Sisu (2023)
Director: Jalmari Helander Run Time: 91 min. Release Year: 2023
Starring: Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, Jorma Tommila, Mimosa Willamo, Onni Tommila
Country: Finland
Language: Finnish, English
About the film:
World Premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival
Best Feature Film at the 2022 Sitges Film Festival
During the last desperate days of WWII, a solitary prospector crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-earth retreat in northern Finland. When the Nazis steal his gold, they quickly discover that they have just tangled with no ordinary miner.
While there is no direct translation for the Finnish word “sisu”, this legendary ex-commando will embody what sisu means: a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination in the face of overwhelming odds. And no matter what the Nazis throw at him, the one-man death squad will go to outrageous lengths to get his gold back – even if it means killing every last Nazi in his path.
About the filmmaker:
Jalmari Helander is a Finnish screenwriter and film director. An award-winning director of television commercials, he made a string of short films between 1999 and 2006, before his feature directorial debut, Rare Exports (2010). Among other accolades, the film won four awards at the 2022 Sitges Film Festival, including Best Director and Best Film. His follow-up, Big Game (2014), was a Midnight Madness selection at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was nominated for a People’s Choice Award. His third feature film Sisu (2023) premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and won four awards at the 2022 Sitges Film Festival including Best Feature Film.
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