Steam of Life (Miesten vuoro) TRAILER

STEAM OF LIFE

Naked Finnish men sit in the sauna and speak straight from their heart. In the warmth of rusty stoves these men cleanse themselves both physically and mentally.

The film travels through Finland and the camera joins men in many different saunas to let us hear touching stories about love, death, birth and friendship. In all of its simplicity camera records the landscapes, saunas and men in almost magical pictures. The presence of the characters and the depth of the emotion reaches the limit where it is almost intolerable for the viewer to watch. This film reveals the naked souls of these men exceptionally intimately and creates a poetic portrayal of Finnish men.

Duration: 84 min
Shooting Format: S16mm
Screening Format: 35mm, HDCam, DigiBeta

Written and Directed by
Joonas Berghäll & Mika Hotakainen

Cinematography
Heikki Färm F.S.C.
Jani Kumpulainen F.S.C.

Editing
Timo Peltola

Sound Design
Christian Christensen

Music
Jonas Bohlin

Producer
Joonas Berghäll / OKTOBER OY

Co-Producer
Adel Kjellström / Röde Orm Film AB

International distribution:
Films Transit International Inc.

In association with:
YLE TV2 / Dokumenttiprojekti, Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK, MEDIA Programme, NFTF, ARTE, Swedish Film Institute, SVT, ERR

OKTOBER OY / 2010

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• steam
• of
• life
• film
• oktober
• finland
• berghäll
• joonas
• hotakainen
• mika
• documentary
• sauna

[LapinPete]

There must be something wrong with our values if violence is right but something like this is seen as inappropriate.

[bomteidler]

I'm an American who has recently moved to Finland and I loved the movie. I visited Finland for the first time over 13 years ago and Finnish men and women alike, when asked what should I see when I go there, all responded "sauna." This movie helped me understand a bit more how deeply sauna is such an important part of the Finnish culture. Sure, there are naked men but maybe that's one of the points... no one here cares about that part ;)

[denizzzka]

anyone seen russian subtitles for this film?

[VerityVulpes]

Actually if we put this film in the context of the country where it was made, nudity is not really a central theme here - unless we're talking about emotional nudity. Nudity is not an issue in Finland like it is in the US. Every kid here has seen their parents nude. But your comment illustrates nicely how a film can have a different meaning for every viewer :)

[m4ssee]

You will never understand sauna. Go back to America to sweat in McDonald's.

[UnclePutte]

Make sauna, not war.

And pass the vihta.

[darkmage7280]

Just because I'm covered in Thousand Island dressing, howling at the moon, and dressed as Lil' Bo Beep doesn't mean I'm mental.

I'm really hurt you suggested something like that.

That, or I responded to an earlier comment, dumbass.

[TheCBGBoy]

Are you high? Your comments are so unrelated to the movie (you sound more like an ignorant propagandist payed by FOX). Are you mental or something?

[TheCBGBoy]

This movie is very much about breaking the idea that nudity is "bad". Nudity is healthy, not only because it puts us in touch with our nature, but also because it is an opportunity to leave behind symbols of status, so we can be free. It is so very sad that we have lost the sense of nature, our own nature.