WARNING! This article contains minor SPOILERS for Sisu!Sisu follows a gold prospector slaughtering World War II-era Nazis as they attempt to seize his collection, but is the event based on a true story? From Finnish filmmaker Jalmari Helander, the historical action film Sisu is a hit with critics, holding an impressive 96% Rotten Tomatoes score at the time of writing. The 91-minute film tells one of the most nonsensically thrilling World War II revenge movies since Quentin Tarantino's fictional Inglourious Basterds, with Sisu telling the tale of a one-man killing machine managing to take down any Nazi that dares to cross his path.

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Set during Germany and Finland’s real-life Lapland War in 1944, the gory action film Sisu primarily focuses on the character Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila), a veteran of the Winter War living in a secluded area of Lapland. While heading to deliver a substantial load of gold nuggets, Aatami is intercepted by a ruthless Nazi platoon planning to seize the gold. However, the Nazis soon realize that Aatami is actually the fabled fighter known as Koschei, A.K.A. “The Immortal,” leading to shockingly brutal encounters on the road. Considering Sisu includes real-life wars and regimes, the historical backdrop begs the question of whether the bloody Nazi-versus-gold-miner battle actually happened.

Sisu Is Not Based On A True Story

Jorma Tommila as Aatami Korpi in Sisu

Unfortunately, Sisu is not based on a true story or specific event from World War II. A one-man battle as epic and gorily unforgiving as the one depicted in Sisu certainly would have been put in the history books, but sadly the gold miner didn’t exist in real life. However, the Lapland War featured in Sisu was, indeed, a real historical conflict, which included a series of minor battles between Nazis armies and Finland resulting in significant damage to Lapland. While the Nazis did go on scorched-earth missions toward the end of World War II in Lapland, their retreat wasn’t based on the exploits of a veteran gold miner who was especially talented at killing Nazis.

Are Any Of Sisu’s Characters Based On Real People?

Sisu movie cast

Sisu’s main character Aatami Korpi was not a real gold miner from World War II. However, while Aatami Korpi isn’t real, Helander noted to Ilta-Sanomat that he is inspired by the real-life Finnish sniper Simo Häyhä, nicknamed “The White Death.” Häyhä was a World War II sniper in the Winter War who is often regarded as the deadliest sniper in history, having been credited with over 500 kills. In 1940, Häyhä was disfigured by an explosive bullet and excused from fighting in the Continuation War, so he didn’t battle Nazis like Sisu’s main character (via History Extra).

The Nazi characters in Sisu are similarly not meant to depict real-life historical World War II German soldiers. Sisu’s main villain, SS officer Bruno Helldorf, isn’t based on one specific Nazi, but instead seems to be a combination of different real-life cases of brutal Nazi army leaders. Additionally, the Nazis’ hostages in Sisu aren’t inspired by real-life people from World War II, but the women’s characterizations and roles in the movie do bear striking similarities to Joe’s wives in George Miller’s hit action movie Mad Max: Fury Road. Considering Sisu’s Aatami Korpi has also been compared to John Wick, Helander’s characters appear to be just as inspired by movie figures as they are by real people.

Sources: Ilta-Sanomat, History Extra