Sisu: The Finnish John Wick

Sisu is a Finnish action movie that was internationally released recently. It is directed by Jalmari Helander, whose previous movie is Big Game, which is a decent Finnish adventure movie starring Samuel Jackson. I was underwhelmed after watching it years ago, believing it to be a Hollywood production. When I later came to know that it is Finnish, its ranking in my mind went up by several positions. I realised that Sisu is directed by the same guy while the end titles played. Then I also found out that the actor who played the main character of Big Game, Onni Tommila, has a role in this one, and the hero of Sisu is Joma Tommila, who is his father.

It's 1944, and the Germans are taking a beating in World War II. In Finland, Nazis are advancing and scorching every Finnish settlement on their way. Not interested in war, an old man is digging for gold in the wilderness. When he unearths a gold deposit, he collects the nuggets in a bag and leaves for the nearest town. On the way, he encounters a Nazi platoon, and when they find out about the gold, they try to confiscate it. He retaliates by taking lives in pretty ingenious ways. Germans realise that he is the legendary ex-commando Aatami Korpi, also known as the immortal, who has a reputation for refusing to die. Soon they will see a practical display of that reputation.

The pattern of Sisu is the exact same one that some of the best action movies have developed well before: a lone man getting pissed off and taking on a formidable group of adversaries. From First Blood to John Wick, there are many movies where a bunch of bullies try to pick on an innocuous person only to realise that they tried to bite off a lot more than they were able to chew. Sisu contains all the familiar action movie tropes of its predecessors and is basically a by-the-numbers action movie. It's basically a one-line plot, which is elaborated into an hour and a half-long display of machismo, something that was rampant in Hollywood movies decades ago but not that common to find these days.

Sisu employs a threadbare style of moviemaking that is very efficient and effective in telling its story. Conversations are sparse, character development is nonexistent, and the plot is very simple. But all these are compensated for by stylish action set pieces, sharp thrills, and a retro-exploitation vibe. The movie contains many scenes of graphic violence that are expertly placed for maximum impact. My favourite is a scene in which the protagonist saves himself when hanged on a noose by hooking his wound on a protruding iron bar.

The movie defines its characters very strongly through a simple act or a piece of dialogue. The Nazi villain is not just a maniac, and he needs gold to bargain for his freedom after they lose the war. This motivation, expressed in terse dialogue, makes a good impact on the plot without diluting his villainy. Similarly, a captive lady gives a sign of her strength of will when she volunteers to comb a mine field. The mysterious past of the protagonist is also conveyed by snippets of information reaching us from many sources. Thus, the movie manages to convey more with very little exposition.

Sisu is a run-of-the-mill action movie that is very minimalist but still manages to display a personality that many of the CGI-heavy, assembly-line behemoths of Hollywood lack. For an action aficionado, Sisu will definitely be a breath of fresh air by reminding them of the simple days when Bruce Willis or Stallone managed to punch their way out of situations.

Darkest Moment: Dialogue driven War thriller...

As an Indian, Churchill is no hero for me. The guy is an imperialist responsible for many atrocities like the Bangal Famine. His attitude towards Indians is condemnable. He forced Indian soldiers to fight for England and used Indian resources for the effect of war. There are many accounts of the valor of British soldiers in World War 2, but not much is heard about Indian soldiers who fought in the war and the Indian wealth used in fighting it. There is much for me to loathe him as deep as Hitler from an Indian view point.

Now, when I watch a movie made about Churchill, should I permit my bias to meddle with enjoying it? I am of the opinion that history is history, but when you make a fictional movie or write a novel by adapting an historical event, you should be ready to grant it a certain leeway for dramatic effect. Otherwise it is better to watch a documentary.

So when I sat to watch Darkest Hour, fully knowing the premise of it, I was all ready to watch it unbiased and take only the good things out of it. Darkest Hour is the story about Churchill's ascent to prime-ministership as a compromise candidate and how he manages to steer the opinion of his parliament and the public towards fighting Nazi threat instead of negotiating for peace.

The movie is mainly dialogue driven. But after finishing it, I had the effect of watching a thriller. There are no action sequences or battle scenes, and absolutely no suspense because we all are pretty aware how it turned out to be. But the rapid breathless pacing and the urgent atmosphere makes it feel like a thriller. Surprisingly, the movie has moments of humor and sentiment interspersed, which helps enormously in its enjoyment.

I had an issue with a scene were Churchill goes to public to ask their opinion. It was a sudden change of atmosphere and tone the movie was taking and so unbecoming of the man whom we saw till that moment. The scene doesn't seem probable and its depiction is also a bit unrealistic. I feel now that it was more like a dream that he had and not an actual happening though nothing in the movie substantiate my version.

Gary Oldman deserves his Academy Award for best actor for his characterisation of Churchill. To be using that much prosthetic and make up and still emote the subtlest nuances, is indeed great talent. He makes the man more endearing and human than his textbook depictions. I'm sure the sensitivity that his  Churchill displays in many scenes is a cinematic liberty to make us root for him.

If you loved the Nolan movie Dunkirk, you will be glad to see a more wider historic look on it here. The movie is a companion piece to Dunkirk and provide necessary exposition that Nolan never bothers to provide us.

Book Review: Early One Morning by Robert Ryan

For writers around the globe, wars were always a treasure trove of inspiration. Every war generates its own share of stories in every color. Among all the wars, The Second world War remains the one that has been a constant source of inspiration to countless story tellers. One reason may be its magnitude- most of the nations took sides in that war and fighting happened on almost all the continents known then. Another reason may be the unpleasant memories of the holocaust. That atrocity of men against men has generated a separate genre in literature. The war novel, Early One Morning by Robert Ryan is an attempt to tell a story based on the resistance movement within France against German Invasion.

Most of the major characters in this novel are either ones who really lived, or is loosely based on real people. The story starts when an English man, William Grover- Williams enters the arena of car racing and become a major figure driving for Bugatti. Robert Benoist, the French man who led the team till then becomes his major rival when both of them fall for the affection of same lady- Eve Aubicq. Later Williams marries Eve and eventually he and Robert become thick friends. The break out of Second World War and subsequent invasion of France by Germany causes them to start a resistance movement against Germans within France aided by British secret agency. The war becomes a field to test their love, loyalty and honor.

The story unfolds in two different time lines. One follows an old woman, Rose Miller, in 2001, trying to explore the contents in an old car buried deep inside a lake in Austria. Another one starts inside an artist’s studio in Versailles in 1928, and follows the rise of Williams as a race car driver and his involvement in French Resistance against Germans. Both narratives merge at the end, when we find out the mission of Rose Miller. The tempo of the novel is quite slow at the starting. It takes its sweet time in establishing the characters and the premise. There is no much action in the initial parts other than car racing.  But this initial built up helps us in appreciating the action that follows during the war, because by that time we start feeling for the characters thrown into a whirlpool of love, friendship, betrayal, loyalty espionage and violence.

I enjoyed reading this early novel from Robert Ryan. It is epic, entertaining and has something for everyone. Combining of fact and fiction is technique that requires skill. Robert Ryan is at ease doing it. I would recommend Early One Morning for those who like their stories well told and don’t mind a bit of inaction in a story about war. 

A farewell to arms: Apolitically anti war

A farewell to arms by Ernest Hemingway is perhaps one of the most unromantic, unsentimental novel I have ever read. This does not make it dull or boring. On the contrary, this semi autobiographical work is a gritty, realistic portrayal of men and ladies serving in war, their struggles and cynicism. 

Image from the site: readitcookit.wordpress.com 

Basically a tragic love story, set during world war 1, this is a first person account of Frederic Henry, an American, working for the ambulance unit of Italian army. He falls in love with an English nurse, Catherine Berkley. He gets wounded and is moved to the same hospital where she works. By the time he is healed, she get pregnant. Henry is termed a deserter during one retreat and gets interrogated by battle police who wants to execute them. He escapes and gets to Catherine. Both of them escapes to Switzerland and spend some good time there. But during child birth, Catherine and newborn baby dies. Henry walks back to his hospital in rain.

The novel does not preach the devastations of war, nor does it portrays exaggerated sufferings of soldiers and civilians involved in it and is in no way a political statement. Even the major tragedy in the climax cannot be directly traced to the effect of war. Still this novel very subtly shows the anguish created by war, in the minds of those affected. The casual banter among soldiers, Henry's duologue with the priest, all are efforts to forget the dooming end the war can have on them. Even the love affair sometimes feels as a cover to remove the reality for some time from the minds of lovers. 

On other news, I watched these two delightful movies: Malayalam movie Pranchiyettan and the Saint and Tamil movie Adukalam. 

The first one is a satire, about the idiocies men will do to attain some fame and recognition. Mammotty stars as Francis, who is a wealthy business man, with only one sorrow. He don't get the recognition that other well educated members of his society enjoys. He tries to get it through many ways and all backfires. The format of the movie is very interesting. He meets St Francis in a church and he describes his story to him. Finally he realizes the fallacy of his attempts. Mammotty steals the show with his antics as Aripranchi (as Francis is called in his community). 

The second one belongs to that numerous Madurai movies hitting movie screen after the success of Paruthiveeran. Adukalam tells the story of cock fighting in interiors of Madurai. The main achievement of this movie is the blending of  artistic and commercial elements so beautifully. Dhanush and all the supporting cast does a good job. 

Yossarian's struggles

Read the novel Catch 22 last week... Many people from shelfari had recommended this book to me. That is the main reason I searched and found this anti war novel. And it turned out great! The novel is written by Joseph Heller and when it was published first in 60s there was very limited backing from critics.. Months later when it got published on paperback it went on to become a huge best seller.

Catch 22 is the story of Yossarian, the Chief bombardier of American airforce unit ('Officers, You are American soldiers! Soldiers in no other army can claim that!')