Reviews

There are over two million saunas in Finland-an average of one for each household. If walls could talk, as the saying goes, the walls of these saunas would have hundreds of millions of stories like the ones in this film to tell. Steam of Life was more real and revealing than I expected it to be in many ways. The stereotype that men, especially those from Nordic countries, are more stoic and less emotional is completely negated by this film. When I think of the typical Nordic male, I think of someone hardened by years of harsh weather and the attitude of "keep your private life private" commonly held in that part of the world. Steam of Life showed me the exact opposite. It is an interesting film about Finnish men baring it all-literally and metaphorically.

Although nudity is common in Nordic films, the nudity in this documentary shocked me a little bit. Perhaps I was expecting less of it because I had the idea of a more formal interview-based documentary in mind. Perhaps it was because nudity in films is usually sexual. In the end, I realized that the camera angles the filmmakers used were intentional. The men telling their stories weren't hiding anything, so the cameras weren't going to either. Their bodies also told a story of their lives-some fit, some neglected, some old and worn, others young. It makes sense that they decided to use such a powerful metaphor. I just think they could've used less to get the point across.

While many of the stories were quite touching, there were a couple of anecdotes I really felt drawn to. I enjoyed the story one man told about his grandparents, and more specifically his grandfather. As a boy, he and his grandpa always chopped and stacked wood for the woodshed. This is how he remembers his grandfather-a man who was always chopping wood. Later in life, his grandpa gets dementia and moves to a nursing home. Even though he didn't always remember who the people were who visited, he always asked about how big his woodpile was. One day, when the man who was telling the story visited his grandfather and filled him in on the status of the woodpile, the old man started to cry and apologize. The storyteller later realized that his grandfather was trying to stockpile enough wood to provide for his wife for the rest of her life. I found this story of love and dedication very sweet. It reminded me of my own grandparents, who I watched go through the stages of Alzheimer's. I also have spent lots of time creating woodpiles with others and I realize how strong of a bond people can create when doing such hard work together.

The other story I liked was the man who raised orphaned bear cubs. I thought it was cute how it was not clear right away that he was talking about a bear. It was nice to see the film portray not only a man who has a soft spot for his pets, but also a seemingly dangerous animal that has a soft spot for his caretaker. This sketch also tied two important Finnish aspects together-nature and saunas! Even the bears take saunas sometimes.

One thing I thought was kind of artistic and interesting was the transitions used in this documentary. One does not necessarily think of documentaries as being artistic and symbolic, but this one definitely was at times. Between each of the stories, and during some of them, the camera cut to a scene of water being thrown on the sauna rocks. This always signaled a shift in emotions, right before things "heated up," literally and emotionally. There were several different types of sauna rocks show in this film. This just shows how each sauna, like each story, is different from the rest.

All documentaries are intended to enlighten and teach the viewer something. Before this film, I knew saunas were popular in Finland. However, I did not realize the huge cultural and spiritual significance behind them. The saunas are an important part of Finnish life. There are saunas in businesses, public saunas, roadside saunas the size of a telephone booth, and saunas in mines. I read once that most Finns take a sauna at least once a week and the process can take hours. All these saunas provide people with a sense of community and support, a place to go where they will not be judged or ridiculed, a place where they can go to get things off their chests. It seems almost like a religious thing to me, and it definitely has a spiritual quality to it. It seems that the sauna is like a sanctuary-a safe place for all to go. I found that to be interesting because of all the Nordic countries, Finland is the only one that is becoming more religious. The rest are becoming increasingly secularized. Maybe sauna counts as a religion? It definitely has the accepting, forgiving nature many religions claim to have.

My reaction to this film was tepid-definitely not as hot as the saunas it portrayed. Although parts of this movie were interesting and some were very emotional and engaging, other parts were not. I found myself checking my watch at point because the film did seem to be long, even at only 80 minutes. There are definitely some stories that are less engaging. I think if I understood Finnish it would be more meaningful, but I feel that meaning and emotion are sometimes lost in the English subtitles, especially when the scene was shot entirely in the sauna. However, overall I think there are some valuable things this film has to offer. It gives a glimpse into the everyday lives and of Finns but also into their life-defining moments, like the death of a child. It paints a good picture of the sense of community Finns have, and I think everyone can learn from that.

Are there certain things one just cannot be forgiven for? Is forgiveness necessary to move on in life? Are apologies? These and other questions are explored in Erik Poppe's Troubled Water. Poppe depicts a gripping tale of every parent's worst nightmare-their child gone missing. The story is told from the perspective of both the mother and the accused kidnapper and murderer for an intense, deeply saddening story.

I really loved this film. I enjoyed its "Norwegian-ness". There was definitely a dark Nordic feel to it, but I find Norwegian films to have a little bit more of a Hollywood feel to them. For example, the sex scenes in this film were toned down and not nearly as explicit as those from other Nordic films. It feels more like it is geared to an international audience, fit for Norwegian, American and other tastes. There are also very distinctive Norwegian aspects. Norwegian flags are seen throughout Agnes and Jon's house. The prominent role of water and nature is also very Norwegian. In addition to these, I noticed a similarity to Viking tradition. The way Jan Thomas sends Isak down the river after he is presumed dead is reminiscent of a Viking funeral, where the body is sent out to sea. From my experience, Norwegian directors tend to produce films that are more appealing to American audiences compared to other Nordic directors. Erik Poppe keeps up his track record from Hawaii, Oslo in this film as well with another dramatic, captivating Norwegian film.

I found myself struggling to take sides in the film. I think Poppe intentionally presented the story in a way that was unbiased-so there wasn't a "good guy" and a "bad guy." He is trying to show us the human side of everyone. Often in the criminal system dehumanizes those it convicts. We forget that prisoners are people, too, and that almost everyone has a good side to them. This all fits into the theme of redemption, forgiveness, and starting anew in the film. Jan Thomas is trying to put his past behind him and live a new life. At the same time, Agnes is still grieving over the disappearance and assumed death of her son. She is trying to find closure without a body to bury or the full story of what happened to her beloved Isak. The film includes many flashbacks in which the viewer goes back and sees a scene from the perspective of the other character. The majority of the first half is told from Jan Thomas's point of view, so the audience starts to empathize with the character who would normally be seen as the bad guy right away. As the story unfolds, we begin to see how the incident of Isak's disappearance appeared to Agnes and the rest of the world. When we finally get to see the story from her view, we can understand why she might be desperately looking for answers and closure.

This closure comes nicely as Poppe brings the story full circle. As the friendship between Jan Thomas and the priest, Anna, and her son, Jens, progresses, we begin to see more and more similarities between Jens and Isak. At first Jan Thomas is afraid of Jens because he reminds him so much of Isak. But over time they become friends, and Jan Thomas does his best to give Jens a life Isak should have had. While all this is happening, Agnes realizes that the man who was believed to have kidnapped and killed her son has been released from prison and is befriending a young boy eerily like her son. All the emotion built up and repressed inside of her is set into motion when her oldest daughter, Selma, buries Isak's shoes and gives her what they've been missing the whole time-a grave to visit. To try to relieve her frustration and find some closure in her son's death, she kidnaps Jens in an attempt to save him from the same fate as her son. What she doesn't realize in her desperation is that Jens is not actually in danger. She is not ready to forgive Jan Thomas or believe that he did not kill her son. Jan Thomas quickly realizes what has happened and finds Jens at Agnes and Jon's home. Before he can take Jens back, Agnes kidnaps him as well and brings him to the spot where Isak disappeared. As we see Jens nearly succumb to the same fate as Isak, Agnes realizes what Jan Thomas has been saying all along was true-Isak's death was an accident. In that moment she finally accepts her lot and she and Jan Thomas do what they realize, in hindsight, should have been done for Isak. The message of forgiveness and redemption is seen here in a powerful and emotional scene that had me on the edge of my seat, hoping everything would be okay in the end. The fact that the scene is almost entirely without dialog made it even more powerful. The raw emotion shown by Pål Hagen and Trine Dyrholm is incredible and says it all-to move forward, one must forgive.

Speaking of Hagen and Dyrholm, they and the rest of the actors and actresses did a fantastic job in this film. I think Poppe cast the perfect people for the roles and they played their parts extremely well. They really embodied their characters and captured the feeling of the story. I also really like film techniques used. They really highlighted the idea behind the story. There were several shots where the view was somewhat obscured by a blurry object, often a face. It shows that one must look past what is right in front of them to see clearly what is really happening, as Agnes did when she looked past the label of "murderer" placed on Jan Thomas. Overall, this was a great Norwegian film full of emotion and well put together with intentional casting, filming and story.

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

I went into this film without knowing much about Vinterberg, Dogma 95, or the film itself. The more I read and learn about all three of these things, the more the movie makes sense. Vinterberg does a great job of capturing the true purpose behind the Dogma 95 commandments. The film is truly a Dogma one, with natural lighting, hand held cameras, a basic set and no clear genre. The actors portray the feeling of the film very well and really embody the characters they play. Vinterberg does a good job of complementing the story line with the Dogma 95 style and portraying themes of relationships and deceit.

The film begins with the main character, Christian walking down a dirt road through a field. He is picked up by his crazy brother Michael and brought to a lodge to celebrate their father's 60th birthday. Several other family members, including their sister, Helene, join. We quickly find out that their other sister has recently passed away and learn later that she committed suicide. It goes on to show some of the relationships between different family members and friends, building to the scene where they all sit down for the patriarch's birthday dinner. When Christian, the oldest son, is asked to give a toast, he asks his father to pick between two prepared speeches he holds in his hand. He proceeds to reveal to the whole group that he and his late twin sister were sexually abused by his father as a child. As the film progresses, we find more and more as the family tries to determine who is telling the truth-Helge or Christian. In the end we find that even families that seem fairly normal can have deep, dark, disturbing secrets.

The Dogma nature of this film creates a story that seems real, probable, and eerily relatable. Vingerberg uses the commandments to create something that seems incredibly realistic, like the story is being told from the perspective of a home video or a fly on the wall. This "real-feel" makes the abuse accusation and discussion painfully realistic. We hear of abuse among celebrity couples, or see it on crime shows on TV or in Hollywood movies. But all these sources glamorize the act and make it seem like something that will never happen to us; something that only happens on TV. In The Celebration, without all the lights, filters and special effects, you get the feeling that you're really sitting in the room, listening to Christian expose the horrible truths of his childhood and his sister's. It's disturbing and powerful in a way that no Hollywood or mainstream film could match. It makes you question what you would do in Christian's situation, in the father's, in the family members'. Vinterberg did a great job of making the style of filming complement the story.

Relationships-especially unhealthy ones-are a common theme throughout this film. It is obvious that the relationship between Christian and his father was unhealthy, with the ultimate example being the father's reason for why he abused Christian and his sister. One can infer, however, that the other siblings do not have a great connection with their father either. In the beginning the receptionist at the lodge alluded to some troubles between Michael and his father. Helene also seems to disagree with her father on many points. In addition, Michael and his wife have an extremely toxic relationship. He seems to have no problem degrading her, even in front of the children. The one sex scene in the movie depicts him forcing her to have very rough sex with him. He blames her for everything, including his own clumsiness and irresponsibility. The relationship between Helene and Gbatokai seems alright when it is just the two of them, but the disapproval from Helene's family seems to greatly affect her and cause problems between them. There are very few, if any, positive relationships to look to as role models and this seems to have caused a family full of dysfunctional relationships. This theme follows the Nordic tradition of showing a realistic family where things are not always perfect.

Deceit is also a theme in this film. For most of the story line the father maintains that he never abused the children. He managed to keep the abuse hidden from his wife and the rest of the family for much of the children's lives and also maintain a "good dad" image. He also denies the abuse to Christian's face. Helge lives a lie throughout most of the film to try to keep up his image. The cook, Kim also seemed to be in on the secret but did not let Helge know that he knew. He continued to serve the father and the rest of as usual until he assists Christian in getting the truth heard. The surviving sister, Helene also keeps her mouth shut and pretends she doesn't know anything for a good portion of the film. When she finds the note hidden by her sister she knows about the abuse. She could have used this information to help Christian earlier on but she pretended to not know anything about it. The truth many of the characters hide is an important and prevalent aspect of the film.

The Celebration demonstrates a good use of the Dogma 95 characteristics and relatable themes. Vinterberg created film that even to those who have not been victims of abuse can connect with. The combination of the realistic filming and the real-life problems like unhealthy relationship and deceit make it a film that pulls the viewer into a world that could be his or her own. It is emotional and difficult to watch at times, but the chaos of the story keeps you watching. Overall, it is an interesting story and a good example of the Dogma 95 films.