The Finnish action film SISU surprised many moviegoers last year as an intense, heavily blood-soaked fight for survival during World War II between an unassuming older man named Aatami and a German death squad. To protect what's most precious to him, he mercilessly mows down countless Nazis to a degree that would make even Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds proud. Also, given the timing, the film is quite reminiscent of the ongoing John Wick franchise, with Keanu Reeves playing a one-man army against the world's assassins who all want a piece of him. Now it seems that director Jalmari Helander is getting a similar idea. Per an interview with GamesRadar+, he's revealed that a sequel to SISU is indeed very possible, though nothing is confirmed yet.
SISU, so named after a Finnish concept meaning "stoic bravery", is an action-packed historical film written and directed by Jalmari Helander. Petri Jokiranta served as producer. Starring in the film are Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, and Mimosa Willamo. The story is set in 1944, during the Lapland War between the Finns and the Nazis. A retired commando-turned-prospector named Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) lives in solitude in the wilderness of Lapland with his horse and beloved dog, spending his days panning and mining for gold, ignoring the warfare going on in the distance. One day he happens upon a rich deposit of gold, and decides to gather as much of it as he can and take it to a bank in the nearest town to redeem it. However, that nearest town is hundreds of miles away, setting him on a long, potentially treacherous journey.
Along the way, he crosses paths with a Wehrmacht platoon led by a ruthless SS commander named Bruno Helldorf (Aksel Hennie) who pays him no heed, but a subsequent group of soldiers discovers his gold, and they attempt to kill him and take it. Before they can execute him and his dog, Aatami swiftly kills them all then attempts to flee. However, the gunfire gets the attention of Bruno, and he decides to pursue Aatami, no matter how long it takes. He even ignores the fact that Aatami was once known as a "one-man-death-squad" in the Winter War, gaining the Russian nickname "Koschei" (watch out, Baba Yaga). The pursuit turns into one bloodbath after another, with Aatami brandishing all of his deadly skills that made the Red Army fear him, and now the Nazis. Miraculously surviving with his dog, he eventually makes it to a bank with his nuggets in tow. For the first time in the entire film he speaks, asking the teller to give him banknotes, as they'll be much lighter to carry.
The Possibly of a SISU Sequel, or a Prequel
After the film received immense accolades at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, and was indeed compared to the John Wick film franchise, Director Helander opened up about the potential for Aatami returning in a sequel.
"I have an idea of what would happen next. That was one of the biggest challenges when writing it as I didn't know how the gold will make him happy in the end. So, I decided to end the movie like I did but it would be interesting to see what happens to him when he has all the money in the world as I’m pretty sure it won't make him happy. Maybe somebody needs his skills again but let's see."
Given Aatami's infamous past during the Winter War against the Red Army which gave him his "immortal" moniker, a prequel couldn't necessarily be ruled out either. Either way, this kind of film series in the indie scene could prove to be a real stand out, and we'll see if more updates come on a possible follow-up.
SISU is currently streaming digitally on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, and Vudu, as well as on demand platforms. The trailer for the film can be viewed below.