Sisu is a “see it to believe it” kind of movie, but hopes are high this interview with director Jalmari Helander and the cast will offer up a clear sense of how above and beyond they went with this delightfully bonkers and wildly gory action epic.
The story is set in the late stages of the Lapland War. Finland fought for months to remove German troops from the region, but then in April 1945, Nazi Germany embraced a scorched earth policy, decimating the region. That’s where we find Aatami (Jorma Tommila), a former Finnish soldier looking for gold in the Nazi-occupied wilderness of Lapland. After finding some, he sets off to take it to the city, but when a group of Nazi soldiers led by Aksel Hennie’s Obersturmführer Bruno Helldorf attempt to take it from him, Aatami will stop at nothing to protect what he’s worked for — even if it means killing every last one of them in the most gloriously violent ways imaginable.
While celebrating the Sisu world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, Helander, Hennie, Jack Doolan who plays Bruno’s right-hand man, and Mimosa Willamo who plays one of their war prisoners all visited the Collider Supper Suite and Media Studio at Marbl to talk about their experience bringing this blood-soaked spectacle to screen.
Special thanks to our TIFF 2022 partners A-list Communications, Belvedere Vodka, Marbl Toronto, COVERGIRL Canada, Tres Amici Wines, Toronto Star, and Blue Moon Belgian White beer.