Sisu: De l'or et du sang

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.

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).

There aren't many directors that I monitor closely, waiting and hoping for their next film to come out as soon as possible, but Jalmari Helander is one guy I keep track off. His long-feature debut "Rare Exports" was one of the most uniquely original and pleasantly deranged horror tales of the new century, and even his somewhat commercialized breakthrough "Big Game" (starring Samuel L. Jackson as the US President crashing with Air Force One in the Finnish woods) was a lot better and more entertaining than you'd think as well.

It took Helander nearly 8 years to return with a new film. At the Brussels' International Film Festival, where "Sisu" premiered and Helander was a guest of honor, he explained that he spent several years working on a personal dream project of his, but unfortunately it got cancelled entirely due to Covid. Out of pure frustration, or so he says, Helander wrote the script for "Sisu" in barely a couple of weeks. Well, if this near-brilliant explosion of action and sheer adrenalin is what he comes up with in a few weeks, then I sincerely hope he'll still get the chance to finish his other project.

What a film! You know those movies where all the great highlights and action-packed moments already feature in the trailer? "Sisu" has a terrific trailer too, but there are still a few hundreds of other highlights left to discover in the film. In fact, this film is a one-and-a-half-hour trailer full of awesome moments. The comparisons I've read between "Sisu" and Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Bastards" are accurate. The extreme violence and narrative structure are identical, and both films feature lots and lots of Nazis getting killed. Everybody just loves watching Nazis getting butchered in the utmost brutal and sadistic ways, is it not?

Aatami Korpi is a lone hermit digging for gold in the most northern region of Finland during the last months of WWII. When he hits the jackpot, he loads up his bag with pure gold and hopes to keep a low profile while heading back to civilization. When a platoon of Nazis finds out what he's carrying, though, they obviously want to steal it. But Korpi is not just a weak and defenseless recluse, or what did you expect? He's a force so determined and indestructible that only an obscure and local Finnish term for him exists.

Evidently (and also similar to "Inglourious Bastards"), "Sisu" requires quite some suspension of disbelief from the audience. This man has the fighting and survival skills of John Rambo, but in combination with the indestructability of a T-1000 Terminator! Whether shot at with heavy artillery or a rope, he cannot die. He remains under water for a ridiculously long time and walks away from plane crashes totally unharmed. Is it plausible? Nope. Is it entertaining? You bet! Especially when watching in a chock-full festival theater with a thousand of outrageous horror fanatics shouting at a screen. Must-see!

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.

I had fun watching this, therefore, i recommend it. However, you should know that it's not remotely realistic and convincing. In fact, Superman is more vulnerable than our hero here. This doesn't look like a comedy but it feels like a comedy. At its core, this movie is pure comedy.

Pace was not very good for a 90 minutes movie. And it's shallow, everything here is shallow and naive.

But it was entertaining. Ok, suspension of disbelief is fully required in order to enjoy it. And you will enjoy it if you like this genre. Movie's hero was very likeable, you root for him all the way. Good action and fights. Well acted for sure even though these were cartoonish characters. In conclusion, it's always nice watching bad guys get slaughtered!