In 1944 Finland a German SS platoon are retreating whilst adopting a scorched Earth policy when they cross paths with a gold prospector who has just struck lucky. Believing him to be an easy mark they try to rob him, unaware that he is a legendary ex soldier with hundreds of kills to his name. 

Sisu opens with a definition. It explains that Sisu is untranslatable but that it relates to grit, strength and never giving up under any circumstances. What follows is 7 chapters and 91 minutes where our main character (played brilliantly by Jorma Tommila) defines Sisu for us by his actions. 

The chapter stops and stylings of Sisu felt lifted directly from a Tarantino film and the most obvious one to suggest would be Inglourious Basterds. Sisu takes as much delight in its dispatching of Nazi’s as that film did and the two would work as a fantastic double bill. 

The film itself feels like a low budget B movie with lots of inventiveness around its set pieces and battles between the Nazis and the gold prospector. Whilst each encounter gets more and more outlandish as we go on. The desolate frozen wastes they fight through are beautifully shot though and the gore and blood look like fantastic practical effects. 

Jorma Tommila in a virtually wordless role is exceptional. The living embodiment of the definition at the beginning of the film. Whilst Aksel Hennie and Jack Doolan who play the lead Nazis really give us something to hate all the way down to our very cores. 

Overall the film just has a sense of cool and style that is hard to resist and it’s a heck of a lot of fun.