Sisu
Overview
Never steal from a quiet old man in Lapland. Aatami, a grizzled prospector played by Jorma Tommila, has survived the war by staying out of it, digging gold alone in the wilderness at the end of World War II. Then a group of Nazi soldiers crosses his path, sees what he's carrying, and makes the worst decision of their lives: taking it from him. What follows is basically a Finnish John Wick — one weathered, nearly wordless man against a whole unit of soldiers who want his gold, and the unit should be worried. The film runs on the concept it's named after: sisu, that untranslatable Finnish blend of stoic determination, guts and sheer refusal to quit. Aatami doesn't do speeches or mercy. He does increasingly creative violence, and the film shoots it all with a stylish, grim grin — there's dark humor buried in the brutality, the growing sense that everyone on screen except Aatami has badly misread this situation. It's a simple setup, lean and effective: gold, Nazis, and one legend who would like to be left alone. If you enjoy watching the worst people in history pick the wrong Finn, this delivers exactly that pleasure, over and over, with interest.
