“Sisu”

Movie Review

Jalmari Helander wrote and directed the historical action movie Sisu, which takes place in 2022. The movie, which is set in World War II-era Finnish Lapland, centers on a gold prospector who battles a ruthless Schutzstaffel officer-led Nazi killing squad while attempting to protect his stolen treasure. Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, and Mimosa Willamo all appear in the movie.

The movie's plot is as follows: in late 1944, during the Lapland War, prospector Aatami Korpi lives alone in a remote area of Lapland with just his horse and his devoted dog. In pursuit of gold, Aatami spends his days digging and panning. He finds a large deposit, gathers a sizable number of gold nuggets, saddles his horse, and rides out with his dog for the closest town.

Along the journey, Aatami comes across a 30-man Wehrmacht unit under the command of the brutal SS Obersturmfuhrer Bruno Helldorf and his lieutenant Wolf, who are razing towns as they flee and have kidnapped numerous women. Aatami is not of any interest to Bruno, who lets him go. Soon after, Aatami is approached by a second squad of soldiers who find his saddlebags filled with riches and are ready to put him and his dog to death. However, he quickly murders them all. Bruno investigates after being informed by the gunfire and finds the devastation. One of Aatami's gold nuggets, grabbed by one of the dead warriors, is discovered by him.

Aatami's horse is destroyed by a mine as Bruno and his tank follow him to the edge of a minefield. Aatami deliberately sets off another mine to flee while collecting his treasure. The minefield swiftly reclaims the soldiers sent after him. To guarantee a clear passage, two of the imprisoned ladies are told to go ahead. Aino, one of the prisoners, offers to lead the way in lieu of one of the other women.

When Bruno finds Aatami's dog tag, he discovers that he was once a Finnish commando who lost everything while battling the Russians during the Winter War, including his family and house. Having nothing left, the furious Aatami rose to fame as a "one-man death squad" known as Koschei, which translates to "The Immortal." Bruno disobeys instructions to turn around and stop pursuing Aatami by disobeying the warning.

Aatami is woken by the platoon's arrival despite being wounded and worn out. He hangs underneath one of the German cars and punches a hole in the fuel tank while the troops' dogs follow him, dousing him in gasoline to cover his tracks. Aatami escapes as the battalion stops to check the leak, fending off the dogs by setting himself on fire, then jumping into a nearby lake. Bruno sends troops into the lake to wait for him to come up, but Aatami slashes their throats underwater and breathes in the escaping air from their necks. Aatami crosses the water to the opposite side, but Bruno locates his dog.

Aatami finds the town in flames and seeks refuge at a gas station after learning that the Germans had destroyed it. With a lighted grenade fastened to his collar, Bruno sends Aatami's dog in search of his owner. Aatami saves the puppy, but the blast makes her unconscious. Aatami is hanged from the gas station's sign by Bruno, Wolf, and tank driver Schütze while they steal the gold and leave him for dead. However, Aatami hooks his wounds onto sticking rebar to free himself from the noose. German pilots make a landing in search of fuel. One is killed and the other is rendered unconscious by Aatami.

Bruno plans to use the gold to escape with Wolf and Schütze and arrange for a pilot to fly them to safety while the rest of the battalion travels to Norway because he is unable to accept the implications of Germany's oncoming loss. Aatami, meantime, commands the remaining pilot to take him in the direction of the platoon. The troops soon find the wrecked plane with the pilot still hanging from the same rope Wolf had used on Aatami. Aatami boards the moving vehicle and weapons the abducted ladies. He and Aino take control of one of the vehicles, which enables him to get atop Bruno's tank as the female attackers take out the remaining troops.

Aatami rescues Wolf from the tank but leaves him at the mercy of the females as she pursues Bruno, who brutally murders Schütze before escaping with the pilot. Aatami shoots at the aircraft, gravely injuring the pilot, then uses his pickaxe to gain entry into the aircraft while it is in flight. Aatami is subdued by Bruno after they engage in hand-to-hand combat. Bruno viciously beats Aatami with a static line. Aatami quickly connects the static line to a bomb, dumping Bruno to his death just as Bruno is ready to deliver another round of punches. Aatami fastens his seatbelt as the aircraft crashes into a sizable swamp with the pilot already deceased. The ladies, led by Aino, hand up Wolf and the Nazi tank to a dumbfounded and shocked Finnish army.

Aatami leaves the swamp while still alive, finds his dog, and travels to a war-torn Helsinki. Aatami enters a bank while bleeding and smashes his gold bars on the counter. When he finally speaks, he requests huge banknotes from the teller, stating that they won't be as difficult to carry as the nuggets.

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