Sauna (film)

Sauna
Directed by	Antti-Jussi Annila
Written by	Iiro Küttner
Produced by	Jesse Fryckman Tero Kaukomaa
Starring	Ville Virtanen Tommi Eronen Viktor Klimenko
Cinematography	Henri Blomberg
Edited by	Joona Louhivuori
Music by	Panu Aaltio
Production company	Bronson Club
Distributed by	Sandrew Metronome
Release dates	5 September 2008 (2008-09-05) (Toronto International Film Festival) 24 October 2008 (2008-10-24) (Finland)
Running time	83 minutes
Country	Finland
Language	Finnish
Budget	€930,679[1]

Sauna, also known as Filth^[2] or Evil Rising,^[3] is a 2008 Finnish horror film directed by Antti-Jussi Annila. The film was awarded three Jussi Awards in 2009: the best sound design, the best scenography and the best costumes.^[4][5][6] In addition, the film was nominated for best lead actor (Ville Virtanen), best lead actor (Tommi Eronen) and best editing.

Premise

At the end of the Russo-Swedish War (1590-1595), brothers Knut and Eerik are tasked with marking the border between Finland under Swedish rule and the Tsardom of Russia. Eerik is a cartographer hardened by a long war and studied in Stockholm. On the way, the brothers kill the peasant and leave his daughter in the basement to die, but in the marshes of the north, the ghost of the girl returns to persecute them. Upon arriving at a mysterious village in the middle of swamp, the brothers find a sauna in which they hope to be washed of their sins.^[1]

Cast

• Ville Virtanen as Eerik
• Tommi Eronen as Knut
• Viktor Klimenko as Semenski
• Rain Tolk as Rogosin
• Kari Ketonen as Musko
• Vilhelmiina Virkkunen as a daughter
• Taisto Reimaluoto as a householder
• Ismo Kallio as a village elder
• Dick Idman as Roukkula
• Kati Outinen as an old woman
• Sonja Petäjäjärvi as a boy

Release

Home media

The film was released on DVD by Mpi Home Video on October 27, 2009.^[7] The DVD has been released in the Nordic countries as well as in Germany, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom,^[8] as well as on blu-ray in Germany.^[9]

Reception

French film review website CinemaFantastique.net awarded it 3/4, praising the film's atmosphere, cinematography, and for effectively capturing the 16th century period. However, they criticized the film's non-linear story, and dialogue which made it difficult to fully understand the film.^[10] James Gillett from Digital Retribution gave the film a score of 4/5, writing, "Sauna is an impressive film; thematically rich and stunningly realised. It's the kind of horror movie seldom seen. Those who occasionally enjoy something a little more cerebral than your average horror effort will find themselves with a deeply rewarding and engaging film. Wash your sins. Step inside..."^[11] David Nusair from Reel Film Reviews, however, panned the film, awarding it no stars out of four, calling it "An abominable, utterly worthless piece of work".^[12]

References

1. "Sauna". ses.fi. The Finnish Film Foundation. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
2. "Sauna (2008)". elonet.fi. National Audiovisual Archive / Finnish Board of Film Classification. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
3. Migliorini, Matt (July 25, 2011). "DVD Releases: 'Evil Rising' ('Sauna')". cine-vue.com. Cine-Vue. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
4. Jussi-voittajat 2008 - Filmikamari (in Finnish)
5. Putoavia enkeleitä -elokuva kahmi näyttelijä-Jusseja - Kaleva (in Finnish)
6. Jussi-palkinnot jaettu - Elokuvauutiset.fi (in Finnish)
7. "Sauna (2008) - Antti-Jussi Annila". Allmovie.com. AllMovie. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
8. Evil Rising AKA Sauna AKA Sauna — Wash Your Sins (2008). DVDCompare.net.
9. Evil Rising AKA Sauna AKA Sauna — Wash Your Sins (Blu-ray) (2008). DVDCompare.net.
10. "Sauna - Sauna (2008) un film de Antti-Jussi Annila". CinemaFantastique.net. Metzgerin. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
11. Gillett, James. "Sauna DVD Review". Digital Retribution.com. James Gillett. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
12. Nusair, David. "Four Horror Films from IFC - Reviews by David Nusair". ReelFilm.com. David Nusair. Retrieved 23 May 2018.

External links

• Sauna at IMDb
• Sauna at Rotten Tomatoes
• Sauna at Letterboxd