# Sisu (film)
**Sisu** is a 2022 Finnish action film written and directed by Jalmari Helander, starring Jorma Tommila as Aatami Korpi, an ex-commando turned gold prospector who single-handedly destroys a retreating Nazi unit in Lapland during the final days of World War II. The title is a Finnish word with no direct translation, connoting grit, determination, and a white-knuckled form of courage that manifests when all hope is lost.[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/sisu-brutal-pulpy-enjoyably-ludicrous-finnish-war-movie) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/may/28/sisu-review-one-deadly-finn-meets-a-lot-of-exploding-nazis)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and star | Written and directed by Jalmari Helander; Jorma Tommila plays Aatami Korpi, nicknamed "the Immortal"[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/may/28/sisu-review-one-deadly-finn-meets-a-lot-of-exploding-nazis) |
| Setting | 1944 Finnish Lapland, during the scorched-earth retreat of German troops at the end of WWII[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sisu_2022) |
| Budget | 6 million euros; a passion project for Helander that bows to 1980s and 1990s action cinema[4](https://yle.fi/a/74-20014239) |
| Box office | Crossed $11.7 million globally and $7.3 million in the US; per the Finnish Film Foundation, the biggest majority-produced Finnish film in the US and the biggest Finnish film of the 21st century[5](https://nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/news/stories/sisu-producer-on-how-to-make-a-finnish-blockbuster-and-conquer-hollywood) |
| Critical reception | 94% Tomatometer from 184 reviews and 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes; Metascore 70 on Metacritic[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sisu_2022) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/sisu/critic-reviews/) |
| Sequel | *Sisu: Road to Revenge* (2025), again written and directed by Helander with Tommila, adding Stephen Lang as Red Army commander Igor Draganov[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/action-movies/sisu-sequel-gets-a-blood-soaked-trailer-that-pits-the-finnish-murder-machine-against-the-red-army-officer-who-killed-his-family/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and title
The story unfolds during the ragged final days of World War II. Aatami Korpi, a stoic ex-commando prospecting in the Lapland wilderness, strikes a large quantity of gold. Retreating German troops steal it, taunt his dog, and leave him for dead, and he responds by hunting down the unit in a series of inventive, extremely gory set pieces.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/may/28/sisu-review-one-deadly-finn-meets-a-lot-of-exploding-nazis) • [8](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/my-favorite-prime-video-top-10-movie-is-a-must-watch-for-john-wick-fans-and-its-one-of-the-best-revenge-thrillers-ever) Korpi is essentially silent through the whole film, and the German soldiers speak to each other in English; the production is predominantly English-language.[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/sisu-brutal-pulpy-enjoyably-ludicrous-finnish-war-movie) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/may/28/sisu-review-one-deadly-finn-meets-a-lot-of-exploding-nazis)
The title word cannot easily be translated for an international audience. Reviewers render it as grit, determination, bravery, and smarts, or "a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination" that appears when all hope is lost.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/may/28/sisu-review-one-deadly-finn-meets-a-lot-of-exploding-nazis) • [1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/sisu-brutal-pulpy-enjoyably-ludicrous-finnish-war-movie)
### Sequel
A sequel, *Sisu: Road to Revenge*, was written and directed by Helander and again stars Tommila, with [Stephen Lang](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-lang) as [Red Army](https://www.edgepedia.org/red-army) commander Igor Draganov, the officer responsible for the deaths of Korpi's family. [Sony Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-pictures)' Screen Gems released it theatrically on November 21, 2025.[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/action-movies/sisu-sequel-gets-a-blood-soaked-trailer-that-pits-the-finnish-murder-machine-against-the-red-army-officer-who-killed-his-family/) • [12](https://www.screendaily.com/news/sony-pictures-to-release-jalmari-helanders-sisu-sequel-in-november/5204254.article) In the sequel, set after the war, Korpi dismantles the house where his family was murdered and hauls it on a truck to rebuild it in Finland, triggering a cross-country chase when Draganov returns to finish the job.[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/action-movies/sisu-sequel-gets-a-blood-soaked-trailer-that-pits-the-finnish-murder-machine-against-the-red-army-officer-who-killed-his-family/) The film scored 76 on Metacritic from 19 reviews and earned 147,671 admissions and €2,251,076 in Finnish cinemas in 2025.[13](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/sisu-road-to-revenge/critic-reviews/) • [14](https://www.ses.fi/wp-content/uploads/SES-elokuvavuosi-2025-facts-and-figures.pdf) Helander is separately attached to direct a Rambo prequel.[15](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/action-movies/new-rambo-origin-story-movie-from-sisu-director-and-black-adam-writers-takes-the-franchise-to-the-vietnam-war-predating-events-of-first-film/)
## Production
Helander, previously known for *Rare Exports* (2010) and *Big Game* (2014), developed *Sisu* as a passion project. He has said that seeing *First Blood* (1982) as a schoolboy made a lasting impression, and that the film is his homage to the action movies of the 1980s and 1990s.[4](https://yle.fi/a/74-20014239) Filming began on 21 September 2021 in Nuorgam in Finnish Lapland, produced by Petri Jokiranta of Subzero Film Entertainment, with Mike Goodridge, Gregory Ouanhon, and Antonio Salas as executive producers; the film was supported by Business Finland's Audiovisual Production Incentive and the Finnish Film Foundation.[9](https://www.amusa.fi/jalmari-helanderin-toimintaelokuva-sisun-kuvaukset-alkoivat-lapissa) Helander has also cited *The Bridge on the River Kwai* as the model for the film's typography.[10](https://www.screendaily.com/features/sisu-director-jalmari-helander-on-tarantino-influences-shooting-in-lapland/5174316.article)
Distribution was arranged early: Sony handled worldwide sales, Nordisk Film released it in the Nordics, and Lionsgate released it in the United States.[5](https://nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/news/stories/sisu-producer-on-how-to-make-a-finnish-blockbuster-and-conquer-hollywood) The film premiered in Finland on 27 January 2023.[4](https://yle.fi/a/74-20014239)
## Reception and box office
Critics received the film as a lean, deliberately absurd gore-soaked pastiche. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus calls it "narratively lean as it is deliriously gory," and the audience summary compares it to "John Wick went up against Nazis."[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sisu_2022) On Metacritic it scored 70 from 25 critic reviews, with 18 positive, 7 mixed, and none negative.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/sisu/critic-reviews/) Reviewers noted the film's surprising solemnity beneath the carnage: Helander roots the revenge fantasy in Finland's wartime suffering at the hands of both German and Soviet forces.[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/sisu-brutal-pulpy-enjoyably-ludicrous-finnish-war-movie)
**Commercial performance.** *Sisu* grossed over $3.3 million on its opening weekend in the United States from more than 1,000 screens, a notable result for an R-rated film in English and Finnish.[11](https://www.boxofficepro.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Boxoffice-Pro-Oct-2024-1-1.pdf) By June 2023 it had crossed $11.7 million globally and $7.3 million in the US, which the Finnish Film Foundation counted as the biggest majority-produced Finnish film in the US and the biggest Finnish film of the 21st century.[5](https://nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/news/stories/sisu-producer-on-how-to-make-a-finnish-blockbuster-and-conquer-hollywood) Producer Petri Jokiranta said the US push had been planned since *Rare Exports* in 2010, with the goal of a wide American release from the start.[5](https://nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/news/stories/sisu-producer-on-how-to-make-a-finnish-blockbuster-and-conquer-hollywood)
## References
1. [Jason Anderson, "Sisu: a brutal, pulpy and enjoyably ludicrous Finnish war movie," Sight and Sound, BFI, 25 May 2023](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/sisu-brutal-pulpy-enjoyably-ludicrous-finnish-war-movie)
2. [Wendy Ide, "Sisu review – one deadly Finn meets a lot of exploding Nazis," The Guardian / The Observer, 28 May 2023](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/may/28/sisu-review-one-deadly-finn-meets-a-lot-of-exploding-nazis)
3. ["Sisu (2022)," Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sisu_2022)
4. [Mattias Mattila, "Viisi faktaa elokuvasta Sisu," Yle, 27 January 2023](https://yle.fi/a/74-20014239)
5. [Annika Pham, "Sisu producer on how to make a Finnish blockbuster and conquer Hollywood," Nordisk Film & TV Fond, 15 June 2023](https://nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/news/stories/sisu-producer-on-how-to-make-a-finnish-blockbuster-and-conquer-hollywood)
6. ["Sisu critic reviews," Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/sisu/critic-reviews/)
7. ["Sisu sequel gets a blood-soaked trailer," GamesRadar+, 27 August 2025](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/action-movies/sisu-sequel-gets-a-blood-soaked-trailer-that-pits-the-finnish-murder-machine-against-the-red-army-officer-who-killed-his-family/)
8. ["My favorite Prime Video top 10 movie is a must-watch for 'John Wick' fans," Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/my-favorite-prime-video-top-10-movie-is-a-must-watch-for-john-wick-fans-and-its-one-of-the-best-revenge-thrillers-ever)
9. ["Jalmari Helanderin toimintaelokuva Sisun kuvaukset alkoivat Lapissa," Amusa](https://www.amusa.fi/jalmari-helanderin-toimintaelokuva-sisun-kuvaukset-alkoivat-lapissa)
10. ["'Sisu' director Jalmari Helander on Tarantino influences, shooting in Lapland," Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/features/sisu-director-jalmari-helander-on-tarantino-influences-shooting-in-lapland/5174316.article)
11. [Boxoffice Pro, Industry Unic Annual Report 2024](https://www.boxofficepro.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Boxoffice-Pro-Oct-2024-1-1.pdf)
12. ["Sony Pictures to release Jalmari Helander's 'Sisu' sequel in November," Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/news/sony-pictures-to-release-jalmari-helanders-sisu-sequel-in-november/5204254.article)
13. ["Sisu: Road to Revenge critic reviews," Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/sisu-road-to-revenge/critic-reviews/)
14. [Finnish Film Foundation, Facts & Figures 2025](https://www.ses.fi/wp-content/uploads/SES-elokuvavuosi-2025-facts-and-figures.pdf)
15. ["New Rambo origin story movie from Sisu director," GamesRadar+, 16 May 2025](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/action-movies/new-rambo-origin-story-movie-from-sisu-director-and-black-adam-writers-takes-the-franchise-to-the-vietnam-war-predating-events-of-first-film/)
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