicated concept. In a way it is pure stoic perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds, but it is important to note that it is not just determination. It is also cleverness, that manifests itself when you most need it. Sisu is finding the solution to a problem, no matter what. This movie is definitely about that. Aatami, our "hero", finds the way.

Being old enough Finn to have known many people of this generation, this isn't even that much of an embellishment.

The movie is quite simplistic. The Finnish characters don't even talk until very late into the movie (which is actually another insight into Finnish culture). You have a goldminer with gold and a company of Nazis hunting him. You can't really go wrong with this storywise. You just have to make the characters and the action interesting enough. Do they? Yes. This might me kind of mild in the age of superhero movies and the more traditional action movies copying the superhero movies, but it works. In some ways kind of refreshing to keep it all more grounded.

While this might be more meaningful to me as a Finn, I would assume that if you enjoy mid-budget action, this will be right up your alley (although, at 6 million euros, the budget was much lower than what would be considered midlevel in bigger markets).

Quirky is an understatement.

I spent a bit of time deliberating of this one. Did I like it, yes or no, was it any good yes or no?

In the end I fell on the positive side to the scales.

I was entertained (eventually) which I guess it the aim of the game.

It took a while to get there though.

I ws taking the film a little too seriously at first so I was finding the movie frustrating, once I changed my approach to the movie and took it for the absurdity that it is then I started to enjoy it.

So the first half of the movie is a bit of a dud but the second half I felt was much better and had some slightly classic scenes :)

Who doesn't enjoy seeing evil Nazi's beaten to a pulp, torn limb from limb, and generally getting what they deserve? (Answer: other Nazis). Director Jalmari Helander dedicates Sisu to the art of killing goose-stepping fascists, pitting the despicable jack-booted Germans against Aatami (Jorma Tommila), a hard-as-nails Finnish commando who doesn't know the meaning of the word 'quit'. After Aatami strikes gold in the wilds of Finland, he makes his way back to civilisation to cash in his hoard, but crosses paths with a Nazi platoon - and we all know that Nazis like to steal gold!!

However, trying to take Aatami's treasure proves to be a big mistake: no matter what the German's do to him, he simply won't give up until he has gold back and every last Nazi is dead. The fact that the Finnish soldier is so indestructible takes some swallowing, until it becomes clear that his nickname - The Immortal - is to be taken at face value: this bloke has more lives than a cat. Once you wrap your head around the fact that Aatami simply does not die, the film becomes all the more fun, as the enemy come to realise that taking an immortal's hard-earned riches is an even dumber move than nicking a leprechaun's pot of gold.

In terms of style, the film is very Tarantino-esque, split into 6 chapters, each introduced with a big bold title; the violence is graphic, with lots of blood and guts. There's even a group of female Finnish POWs who lend Aatami a hand in killing the baddies -- and there's nowt more Tarantino than a gang of women unloading machine guns into a truck of Nazis. The ending takes the craziness up to eleven as the nastiest Nazi, Bruno (Aksel Hennie), makes his escape on a plane, unaware the Aatami has hitched a ride. The action ends with a bang for both Bruno and Aatami, but only one of them is immortal...

One might argue that the plot is slight, and the film derivative in terms of execution, but if you're after a bit of mindlessly violent popcorn entertainment and found John Wick 4 needlessly overblown and overlong, this one should do the trick: it clocks in at a far more reasonable ninety-one minutes.

At its core, "Sisu" is an unapologetic homage to the one-man-army trope, reminiscent of the over-the-top heroics found in Telugu action films. The protagonist, Aatami Korpi, is a force of nature, a man whose survival defies logic, much like the heroes who walk away from explosions unscathed. His invincibility is both the film's strength and its Achilles' heel, offering a narrative that is as indestructible as it is implausible.

Yet, amidst the chaos of its plot, "Sisu" stands tall with its stunning cinematography and special effects. The film crafts a visual feast that can only be described as mesmerizing. Each frame is a testament to the filmmakers' dedication to creating a spectacle that captivates the senses.

Except for some scenes, ridiculous hollywood imitations that are completely disconnected from reality, et cetera, et cetera.. This is not a comedy model, not an action model, not a war model...The Finns should also be the ones who give high marks.. A man is bleeding violently , he is covered with deep cuts everywhere, a rope is passed around his neck and he is hanged, he comes out alive hours later, the plane falls to the ground, our grandfather is alive again... The person who wrote this script has never researched how long a person who is executed survives, how long he stays under the water the longest, does he not know that the probability of surviving a crashed plane is one in a million... Again, I respect labor, I give 5 points.