SISU MOVIE REVIEW
Sisu, the highly acclaimed action thriller, with a 100% current score on Rotten Tomatoes to release on 28th April in English and Hindi! This historical action film is written and directed by Jalmari Helander. Set in Finnish Lapland during World War II, the film follows a gold prospector who attempts to secure his gold from a Nazi death squad led by a brutal Schutzstaffel officer. It stars Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan and Mimosa Willamo. Sony Pictures Entertainment India that just released fan’s favourite genre movie The Pope’s Exorcist, which became the highest opener of this genre post pandemic, will be releasing ‘SISU’ in India on 28th April, in English and Hindi.
Tommila’s Aatami is a Finnish commander who becomes a one-man death squad after losing everyone and everything he loves during the Winter War between Russia and Finland in 1939. Having killed 300 Soviets on his own, the man has been dubbed ‘The Immortal’, a legend revered by the people of Finland, but he has since chosen to live a life in isolation with his horse and dog. But when he strikes gold, Aatami finally breaks out of isolation and makes his way to a nearby town to exchange his heavy nuggets for cash instead. Unfortunately, his journey to the bank is interrupted by a group of Nazis who clearly, have no idea what they’re getting themselves into.
As a man of few words, Aatami doesn’t say anything throughout the movie until the very last few seconds but is somehow able to express every emotion possible, from disbelief when he strikes gold, anger when the Nazis steal his bag of shiny nuggets, and helplessness after almost dying by hanging, with just one stare into or to the side of the camera. His performance is matched by Aksel Hennie’s Bruno Helldorf, a SS Obersturmfüh whose main goal is to keep Aatami’s gold riches for himself. Bruno is ruthless and would do anything to kill and rob Aatami even if it means sacrificing his own men. But after successfully retrieving the gold, he becomes paranoid about being hunted down by a vengeful Aatami. Both characters are a match in terms of capabilities, so the final fight scene between the two feels a lot more intense than Aatami’s other fights, though we have to admit that the stupidity of some of these Nazi soldiers as they get killed is humourous as they are gory.
Sisu is violent, to say the least. Aatami stabs a knife through the head of one Nazi, shoots another from underneath his chin and then stabs the other Nazi multiple times in the stomach – and this is just the first of many violent encounters in the movie. To simplify, Sisu is just Aatami killing Nazis in a million and one ways and there’s no limit to Helander’s imagination on the gruesome ways one can kill a Nazi, but despite how bloody it gets, one can’t help but be entertained and maybe even let out a chuckle or two. It’s especially hard not to laugh when Aatami frisbees a mine straight into the head of a Nazi, and we see his body explode into nothing but mush, with some limbs strewn across the screen.
It’s satisfying because the ones dying are Nazis. Story-wise, Sisu is incredibly simple. Aatami wants to change his gold into wads of cash at a nearby town but a bunch of greedy Nazis makes the journey longer than it needs to. It ends just as how we’d expect – our hero finally gets what he wants at the start of the film, except he’s covered in blood. It’s direct and to the point, especially since the movie is sectioned into seven different chapters: The Gold, The Nazis, The Minefield, The Legend, Scorched Earth, Kill ‘em All and Finale. We’re personally a fan of these chapter title cards because it lightens the overall viewing experience, and add a stronger Western vibe to this World War II film. Despite the many deaths, Sisu only runs for an hour and 31 minutes, which marks a refreshing change from the two to even three-hour-long movies audiences are a victim of at today’s box office. Still, it does feel lengthier as the moments of silence and lack of dialogue add to the perceived length but if you do the math, that’s only about 10 to 12 minutes of action within each of the seven chapters in this film.
It is also likely that Sisu’s style of storytelling is not one that mainstream audiences are used to, as the film creates the awareness that there are still plenty of chapters left to the movie before it reaches its happily ever after.
Sisu has already had a release in many parts of the world and the movie has been loved by the critics and the audience in unison. The film has been appreciated for its thrilling nature and good visuals.
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