If you thought Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was a bit light on the ol’ Nazi-punchin’ business that the esteemed archaeologist is most famed for, we have excellent news for you (also, good call). You can see dozens of Nazis get absolutely obliterated in the most fiendishly inventive ways possible in a new Finnish action movie. The bloody and brilliant Sisu is in cinemas now.
We set our scene in Lapland, 1944, where grizzled old prospector Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) just wants to take his latest gold strike to the town bank. Unfortunately, he runs across a Nazi death squad retreating to Occupied Norway.
Unfortunately for the Nazis, that is—the taciturn tundra-dweller turns out to be an unstoppable killing machine, a former commando known as Koschei (“the Immortal”) who has been murderlising enemies by the truckload for the entire Winter War. This sobering new information doesn’t faze the ruthless SS Obersturmführer Bruno Helldorf (Aksel Hennie), who has decided he wants the saddlebags full of gold that Aatami is carrying on his mule. And so, the ranks of the Wehrmacht find themselves facing off against what is effectively the Finnish Rambo.
Indeed, writer and director Jalmari Helander (Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, Big Game) took some inspiration from both the original First Blood and the true tale of Finnish World War II hero Simo Häyhä, who comfortably notched up triple figures when fighting the Soviets during the Winter War.
The result is a gory, brazen, deliciously over the top action thriller, a kind of old school WWII/Western hybrid that’s as inventive as it is bloody. If you’re in the mood for a stripped-back, no-hold-barred action extravaganza—or you just want the sight of scores of dead Nazis to put a smile on your face—then Sisu is for you.
