About.com Rating
The Bottom Line
A challenging, artistic and ultimately rewarding exploration of the nature of evil and redemption.
Pros
- Great acting
- Dark, eerie atmosphere
- Picturesque
Cons
- A bit confusing and open to interpretation
Description
- Starring Ville Virtanen, Tommi Eronen, Viktor Klimenko, Rain Tolk, Kari Ketonen, Sonja Petajajarvi, Vilhelmiina Virkkunen
- Directed by Antti-Jussi Annila
- Rated R
- DVD Release Date: October 27, 2009
Guide Review - 'Sauna' DVD Review
Scandinavian horror movies have hit a renaissance in the 21st century, with Let the Right One In garnering acclaim worldwide and lower-brow fare like Cold Prey and Dead Snow receiving international exposure. Now, emerging from Finland is Sauna, a somber period piece that was featured in the 2008 Toronto Film Festival.
The setting is the Finnish-Russian border in 1595. The 25-year war between Finland and Russia is over, and a new border between the nations is being drawn by Finnish bothers Eerik, a war-scarred hothead, and Knut, a sensitive, cerebral type.
During their journey, the brothers take refuge in the cabin of a local father and daughter, but when Eerik suspects that the dad is a Russian sympathizer, he kills him, while Knut shields the girl by locking her in a cellar. As they continue on, Knut sees ghostly images of the girl following them. Having thought that Eerik let her out of the cellar, he's horrified to find out days later that he did not.
The brothers discover an uncharted village in the middle of a swamp whose inhabitants' strange behavior -- gouging their eyes out, for instance -- appears to be related to a nearby sauna.
In Finnish folklore, saunas wash away sins, but as Knut is haunted by the girl from the cellar and Eerik is tormented by those he's killed in battle, it seems as if this sauna is bringing sins to life.
Sauna isn't for everyone. It's deliberately paced, introspective and lacks much of the gore and cheap scares of standard Hollywood horror. Also, whether due to the storytelling or the translation, there's significant ambiguity that leaves much of the film up to interpretation. As frustrating as the vagueness can be, the sheer artistry of the direction, the emotional acting, the eerily grim setting and the powerful climax make for an engrossing experience.
The DVD
No special features.
Movie: B
DVD: F