With a film titled „Sauna,“ one might reasonably expect to see casual, non-committal sex. However, Norwegian director Mathias Broe is also interested in what needs remain unsatisfied – and how a relationship between men can cause offence even within the queer community.
More than just sex in the gay sauna
Diffuse light, which only allows the bodies to be guessed at, creates a dim atmosphere. It never seems to be light in Johan's life. At least, that is the impression conveyed by the first scenes. Where we are is made clear – at least to the knowledgeable audience – by the sound. Moaning, panting, loud breathing. Sounds that can be heard in any darkroom. You can literally smell sweat, poppers and lubricant. Whether it's a quickie in the basement of a gay bar, in the sauna cabin or a fuck with a Grindr date – Johan (Magnus Juhl Andersen) lives his sexuality to the fullest. Even his workplace is completely defined by it, because the young, self-confident man from the Norwegian countryside works at Copenhagen's only gay sauna, „Adonis“. There, he hands out towels at the reception desk, stuffs used ones into the washing machine and cleans the traces of semen from the glory hole wall in the morning.
Johan between the darkroom and the gay sauna
But as heavenly and promising as this hypersexualised world may sound to many, Johan feels that these endless, interchangeable sex dates are ultimately meaningless and therefore leave behind an indefinable emptiness. He repeatedly scrolls through the dating apps in search of the next guy, the next thrill. „You won't find friends on Grindr,“ says his colleague in the sauna.
How the gay sauna becomes a stage
Director Mathias Broe, who also collaborated on the screenplay (an adaptation of a novel by Mads Ananda Lodahl), sketches this dilemma in a few, but all the more poignant snapshots. He neither judges nor overdramatises this sex-driven lifestyle, nor does he stage it provocatively. Instead, in this first chapter of his feature film debut, he depicts an attitude to life and a world that will be familiar to many gay men. And probably only a queer director could so casually and naturally incorporate an anal douche into a plot or capture the smacking sound of lubricant.
Love instead of anonymous encounters in the gay sauna
But with his next online date, almost everything in Johan's life changes. The young man named William, who is standing at his door, is a little unsure and shy, but very cute. When the two finally get physically closer, William asks him not to touch his chest. A moment of irritation, then Johan realises: his date is a trans man. He could have known if he had actually been interested in his sex partners and had actually read their dating profiles. Johan overcomes his initial uncertainty and asks William (played by transTrans (short for transgender or transident) describes people whose gender identity does not match the gender they are assigned. Mehr Actor Nina Terese Rask). Something about William fascinates him; he feels a closeness and growing familiarity that he has not experienced in his previous sexual encounters – or perhaps has not allowed himself to experience.
Mathias Broe tells the story of how this encounter, which was actually planned as a one-night stand, develops into an intimate romance, entirely from Johan's perspective. Johan is equally intoxicated and overwhelmed by his feelings. The sex scenes are full of passion, explicit and yet restrained at the same time. But a new world opens up for Johan in other ways too. There is Willam's frustrating and humiliating battle with the authorities for access to gender reassignment surgery and hormones. And there is Willam's queer circle of friends and their supportive community, as well as their venues and parties, which are very different from the gay cruising spots that Johan has mainly frequented up to now.
Limits of tolerance in the gay sauna
But this clash of cultures and sexual identities does not go as smoothly as Johan had imagined in his infatuation. William is not welcome as a guest in the sauna and is thrown out. „Men only“ here means cis men only. But it's not just at his workplace and among his circle of friends that Johan's liaison is met with incomprehension and even outright rejection. He himself also reaches his limits in balancing this relationship. Don't expect a classic love story with a cheesy happy ending here. That would also contradict the realistic approach of director Mathias Broe, who, with „Sauna“, calmly reflects the fragile tolerance within the queer scene and its debates.
The community, says Broe, is subject to constant and diverse political attacks from the right. „This makes it all the more important for him to tell a relatable story about love while highlighting the specific facets of queer experiences, in the hope of contributing to a better understanding.“
The two main actors convey very authentically and impressively that this can be difficult even for two people who seem to be made for each other, who desire and love each other. But perhaps William and Johan first need to figure out for themselves who they really are and what they want for themselves and their lives. Can there still be a happy ending for the two of them? Fortunately, Mathias Broe leaves that open. Reality is usually more complex and complicated than the simpler feel-good films would have us believe.
„Sauna“. Director Mathias Broe. With Magnus Juhl Andersen, Nina Terese Rask, Dilan Amin. DK 2025, Danish-Swedish original version with German subtitles.
From the beginning of November in the Queer film night. Regular cinema release: 20 November.
Link to the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skc7j4iG1rI
