Sauna

Following the end of the decades-long war between Russia and Sweden, a group of soldiers from both countries is assigned the task of defining a new border. Among this group are Eerik and Knut, two brothers who couldn't be more different. The former is a vicious soldier who has been fighting his entire life, while the latter is a civilized collegian who came along due to his expertise in crafting maps. On a scouting run separate from the rest of the group, the two encounter a farmer and his daughter. Bad things happen and the brothers rejoin the expedition the next morning, but what transpired at the remote farm leads to severe feelings of guilt for Knut. He even feels that he's being followed. Continuing their trek across the barren terrain, the men eventually come across a mysterious town where no such place should logically exist. What's more, something seems very off with the inhabitants and, more importantly, with the sauna that stands just outside of the village's reach.

I caught this back in early December on a cold, dreary night. As much as I despise cold weather, it actually made for a fitting atmosphere in which to watch this film. Not just because of the snowy locales or skies drained of color, but also due to the chilling predicament of the characters and the weight of the film's themes. Sauna is a picture that festered in my mind for a good while afterward. I didn't know what to expect going in, but I came out thinking that this was one of the most intriguing horror films I had seen in years. I bought the DVD shortly after my initial viewing, though I still have yet to revisit it. All these months later, it continues to pop back into my head from time to time. It has stayed with me in a way that only a truly haunting piece of work could. I intend to re-watch it when I feel that the timing is right, not before.

The film boasts a strong period setting and some effectively unsettling moments (all about that first time Knut catches a glimpse of a figure across the swamp) set against a mood of pure despair. The characters here are as cold and gloomy as the atmosphere which surrounds them. The acting is resoundingly strong across the board, most notably that of Ville Virtanen as the bloodthirsty Eerik. His character is that of a murderous sociopath who has never known anything but war, yet Virtanen instills the part with a certain sense of empathy and regret underneath the seething hatred. We are also privy to cinematography that, while dark and drained of life, has an exquisite beauty to it. You really feel the chilled air right along with the characters. I'm still not sure that I fully understand everything that goes on in the film, but hey, half of the fun is speculating. There are numerous layers here to keep your mind busy with interpretation. Oh, and the ending is quite something as well!

Alas, discussion around the web appears to be sparse when it comes to this title. If you like eerie, artistic horror, you owe it to yourself to give Sauna a shot. You may not care for it, as this kind of film will never be for everyone, but you will witness one of the more unique genre entries in many a year. All in all, it's a fascinating film that is rewarding in more ways than I can count.

Two brothers, part of a border-recognition treaty detachment after a very long war, confront and deal with the wartime acts of brutality and violence of the older brother. The older brother has been part of this war for 25 years; the younger brother has been studying to become a professor and has been comparatively sheltered from the horrors. The younger brother comes face to face with his older brother's moral deterioration, and, disturbed by the older brother's acts of war, eventually persuades (and forces) the older brother to completely atone for those actions. The amount of spookiness achieved with no special effects other than blood, is truly remarkable, and a lesson for Hollywood. And in the end, the viewer is left with an uncertainty as to who must pay for sins, and why, and whether anyone, ever, is truly innocent.

The movie is beautifully done, with dark wet imagery and good acting. However, you either have to be Finnish to understand or I was too tired to get the message. All I could get was that for the Finns the sauna is a cultural heirloom, dating way before their christianizing, a place where they believed to wash their sins. Finns and their sins. Sorry, couldn't help it :) However, left long enough to rot, those sins become unattonable and even if you face them, it is pointless. I guess this is one of those life lessons that the Christian religion is desperately trying to hide from us.

Anyway, as I said, great imagery and the feeling of desolation and burden of sin is almost palpable. I liked the characters as well, deep and sharp. However, it was a slow thing and never in the movie there was any "aha!" moment. One has to make an effort to watch the film and to understand it. Being Finnish probably helps, too.

Euro-horror is doing good business lately. France, Great-Britain and Spain are all battling on the front lines, but smaller countries like Belgium are producing splendid genre works too. Enter Finland, a somewhat cinematic void for me, showing their muscles with Sauna. A horror film that fairs well with its European peers but also succeeds in giving Finnish cinema a face, although a grim one.

The film's premise is kept rather vague and for people not living close to Finland or familiar with its history the film might take a flying start. Two teams, one Finnish and one Russian, are sent out to draft a new border after a long-raging war. They cross the barren lands in order to fight a more civilized war in trying to decide who gets what. Even though the film is set a good 400 years back in history, it could've well been just 50 years ago. Not that the film looks too modern for its setting, it's just that the characters are never really surrounded by recognizable cultural references. Safe from a pair of glasses and the clothing, it's all swamp and unforgiving nature that is served to the audience.

The two teams don't get along very well, but the one really stirring things up is Erik, a long-life warrior who has trouble adjusting to the new-found peace. Even though he wears glasses to fake a distinguished look, he is a true barbarian, murdering and abusing everyone coming across his way. The only one he seems to care for is his little brother, who was sheltered from the war as college student. The first half of the film is spent drawing out the relationships between the different characters, giving the audience some time to adjust to the happenings in the film. From the moment they arrive in an unlisted village in the middle of a swamp, the the core plot and the titular Sauna make their entrance.

Sauna has a couple of things going for it. First of all there is the performance of Ville Virtanen, portraying the Erik character as someone that is simply terrifying. As simple as those glasses may be, they make him out as someone with a certain sense of civilization while in reality he is as bad as they come by. His performance is hard as nails and unsettling. The rest of the casts plays along nicely, although none of them really make a big impression.

Visually the film is very consistent. Grey, dark colors and rough landscapes make up most of the visual scenery. No bright colors are seen, even the blood in the film is dark red, almost black. The camera work is solid too and helps in setting the atmosphere nicely. But even though it gives the film plenty of flair, there's never that little extra to make the film rise above its rivals. The soundtrack too is extremely fitting, with some very nifty sound deformations and good, supporting music. It has an ambient-like quality only furthering the grim and dark atmosphere of the film.

As the film progresses the story is slowly revealed an even though the premise is intriguing, you'll be left guessing at least for a little on how it all fits together. The ending is somewhat vague and even though impressive, won't bring you any clear answers. Looking back at the film, it has a lot of parallels with Vinyan (even small details - just think of the shots of water becoming blood-soaked), though Sauna is a much more subdued film, without any real climaxes or cinematic bursts. Depending on what you like more, you might prefer this one over Vinyan which has more curves compared to the straight line that is this film.

Nonetheless, Sauna is an impressive experience, solid in just about every department. Extremely strong lead, nice and fitting visuals, great soundtrack and intriguing storyline. And if you won't miss the climaxes, this will be exactly your thing. A recommendation for all fans of European horror out there. Just don't be expecting guts and gore, Sauna plays at atmosphere, grit and travels through the darker parts of the human mind. 4.0*/5.0*

The supernatural permeates this enigmatic tale, in which three Russian soldiers, a Finnish warrior and his cartographer brother try to map borders, at the end of the bloody war between Russia and Finland (under the rule of Sweden) during the 16th century. There is something of a chivalrous nature in their mission, but the savage extermination of a peasant and his daughter, unleashes the center of the tragic story.

Halfway through the journey, the company comes across a village in the middle of marshy lands and, next to the settlement, a mysterious sauna, in which people can wash away the evils they have committed in their lives, according to a Russian text, written by the monks who originally inhabited the village.

In the final third, horror dominates the story, following the lines of graphic terror, in a way that loses the balance of the previous hour. Until that moment the film has been carried with an inscrutable tone, a foreboding atmosphere and fear inspired by the unknown, accompanied by a constant musical commentary that does not get in the way, like other times, in so many films. The climax scenes are more repellent than terrifying and not because they are visually unpleasant or ineffective, but because of their cryptic quality, because they are so inexplicable, between superstitious behavior and the true expiation of the guilt of these men. Fortunately, in the coda, the film resumes its initial tone and returns to its opening scenes, which suggest the ironic final destination of the cartographic mission.

«Sauna» is a very interesting work that deserves to be seen, whose mixture of history, politics and terror, reminded me of «Ravenous», Antonia Bird's exceptional horror drama on expansionism and cannibalism (and cowardice). The film is guided with admirable rigor by the director and interpreted with aplomb by the entire cast. Despite everything, the recommendation persists on my part, because everything that precedes is so good. that the movie deserves it.