It is 1595. Brutal wars have just ended in an uneasy peace between Protestant Sweden and Orthodox Russia. We focus on the spiritual defeats of two conquered Finnish brothers, one a hardened near-psychopathic war hero, the other a gentle scientist in an age with no use for such men. They find themselves in the swampy interior, demarcating the new border with a unit of sadistic Russians.
Cinematography
The sauna itself—claustrophobic humid doom in every frame
Acting
Ville Virtanen's Eerik—violence etched into his jawline
Sound
The absence of score, replaced by dripping water and distant screams
Director
Antti-Jussi Annila
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
FI
