Long touted as a unique key to understanding the Finnish mindset, the word sisu is difficult to translate, but it depicts courage, guts, bravery, willpower, tenacity, determination or some combination thereof.
The term received renewed attention with the appearance of the movie Sisu in 2022, in which it was described as “a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination.” The equally brutal 2025 sequel, Sisu: Road to Revenge, is keeping it in the spotlight.
The film, which the Observer calls “insanely violent” and “wildly entertaining,” stars Jorma Tommila as Aatami, who takes on a Soviet bad guy with “gore-splattered” results. (In the first Sisu, it was Aatami against the Nazis.)
The Sisu movies are directed by Jalmari Helander, previously known for the 2010 Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, which contained a combination of action, comedy and horror. “Sisu: Road to Revenge consistently and creatively kills the competition,” says a review on Rotten Tomatoes. The film has proved a US box office draw – at the time of writing, it is among the top recent releases and is already set to surpass its predecessor, which in the meantime is now watchable on Netflix.
Elsewhere on this website, we discuss the significance of sisu as it pertains to civilised Finnish culture. It can be the quality that keeps you going in sports or gives you healthy energy in your daily life.
The Guardian, the Economist, the BBC and Aalto University are among the outlets that have taken note of sisu (the word) and its many meanings. “Revenge” isn’t one of them, but don’t let that spoil a good action film when you take your seat in the movie theatre.
By Peter Marten, December 2025
