Sisu
Cert: 15 | ★★★★✩

The year is 1944. After signing a peace treaty with the Soviets, Finland vows to rid its territories of its former Nazi allies, resulting in a bloody conflict that would become known as the Lapland War.

Retired commando and gold prospector Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) lives in the arid Lapland wilderness with his horse and faithful dog, and watches the battles from afar. He has no apparent interest in who wins or who loses.

But when he encounters a 30-men strong Wehrmacht platoon carrying a group of women prisoners, he has to defend himself and his newly prospected gold loot from a SS officer (Aksel Hennie) hellbent on stealing it for himself.

To do this, and also stay alive, he must harness the Finnish philosophy of stoic bravery and determination called Sisu. It’s a nail-biting and entertaining watch, if not for the faint-hearted.

Sisu credit Freezing Pint and Anti Rastivo (11)

Jorma Tommila (Photo: Freezing Pint and Anti Rastivo)

Finnish filmmaker Jalmari Helander mixes thrilling action sequences — apparently inspired by the real-life Finnish military sniper Simo Häyhä who fought the Red Army — with some pretty nifty Sergio Leon-esque spaghetti western tropes to deliver this revenge tale.

Imagine all the satisfyingly gory Nazi killing sequences from Inglourious Basterds neatly packed into a 91-minute grind-house-style B movie. The deftly executed, superbly written white-knuckle-ride, served with plenty of dark humour, does not abate for a single second.

In fact, this story of one man against an entire army is certainly more entertaining that the majority of action thrillers churned out by Hollywood.

And while the film might find itself battling against the latest instalment in the long-running Fast and Furious saga at the global box office, I know which of the two I would rather sit through.