Sisu

Sisu is a 2022 historical action thriller film written and directed by Jalmari Helander. Set in Finnish Lapland during World War II, the film follows a former legendary Finnish commando and gold prospector who attempts to secure his gold and defend himself from a German death squad led by a brutal SS officer. The film stars Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, Mimosa Willamo and Onni Tommila. Originally, Helander was supposed to work on the science fiction comedy Jerry and Ms. Universe as his next project after Big Game, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed Helander's plan and he moved on to make Sisu. The film was shot in 2021 near the Nuorgam village in Utsjoki, Lapland with a budget of about €6 million ($6.5 million). According to Helander, the 1982 film First Blood and the real-life Finnish military sniper Simo Häyhä, who fought against the Red Army, served as inspirations for the film. Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions acquired the film's worldwide distribution rights outside Nordic countries, and then decided to team with Lionsgate to release the film in North America. The film debuted at the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2022. The film premiered in Finland on 27 January 2023 and was released in the United States on 28 April 2023, where it received positive reviews from critics. Plot In late 1944 during the Lapland War, Aatami Korpi lives alone with his horse and faithful Bedlington Terrier while he prospects in the Lapland wilderness. Aatami uncovers a rich gold deposit, where he collects a hefty amount of nuggets and heads towards Rovaniemi. Along the way, Aatami encounters a large Waffen SS platoon led by the ruthless SS Obersturmführer Bruno Helldorf, who are destroying villages during their retreat towards Norway and have taken several Finnish women captive. Helldorf takes little interest in Aatami, letting him pass. Aatami is soon accosted by a second group of soldiers who discover his saddlebags full of gold and prepare to execute him, but he swiftly kills them all. Alerted by the gunfire, Helldorf investigates and discovers the massacre and one of Aatami's gold nuggets.