Steam of Life (2010)
Two documentary film makers traveled around Finland interviewing Finnish men in the only place they are "allowed" to let their rough muted cover down, the sauna. This was by far the highest rated Finnish movie last year and received praise from critics as well as the audience. So I had quite high expectations when I finally saw it on telly. I must say it lived up to those expectations and then some. There's men from all around Finland coming from various backgrounds in various saunas talking about their life. And not the fun chatter people always talk in the sauna, but things that most Finnish men tend to keep buried inside as they have been raised to hide their emotions. It's like an insight to Finnish masculinity and essentially to male vulnerability. Between the stories the documentary shows beautifully shot Finnish scenery and portrays the crazy sauna culture. Even though the topics are quite universal, like love, death, family, friendship and life itself, I guess people who are not familiar with Finnish culture might not understand everything this documentary manages to dig up. But still I would highly recommend watching it as it's way more than just a look into the crazy sauna culture of Finland. And while it doesn't really break the stereotype of a Finnish man, it's still a beautiful, gripping and genuinely touching insight behind the muted shell.
90%
2 comments:
That Areena link is too old. They show it about a week after release.. -Dewlin
Yep, it worked when I posted it. Anywhoo I removed it so people don't feel bad that they missed it.
Post a Comment