‘Sisu’ is an action movie set during the Nazi retreat from Finland during 1944. The film follows Aatami, a Finnish ex-soldier living in the Lapland wilderness digging for gold. Aatami has to face off against a fleeing SS unit after they discover he has found gold.
Opening on Aatami toiling away in trying to find gold, he is accompanied only by his horse and dog. Coming across a gold lode, he sets off to the nearest town to cash out. Along the way he passes a Wehrmacht platoon retreating from Finland. Led by SS Obersturmführer Bruno Helldorf, Aatami passes the outfit without incident.
Encountering a further SS unit, the soldiers realise Aatami has struck gold. In trying to overpower the old man, Aatami takes out the four soldiers and carries on. Hearing the commotion, Helldorf instructs his unit to turn about and track down the old man.
Chasing Aatami to a minefield, the SS unit watch as his horse detonates a mine and Aatami is taken down. Expecting to retrieve the gold with ease, Helldorf sends in a soldier to pick up the loot, only for Aatami to kill him by throwing a mine at him. Helldorf sends in more soldiers, all of whom are taken out by the ex-soldier. Using two of the Finnish women held captive by Helldorf, the prisoners are set to walk through the minefield before the tanks, preventing Aatami from attacking the unit.
Trying to escape, Aatami is injured, but manages to run away. Later on, the SS unit track him down, where Aatami proceeds to dive into a lake to hide. Not resurfacing, Helldorf sends in soldiers after him, to no avail. Escaping to the other side, Aatami makes his way to a town, seeing first-hand that the Nazis have adopted a scorched earth approach. By capturing Aatami’s dog, Helldorf is able to track the man. Overpowering him, Helldorf and his right hand-man Wolf hang Aatami and get away with his gold.
Still alive, Aatami manages to escape the noose the following morning as a couple of German pilots land by the gas station near him. Killing one of the soldiers and tying up the other, Aatami makes his way back to Helldorf via plane.
Crash-landing the plane in the platoons’ path, Aatami ambushes and picks the unit off one by one. With the help of the imprisoned women, the majority of the German soldiers are executed. Going after Helldorf, Aatami makes his way to the SS extraction point. Attaching himself to the plane taking off with Helldorf, Aatami faces off against the officer and kills him by throwing him from the plane by attaching a static line that Helldorf had been beating him with to a bomb and detaching it from the carrier.
With the pilot also dead, the plane crash lands into a swamp. Escaping the swamp, Aatami makes his way to a war-torn Helsinki. Walking up to the teller, Aatami asks for large bills in exchange for the gold nuggets, as they will be easier to carry.
‘Sisu’ is titled after the untranslatable Finnish word that defines the nation, - meaning stoic determination, resilience, bravery and perseverance. The core of the film lies with Aatami (Jorma Tommila) who presents the living embodiment of sisu. Aatami had lost everything because of the war – his home and family. Trying to find gold was his last resort at a comfortable life.
The film’s title being what it is, for those who know of the concept, you’d expect nothing less than an illustration of the idea, and the film delivers exactly that. With a fairly soft opening, the film takes a brutal turn immediately after Aatami is accosted by the group of soldiers. From the moment he puts his hunting knife though the Nazi soldier’s skull, the tone of the film is set.
Delivering an action packed and brutal display of tenacity, the focus of the film is Aatami’s relentless urge to preserve what’s left of his future, i.e. the gold that could ensure a quiet and restful life. Conversely, Helldorf (Aksel Hennie), realizing the war is unwinnable for them, sees the gold as his ticket to freedom, knowing what will become of German soldiers after their defeat.
The film does not represent the struggle as a simple good vs. bad tale however. Aatami is revealed to have a violent history, earning him an almost legendary status, being feared as an ‘immortal’ by whoever stands in his way. Rather, the film highlights the unwavering spirit of the Finns, in Aatami relentlessly grasping at the last chance he has for a simple life versus Helldorf's attempt at trying to ensure the same. The difference between the men is illustrated through Aatami's stubborn refusal to stand down, looking in the face of death and nit agreeing to its terms.
Saying 'Sisu' is violent would do the film a disservice. The movie succeeds in exceeding expectations from its first act of violence. The film cleverly teases Aatami and Helldorf's conflict by nit having the two face off in the opening 15 minutes of the film, rather allowing us to see Aatami in close combat action on a smaller scale and then through clever and grotesquely violent tactics thereafter.
If anything, the film subverts what may be anticipated of an action film and delivers a slew of original and unexpected offensive and defensive maneuvers, delivering a fresh take on the one vs. the many, where a single man does actually face off against the army.
Ingenious and brutal, 'Sisu' provides for a 90-minute demonstration of the concept, albeit highlighting its more violent undertones, yet putting the message across loud and clear. With an exemplary casting of Tommila and Hennie, 'Sisu' gives a savage and entertaining story of purpose and fury.
Score: 4/4
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