Sauna – a phantom of swamp or purgatory?

The action of film is set in 1595 and it follows a group of Swedish and Russian soldiers who are assigning new borders between both countries after the 25 years long war. Swedish are represented by two Finnish brothers – a lifelong soldier who has been participating in battles and terror of war since he is 16 and his younger more pacifist brother who is an expert mapmaker.

On their way soldiers discover a small isolated village in the very center of a large swamp. A village which has never belonged to any of both countries and is also not desired by any of them. It is a place where the boundary between reality and illusion is being set.  A place where the voice of conscience and phantoms from the past give no peace. And there in a middle of nowhere they find a sauna with a strange attraction and notion of rejection and fear. This film is like a meditative trip into the darkest corners of one’s soul where murders, betrayals and  filthy thoughts erode it.

“Sauna” shall appeal to both the art house admirers and die hard horror fans
representing and outstanding camera work. The dark graphic image of absolutely neutral color scheme terrifies the audience with characters that recall Japanese horror films. “Sauna” is scaring and cognition over taking but does not moralize.

The director of “Sauna” A. J. Annila (1977) will be the special guest of FFF. “Sauna” is his second feature film. The first feature “Jade Warior” (2006) was the second most popular film in the country following “The Devil Wears Prada”. “Jade Warior” is a fusion of Finnish epos “Kalevala” and Chinese mythology as well as martial arts. As the booking office revenue shows undoubtedly it has been director’s success.