Naked in the steam-filled darkness of the sauna, a group of women unlock unsettling memories and reveal their innermost thoughts. They remember their unfathomable mothers, and what it was like to become women – they talk about their lives, covering subjects from dissatisfaction with their bodies, to sexuality, illness, families, death, social pressures and the shame that comes with them.
In Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, writer/director Anna Hint invites the viewer to be a fly on the wall as the (mostly unscripted) secrets shared in the sauna are spoken into smoke, evaporating before the women leave to bathe in icy water and complete the process of physical and spiritual catharsis.
Hint’s documentary is masterfully shot by cameraman Ants Tammik, extremely candid and intimate but respectful – the nudity is never sexualised, even when they are talking about sexuality. The camera is held close enough to the women’s bodies to see droplets of condensation, often concentrating on knees, breasts or stomachs belonging to different people rather than one whole body or face, as they converse during different parts of the bathing routine.
The partial disembodiment and anonymisation of voices – you can rarely tell who’s speaking – helps to understand the sauna’s role as a confessional. The focus on the repetitive motions of bathing demonstrates the consolation offered by rituals, especially ones so ancient. The wood-fired smoke sauna of the Vana-Võromaa in Southeast Estonia is a part of the UNESCO List of The Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity – in the past (living memory for some in the film) it was where women gave birth, and where bodies were prepared after death. The spiritual significance of this space is illustrated unobtrusively – shown in practice and evident in conversations, at no point is there an overload of information.
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood never leaves this liminal space as the women wash each other and talk. At 90 minutes, this continuous visual narrative – punctuated only by an accordion player sitting on the sauna steps, and snowy landscape shots – drags at times, inducing the drowsiness that takes over in a roomful of aromatic steam. This adds to the immersive effect, but it would have been interesting to see aspects of their everyday lives by contrast, to emphasise the ongoing role of this ancient tradition in modern times and show the ever-changing contexts for timeless woes and worries.
To see this film in a cinema would complete the experience – the background is almost totally dark or illuminated by the single window in the hut, revealing the hushed and shadowed sanctity of the sauna. The space is an egalitarian one – a place in which everyone has the chance to speak, every story is valid no matter how embarrassing, and judgement is shucked with one’s clothes at the entrance. Smoke Sauna Sisterhood is a window into an enviable cultural practice of solidarity, as the safe communal space provides a place for gossip and laughter as well as the expression of pain.
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ANTICIPATION.
A first foray into sauna media – not quite sure what I’m dipping my toe into. 3
ENJOYMENT.
Absorbing, but drags a little and so grows tepid. 3
IN RETROSPECT.
One to reflect on in the bath. 4
Directed by
Anna Hints
Starring
N/A
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