Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (July 16, 2023)
Not too many Finnish movies reach large American audiences, and on the surface, that proves accurate for 2022’s Sisu. With a US gross of a little more than $7 million, it didn’t exactly set box office records.
On the other hand, how many other Finnish films have done even that much business, or gotten fairly wide releases? Sisu found more of an American crowd than usual for Finnish flicks, and it obtained a good niche audience of viewers who dig violent genre tales.
Set in war-torn Finland circa 1944, Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) lives a solitary life accompanied only by his dog and his horse. He devotes his days to the search for gold in remote areas, and he eventually discovers a valuable deposit.
As Korpi heads back to town, he encounters a Waffen SS platoon. With the war essentially lost, the Germans adopt a “scorched earth” approach that includes the abduction of Finnish women.
When another squad of soldiers pesters him, Korpi murders the lot, a feat that attracts the attention of SS platoon commander Bruno Helldorf (Aksel Hennie). This leads to many violent confrontations between the Nazis and this one determined – and skilled – man.
Imagine if Quentin Tarantino made a movie that lacked snappy dialogue and you’d have Sisu. Actually, not every Tarantino movie comes with his brisk and clever patter, but nonetheless, that remains a signature trait of his work, one that doesn’t become a factor in Sisu.
Outside of the dialogue, Sisu gives off a very Tarantino vibe, as it feels like an overt callback to genre fare of the 1970s. It comes with a neo-Western feel and goes for the kind of over the top violence Tarantino can embrace.
Speaking of which, Sisu also evokes similarities with the John Wick franchise. Wick and Korpi share clear similarities, as both other legendary killers who just want to be left alone but who get lured back into their violent ways due to the provocation of others.
Heck, both demonstrate intense loyalty to their dogs as well! Sisu never feels like an overt attempt to pilfer from the Wick series, but they do come across like siblings.
That definitely applies to the amount of abuse their protagonists take. Neither Sisu nor the Wick movies resides in anything we’d view as the real world.
Both Wick and Korpi suffer from wounds and injuries that would fell normal men a dozen times over, but they keep on tickin’ nonetheless. Even if we can accept the notion of super-assassins who can take down huge, well-armed masses of opponents – which we can’t logically – the movies snap reality due to the ways their characters survive literally impossible odds.
But that’s what makes movies like Sisu fun, right? A more reality-based version of this story would end in 10 minutes.
Despite – or maybe because of – the ludicrous nature of Sisu, it delivers a pretty entertaining adventure. At a mere 91 minutes, the filmmakers know better than to overstay their welcome.
This makes Sisu a tight affair that lacks flab. It cranks along at a brisk pace and doesn’t waste the viewer’s time with unnecessary drama.
We get to know basics about Korpi and this seems sufficient. We learn just enough to understand the character and his mission, so added details would feel superfluous.
It helps that Tommila plays Korpi as a wholly convincing badass. He brings just the right sense of menace, skill and determination to the part.
As such, we almost buy the insanity on display. No actor could make the story truly believable, but Tommila helps sell the material.
I wouldn’t call Sisu an action classic, as it feels a little too derivative to earn that status. Nonetheless, it works as a violent fantasy.
