Sisu

‘Sisu’ is Finnish and has no direct translation into English though very light research via the usual media suggests ‘determination’ and ‘perseverance’.

For those of us interested in these sorts of things for a German and Finnish cast there’s very little Finnish or German spoken. It suggests a lack of confidence in releasing a big budget horror film into cinemas.

In the end it’s a passing point as once the film gets into its stride it could have been spoken in Aramaic and subtitled with cuneiform.
Set in 1944 the nazis are in some desperation crawling, killing, and capturing prisoners across Lapland when they come across Aatami (Jorma Tommila) who has discovered a life changing seam of gold that he’s on the way to make a claim for. An ex-special forces operative he has a formidable record and reputation. One that ensures he’s left alone, with his horse and dog, by the locals to do what he wants which is basically mine for gold.

The Nazis are typical with the stereotypical unshaven, long in the tooth, leather trench coated commander leading a bedraggled mob of soldiers that no longer care about anything. They are carrying prisoners and along the way confront Aatami and steal his gold. Naturally he wants it back and he brutally employs all his skills to get it back and there are no negotiations.

The film looks wonderful set in Finland and in Lapland, it’s grim snow-covered landscape perfect for the explosions of bloody violence that litter the film. That however isn’t enough to leave the film looking and feeling hollow. There’s little to no characterisation other than why Aatami is who he is having been brutalised by war and killed hundreds, while the Nazis are what the viewer would expect and happily are meat for the exploitation grinder.

Writer and director Jalmari Helander has first and foremost concentrated on the violence. And the film is unarguably nasty with some very gruesome and bizarre sequences he imbues the monosyllabic Aatami with a supernatural quality that has the German commander shouting, ‘why won’t you die’?

On a very baselevel the film is a perfectly satisfactory horror, it just doesn’t feel that substantial as a whole.

Sisu premiered had its UK premiere at Glasgow FrightFest 2023 and will in UK cinemas from 26 May 2023.