Predictive text messaging appears to have developed a wicked sense of humour, as one journalist discovered when arranging to see Sisu: Road To Revenge - only to have 'Sisu' autocorrect to 'Sissy'. Never has there been a less appropriate substitution for a character than Aatami Korpi, the teak-tough Finnish gold prospector and former army commando portrayed by Jorma Tommila.
Return of the Finnish Fury
Fans will remember Korpi from the outrageously bloodthirsty 2022 film Sisu, where he single-handedly eliminated more Nazis than an entire Allied tank division. Now he's back with his merciless gaze fixed firmly on the Red Army, making Arnold Schwarzenegger's action hero credentials seem almost comical in comparison. This time, Korpi embarks on a personal mission of vengeance that establishes him as one of cinema's most formidable forces.
The story unfolds in 1946, with Soviet soldiers running amok in rural Finland, murdering and mutilating civilians without mercy. Among their victims are Aatami's own wife and two young sons, brutally slaughtered on the orders of the psychotically cruel Red Army officer Igor Draganov, played with menacing intensity by Stephen Lang.
A Clash of Titans
In Jalmari Helander's English-language film - though dialogue is notably sparse - Draganov begins the story imprisoned in a Siberian jail. Richard Brake appears as the KGB officer who orchestrates his release, but only on the condition that he hunts down and eliminates the Finnish prospector. Thus begins a deadly game of cat and mouse where the man Aatami most wants to kill is also the man best equipped to kill him.
Amidst the brewing confrontation, our grizzled hero demonstrates his determination in more ways than one - he has meticulously dismantled his wooden family home plank by plank, searching for a new location to rebuild it. What follows could be described as one part Channel 4's Grand Designs meets three parts Mad Max: Fury Road, though the film most closely resembles an insanely violent Clint Eastwood revenge Western transplanted roughly 5,000 miles eastward.
Like the iconic Western anti-heroes, Aatami speaks sparingly - in fact, he doesn't speak at all, merely roaring with anger occasionally. Lang's Draganov bears more than a passing resemblance to Lee Van Cleef's classic Western villains, while the musical score evokes memories of Ennio Morricone's finest work, albeit composed on what might have been a slightly off day.
The Meaning of Sisu
The Finnish word 'sisu' translates to a 'white-knuckled form of courage' that emerges when all hope appears lost. Aatami embodies this concept completely, repeatedly defeating overwhelming odds in increasingly cartoonish fashion as each squad of Soviet assassins sent to eliminate him meets their own gruesome end.
Remarkably, not only does Aatami himself survive against impossible odds, but so does his sole companion - a Bedlington Terrier given ample reason to wish for the safety of its namesake Northumberland town. The film follows a chapter structure reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino's style, with one section unambiguously titled 'Motor Mayhem'.
Despite the pervasive violence and gore, Road To Revenge maintains an exhilarating, laugh-out-loud bonkers quality throughout, featuring spectacular stunts involving planes, trains, automobiles and tanks. This is certainly not viewing for the squeamish, nor should it be taken seriously - except perhaps at the Ukrainian box office, where it's likely to find particularly enthusiastic reception.
Also Showing This Week
The Thing With Feathers (15, 98 mins) features Benedict Cumberbatch delivering a characteristically committed performance as Dad, a father of two young boys grieving his recently deceased wife. His extreme sorrow manifests as an enormous, sardonic crow voiced by David Thewlis. Adapted from Max Porter's acclaimed novella Grief Is The Thing With Feathers, the film balances on horror's edge and proves challenging viewing, though Cumberbatch's all-in performance makes it worthwhile.
The Carpenter's Son (15, 94 mins) finds Nicolas Cage delivering his trademark 25 percent extra in this overwrought biblical-horror exercise. While Jesus, Mary and Joseph remain unnamed, their identities are unmistakable. Noah Jupe performs admirably as 'the Son' while Cage acts his leather sandals off as the tormented husband of 'the Mother' (FKA Twigs). The melodrama begins with Mary wailing during childbirth and intensifies from there.
Testimony (12A, 105 mins) delivers a thunderously powerful documentary exploration of Ireland's Magdalene laundries, exposing the collusion between state and Catholic Church in mistreating and abusing thousands of unmarried mothers incarcerated there while their babies were sold to overseas adopting couples. While dramatised in films like Philomena (2013) and Small Things Like These (2024), this shocking story demanded documentary treatment, which Testimony provides compellingly.
