There are multiple layers of interest in this film. On one hand, it's an entertaining horror movie for those that just want a Friday night film, and on the other, deeper hand it provides those who want a message something to take away from the theater with. I was there for the world prim- ere in Toronto and the director was there to share with us what he intended to say in the movie. It's not especially profound, but wise none-the-less. He said that if you go too far along in life without facing those you hurt then eventually it's too late to make amends, that eventually if you try to face your victims, they'll be faceless. He did say parts of the film were left up for interpretation, but overall, it seemed like there was little left that remained open. So, enjoy a great atmospheric horror movie (and it is a great horror movie in itself) or look for more.
Add a Review
-
dschmeding5 April 2009If someone told me "hey, watch this movie about a haunted sauna, its a really scary horror movie!".. I guess I'd stay as far away from the movie as possible. Luckily I saw some pictures of this Finnish movie and they looked really great.
Everyone looking for a horror movie should stay away from this. Its pretty laughable that so many people focus on the sauna and some ghosts in this movie as typical horror clichés while the director works so obviously on making every single piece and image in this movie a symbol for guilt.
"Sauna" or "Filth" (which is the far more fitting title referring to a statement by one of the Russian soldiers in this movie) is placed after the Russian/Swedish war around 1600 when a group of Russian and Swedish soldiers are setting for the new borders. The opening of the movie with the drawing of borders in blood and then the first shots of water turning red already indicate where this movie is going. Everything is carried by some great cinematography and the lead characters, 2 brothers of a very different kind. One is Knut, a mapmaker with high goals, the other is Erik, a soldier with a grim past who has his problems adjusting to the new peace.
Erik constantly looking for trouble soon gets the group of soldiers into problems when messing with a family. The town the group soon finds in the middle of a swamp becomes a clear symbol of Erics previous atrocities with as many inhabitants as victims on Erics list, a strange girl reminding them of recent wrongdoings (also involving a sauna) and animals and people who clawed out their eyes. The whole issue of not being able to face your past is present throughout the movie that is more like a fable. There is plenty of interesting historical information as well as philosophical dialog including the story about the king and filth or the thoughts if hell is just a place that god turned his back on. The place is soon presented and the irony is that yet everyone is fighting for the land soon there is a place that no one wants to take but rather wants to give to his enemy.
"Sauna" is full of these abstract images and the finale is far from a clear resolution. After all the director clearly tries to make the viewer have his own thoughts. Actually I am still working on figuring the closing images out but however this is a damn interesting and different movie with great cinematography, acting and an interesting setting. There sure are some horror elements in this movie, but I'd rather consider this a mix of art-house movie and drama and its definitely worth giving a chance. -
Strikingly beautiful Finnish art house 'horror' film about guilt, religion, sin and punishment, set in the 16th century, at the end of the Russian/Swedish war.
It's full of atmosphere, symbolism, and unanswered questions. Two Swedish brothers/soldiers -- one intellectual, the other violent and borderline mad -- come to a strange town where they are confronted with eerie reminders of their sins, and of those they have killed in war.
Slow paced, but not boring. However, the underlying ideas do get stretched a bit thin over time, and the occasional turn to horror clichés was a little disappointing given the generally high level of intelligence and originality.
Still, interesting enough that I would give it another look now that I understand what its getting at, and gorgeous enough that I'll still enjoy it, even if I'm once again left with mixed feelings about some of the content.
Mention also must be made of the arresting performance by Ville Virtanen as the violent Eerik, recalling Max Von Sydow in his prime. -
Cujo10823 August 2010Following 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. -
EdgarST21 March 2021The 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. -
swearm_x21 January 2010...missing the target after all.
Great in terms of stylish clear cinematography, look and details of costumes, effects, make-up, sets, the acting, lights, character-building and the main idea/plot.
Not so great is several. On the one hand, horror arises only for thin-skinned people in my opinion, but this is OK. Though it may have been achieved by giving the certain scenes time to unfold and also more depth in that(=>longer film). On the other hand, despite the foreboding symbols and events and the over all somehow conclusive story are some "mysteries" not quite fitting into the puzzle, especially not the ending. May it be because of a need for a controversial, "thoughtful" end or because of lack of better ideas or lack of movie-time. Anyhow, it doesn't fit for me.
In the end it is another missed chance, despite very good ideas, resources(sets, costumes, filming,...) and acting caused by either bad producing (pressure, constraining) or simply bad writing/directing in terms of bringing all together for the masterpiece. And if it has to be longer for that - be it! Don't be shy! -
The Finnish aren't known for their horror movies, and now I know why. The period piece, Sauna, which revolves around two brothers in 1575 who are assigned to set the new borders between recently warring Sweden and Russia is certainly a visual treat... but short on story.
Sauna takes on us a journey of what exactly it means to 'redeem' ones self, and if true redemption can even be achieved. One poster tagged it as the unsettling area between paganism and Christianity. While I hoped there would be a true exploration of what I perceived to be a supernatural tale about sin vs redemption, what I got was a real quick period piece about a Japanese style ghost.
The visually stunning film does a wonderful job of conveying a very unsettling landscape... one that does seem devoid of any type of "god", and the main character of Eerik is wonderfully portrayed by Ville Virtanen. But overall the film seemed too short, lacked closure, and the obvious ending that stresses 'open to interpretation' comes off more like 'closed to thought.' Even though it runs at 84 minutes, and with subtitles... the overall effect is impressive to a degree. But the overall absence of expository dialog in the last 20 minutes leaves one almost baffled.
I expect good things from the director... Antti-Jussi Annila. And while Sauna is a step in the right direction of good movie-making, it trips over it's subject matter at the "finnish" line. -
SnoopyStyle11 October 2015It's 1595 after a 25 year war between Sweden-Finland and Russia. Two commissions are sent to mark the new border. The southern commission would not make it to the meeting place. Battle hardened Knut leads the Sweden-Finnish delegation. His brother Eerik is hoping to make a map of the uncharted territories and present it to the King. They brutalize a father and daughter in an isolated home at the swamps with their Russian icon. Eerik leaves the girl locked in the cellar storage. Then he finds that they're being followed by her spirit. They find a village in the middle of the swamp.
I like the moodiness of the wilderness. However, I have a tough time connecting with these characters. I would have liked Eerik not lock the girl in the cellar. Knut should have been the one. Eerik's innocence should be maintained more. He could still feel guilty without actually being guilty. It would also make the brothers' relationship more complicated. The tension in the village could have been heightened. -
u99249124 July 2010I've been watching horror since childhood, and it has become a tiring, arduous task trying to find a flick that satisfies my elitist craving. I can't begin to tell you how happy (and genuinely frightened) I was to watch this.
Everything about this movie is original. Set in 16th century Europe, the story's foundations are firmly planted in realism. The horror comes from masterful application of suspense, fear and dread that is gradually introduced in each scene. By the time you reach the climax you're paralytic; gripped by fear – eager to watch to the end but terrified by what may happen next.
Having said that, this movie isn't for everyone. If you're after a bunch of over-sexed, blonde and artificially enhanced teenagers being hunted down by a knife yielding psycho – you're gonna hate this. If you're after fast-paced action, you'll be yawning throughout the film. If you're after a complex horror film marked by developed characterisation, a unique premise and set in an unfamiliar time in history, you will be pleased.
This is a rare, horror film that focuses on atmosphere and restrained script-writing, resulting in a mature, sophisticated experience for the discerning viewer. Grab a glass of red and enjoy! -
"Sauna" is about two Finnish soldier brothers assigned to map the new border with Russia in 1595.They come across a mysterious cement sauna in the middle of a swamp.When people enter it,they are forced to confront the sins of their past."Sauna" is an eerie and lyrical horror film with slow-moving pace and plenty of subtle creepiness.The director of it Antti-Jussi Annila said in an interview:"Old Finnish people,before Christianity,believed that the sauna was the place to wash your sins away so you can go on living without the bad things you have done",so basically the main themes of "Sauna" are redemption and damnation.The film includes a haunting image of a ghostly girl with face drowned in filth,who was left to die locked away in a cellar by one of the brothers."Sauna" is a perfect example of existentialist horror with drained-out look.7 out of 10.
-
donkey_dick15 May 2022A man with such horrible vision would not be a soldier or any kind of brute in the first place. Makes no sense. He is totally blind without the glasses so he wouldve been killed a long time ago. That really bothered me about the film. The editing wasn't too hot either.
-
peas-n-carrots25 October 2008Having premiered his debut feature "Jade Warrior" at Toronto in 2006, A.J. Annila returned with his second film "Sauna", yet another blend of two unexpected genres. He was originally approached to make the movie as a teen slasher-comedy, but thankfully the producers had enough faith in him to make a serious horror movie that would appeal to both the art house crowd and die hard horror fans.
Sauna follows a group of Swedish and Russian soldiers who are assigning new borders after a decades long war between the two countries has ended. In this group are two brothers; Erik, the lifelong soldier who keeps a running tally of the innocent people he's killed, and Knut, the younger more pacifist brother who is part of the group because he is an expert mapmaker. After an unexpected encounter with a farmer and his daughter, the two are haunted by unshakable guilt as they continue with the expedition. The soldiers find a small isolated village in the very center of a large swamp, an eerie place where no children have been born in years and the old do not die. It seems almost as if God has forgotten them.
With the discovery of the village and its solitary sauna, Annila builds on the horror aspects of the film and presents some genuinely scary images. The review on the TIFF website says the film recalls both Tarkovsky and Eli Roth, and I agree; Sauna is at once contemplative and terrifying. It raises questions about morality and guilt, and at the same time has scenes that are as scary as a Japanese ghost horror. The acting from Ville Virtanen and Tommi Eronen, who played the brothers, was superb. The cinematography was was also really beautiful. Overall, I feel like this is one of the best horrors of the last few years and it is highly recommended. 8/10 -
ricardojorgeramalho4 January 2023The border
A one-way trip to the confines of a war that lasted a whole generation, in which each one is confronted with the final judgment of their crimes, in a mysterious sauna, erected in the middle of a swamp, where an old Orthodox monastery was installed, found abandoned and reinhabited by a group of war refugee villagers.
Located right on the border between the two nations, this sauna is both an altar to the memory of the victims and a place of eternal judgment for the guilty.
An interesting idea developed, however, for an audience more interested in the universe of horror and fantasy. -
experten-15 August 2009It is a stylish gloomy film. But it is very boring film. Action occurs very slowly. Events are not present. Besides, the film contains too many anachronisms and historical errors.The uniform of soldiers, their ranks, a manner to speak and many other things does not correspond to time in which there is a film action.The sense of events also is not clear. Nevertheless, once it is possible to look. From the pleasant moments it is necessary to note good work of actors. Gloom of a film is well allocated thanks to excellent work of the camera man. This film can very much it will be pleasant to fans of gloomy mystical thrillers. My rating 4/10
-
thelittleother26 July 2011I had quite high expectations of this movie and was a bit disappointed. It's an unusual, intelligent and creepy ghost story, but it has an ambition to do something more distinctive that I didn't feel was followed through completely.
The performances and screenplay are fine. The film is nicely shot, with some lovely moments but also some lapses into generic horror-movie gestures. The sauna itself is a fine addition to the history of scary buildings in movies -- it looks as if it doesn't belong in the landscape at all, and the minute you see it you know something's wrong. The cheesy orchestral score lets the film down a bit, though.
Not all of the things that happen along the way are explained; some of them just seem to be put there for the sake of being scary. The ending is impressive but it left me wondering whether all the pieces leading up to it really fitted together.
I suppose two different films seem to be fighting over the same 90 minutes: an art-house movie that uses elements of fairy tale to explore existential questions about sin and redemption and a haunted-house movie that works by jump-scares, toothless villagers and gushing blood. The two never really came together for me, but I can't say I didn't enjoy the ride. -
cjonesas29 November 2020A movie to be watched for its acting and very beautiful and mystical sceneries. Almost everything else is left to be desired. As soon as they discover the village and its unique surrounding! things start to crumble into Ring-like "Horror" cliche. Wouldn't have minded if the happenings were a little more well-woven and logical in the true sense of Horror logical; but, it was just atmosphere and scene after scene of crumbling nonsense.
People appear. People disappear. That's half-satisfying only in a 83-minute movie with an important goal as the background.- (+) The acting was good. Ville Virtanen shone in his very personal and characteristic way.
- (+) The cinematography was very beautiful and set the mood.
- (+) The score was on par.
- (-) The Horror logic as deep as a well.
- (-) The ending lacking.
Expected more, but, nevertheless, very nice visually. As for its message, no clue, discover it by yourself. -
Comcast is going to reimburse my $6.99 for this half good, half crap movie, believe that. First of all, whoever slapped the subtitles on here has bad comprehension of our English language. Some of the stuff wasn't put in context right(if that makes any sense). Secondly, it started off w/ the right atmosphere & excellent potential, than right smack in the middle it went off in left field! I mean waaay off, and never found it's way back! I had to keep rewinding b/c I'm the type that has to understand what I'm watching to enjoy a movie. It start making no sense once they found the village midway through the film. It's like the director didn't know where to go w/ it...or was in a rush to end it. The editing was horrific towards the ending also. Example: One minute Eerik was sitting down having a sensible conversation w/ a lady, the next minute he was way over at the sauna(swamp) flipping out. How he got there or why he even went is beyond me? Than his brother (Knut) was in the village & show some men talking. The very next scene it's suddenly night with Knut standing at a doorway in a trance. Two eerie looking arms reach out & stick a tooth in his mouth. Than the 2 border soldiers they arrived with appear behind him and he turns around and tells them to save their soul, and hands them the tooth..STUPID. The scene than changes to the next day. They never really explained to us "exactly" what the building in the middle of the swamp (was), or how his brother became whatever he became, or allowed us to c what he became for that matter. At one point, the only child in the village said dude's brother isn't the same person anymore & took everyone to the swamp, but it never tells us why or what he did w/ them at the swamp. Nor did we ever see them again & only seen the back of the brother b/c the film ended 5, 10 minutes later. The ending puts the icing on the cake & really throws us off. I was like, what just happened??? The acting was powerful & really good, but man, the director blew this movie BIG TIME
-
dbborroughs24 October 2010Finnish horror film about the aftermath of the Swedish/Russian war. During a mapping expedition to set the border the parties run into a god forsaken town with a sauna in the middle of a swamp.
Will anyone get out alive?
Moody atmospheric film will either scare the snot out of you or bore you to death. I'm somewhere in the middle, liking the feel,but not sure its scary enough. Regardless of what you think you can't argue it looks great and feels creepy.
Worth a look
6.5 out of 10 -
mhelen9 October 2009Its about a group of border demarcation team stumbling into some kind of witch black hole kinda village .When they arrive the village is been repopulated only relatively recently by a group of finish refugees .Who tried to get away from raiding marauding Russian cossacks only to get into bigger trouble .Apparently upon arriving to this place they lost their fertility and lots of people chewed out their tongues and scratched their eyes out .There is something roaming the place of such horrendous entity that they prefer to mutilate themselves than face
it .Or the self mutilation is the result of encounter ? Well u never know . There is this creepy whitewashed cube like sauna in the middle of a swamp from which radiates all that creepedom .Your enter in it u are done u are history . Subtlest ermm...they're really annoying!and Finnish language is really creepy to listen to it . I swear they sounded like those things from District 9 movie! Alien.Couldn't they make them speak English? Well its my first Finnish movie and I think it will be last I ever will see. But to be fair I don't think I can be considered a fair judge of this kinda of movies . Thats not my idea of horror I like gore and blood flying all over . People who like ghost ,supernatural horror movies might like I dunno -
Onderhond18 March 2009Euro-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* -
orgrinrt7 July 2021I've wanted to see this for the longest time, since I first saw the DVD case in a renting shop, back in 2008 or 2009 I think. That's some 12 years, during which I infrequently recalled the desire, but there was always something else going on and it never happened.
Until now.
I have to say, it was very different than I had envisioned. I can't recall why I thought it to be different, maybe there was some ad somewhere, or a trailer, that painted a slightly misleading image and it distorted further as time went on and my memory got warped along the way.
Be it as it may, I have to admit I enjoyed it during the entire length, until the very finale, which I found a bit anti-climactic. But I won't go into spoiler territory -- see for yourself.
The landscapes, the setting; all the props and the costumes, they were all superb. We rarely see this part of the world in a historic piece that goes further back than the early 1900's. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about the setting. Granted, it is bleak and tormenting, but in its own way it's very fresh and unique. That may not be the case (a bunch of equally bleak settings come to mind from elsewhere), but something about it feels out of ordinary. In a good way, that is.
The acting was generally good. As usual, Virtanen delivered in spades and it was truly a treat to watch the character. It felt real, it felt authentic, it was great.
The brother, on the other hand, Knut... Most of the time it was almost on par with Virtanen's delivery, but then at some other times it... just wasn't. At times his character broke the illusion for me, the charade where I'm convinced this is a real thing I'm witnessing, and suddenly I was very aware I'm in this reality and just watching a movie. I think it was the accent, the way he delivered certain lines. The acting itself was convincing enough, so I think people who don't understand Finnish probably never felt this disconnection. But it wasn't that bad, just a minor thing that bothered me.
Now, the story itself and the pacing of it, it was all great. I don't mind my movies slow and taking their time to tell the perfect version of its story. There were no moments I felt particularly bored or unfocused.
The atmosphere was seriously tormenting, especially after the middle point of the film. It wasn't as much a horror movie, as it was a... tormenting movie?
It's definitely not your mainstream type of "cheap" horror, and it's not gore-y or shocking either. It employs a few tricks common to horror flicks, but it's not the kind of horror you'd hear your buddy randomly talk about. I think many people would probably feel a little annoyed after this one, if they had thought it to be the "ordinary", blockbuster-y type of horror.
But let's talk about the ending. Without spoiling anything.
When the finale hit, I was starting to worry there'd be no satisfying resolutions. Suddenly the pace cranked up to 11 and it felt weirdly vague about everything. And then, those worries came to life as the credits started rolling in the screen. Abruptly, I felt.
It still bugs me that a lot of very central questions just don't have an answer. I get the idea of bathing the whole thing in symbolism and then leaving plenty of room for the viewer to ponder on the themes and the questions.
But it felt like some very simple things, that probably shouldn't be left to the viewer to guess at, were left open. Things that would entirely change the tone of the story in that one single moment when it'd be revealed.
When we started approaching the finale, I realized I had had all these theories of what was going on, what had happened. I was, without noticing, building all these overly complex explanations for certain things that I won't spoil, or twists in the very setting of the story, but the movie left it all open in a way that makes all of them equally unlikely as the most simplest, literal take on the whole thing.
All the possible explanations, twists, they were all left with a sense of unlikeliness, so there's not much to ponder about.
Maybe I'm a simple person and just don't possess the cognitive capabilities to understand the story. Or maybe it's intended to be taken literally, in which case it feels even worse.
But other than the ending, the movie was great. If the ending had been a bit more fleshed out, or more likely, better explained to simpletons like me, this could've been an easy 8.5 or a 9 from me.
But it's well worth a watch, if you like a slow-paced, tormenting experience. -
trashgang24 September 2010For me the movie was good. I would like to end here because I think I missed something in the story. It's a lot of blah blah and slowly it goes to the mystery of the sauna but sadly I wasn't glued to the screen. I have seen so many reviews in papers and on the Net saying that it is good but for me it was mediocre. It has great cinematography, and uses silence and the shots to tell the story over dialog. But still, it was supposed to be a chilling scary movie that draws you in and makes you feel the fear that is on screen. But not for me. Am I to deep into horror that supernatural movies like this doesn't work for me, I just can tell. It stands on his own, almost no blood and still people were scared while watching it. Must be me I think. I better go thinking what I have just seen, in a sauna.
-
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.
-
nihatbarin27 March 2009I really don't understand why some viewers voted this crap so high,I bet there are so many horror movies with a lower rating but millions of times better than this.there are a couple of scenes which is supposed to fear but but doesn't fear at all.as always in European horror school,the movie has so-called subtle physchological (!) analysis,nonsense and boring long,long scenes that can make you sleep immediately and a few cheap tricks.thats all.I don't recommend this to anyone,if you really wonder what Finland movie industry cannot do,it is a good reference.Finnish people and other northern Europe countries should avoid making horror films because they all fail.except a Swedish horror drama " LET THE RIGHT ONE IN".this film,let the right one in, is a unique horror masterpiece but the rest is nothing.if u really want to watch something to make u sleep,Sauna is good choice.
-
Vincentiu4 November 2013impressive images. inspired script.Ville Virtanen in a role who remembers many others of Max von Sydow. many influences from Tarkovsky universe. a horror who search to be more than a ghost story. maybe reflection about sin and life sense, about worlds as ambiguous circles, about links between people. a form of poetry, dark, foggy, cruel, slow, full of need to be more than another film about fear. a beautiful film. for noble intentions. for special atmosphere. for the its soul - mixture between profound questions. but, in few scenes, it seems be a thin ice. a puzzle who dispose by perfect pieces made in the time of game. but , in essence, an inspired exploration of history laws.