Jalmari Helander's Sisu (2022) redefined the action genre and reimagined the One vs All legend. With Jorma Tommila set to return as the Finnish war veteran Aatami Korpi in the sequel to the 2022 film, the emotional stakes have just gone higher.
Praising Tommila as the vital cog in the franchise, Helander shares that Tommila brings a machine-like intensity and energy, embodying the spirit of Sisu: Persistence and relentlessness. "It’s always a pleasure to work with Jorma because he is uniquely capable of creating emotions, including rage and grief, with almost no dialogue. We experience what Aatami is feeling and thinking just by his face and gestures,” says Helander.
In addition to the breathtaking action set pieces, Tommila also describes Aatami Korpi as a person with a well-defined character arc. He says that Korpi finds a new purpose and a hope to live even after losing everything he ever had after the war. "Korpi was a family man until the war began. Then, everything changed. He’s lost everything and thus had nothing else to lose. But somehow, when we see him in this film, Aatami has found a new purpose in life, and has in some ways overcome the horrors of war. Now, he thinks there may still be some kind of future for him,” he further adds.
In Sisu: Road to Revenge, Korpi emboldens his dogged resolve not to die as the Red Army commander (Stephen Lang) returns to finish him off, thereby completing the destruction of his family. Starring alongside Lang and Tommila is Richard Brake.
Petri Jokiranta produced the film, with Gregory Ouanhon and Antonio Salas as deputy producers. Sisu 2 has Mika Orasmaa canning the shots, Anu Sallinen in the art department, Barry Donnelly in the sound department, and Roman Neso Laupmaa and Mikko Lopponen handling the stunts.
The film is releasing worldwide, including India, on November 21.
