WHILE NOT an LGBT event, the Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF) always offers plenty of grist for this magazine’s mill. My annual dash around P’town turned up several films that I found worthy of consideration for review. Here’s the second of five.
SAUNA
Directed by Mathias Broe
Nordisk Film Production
The title refers to the workplace of Johan, whose job it is to wipe down the cots and clean the cum from glass partitions at a gay bathhouse in Copenhagen—a job that doesn’t seem to match his Adonis-level handsomeness. Despite the latter trait, Johan has no luck meeting men on Grindr—until he hooks up with a trans man, William, who’s in the early stages of transitioning. While the basis for the attraction is not entirely clear, Johan professes his undying love for William, who approaches things more cautiously and seems to realize early on that Johan is a little reckless and possibly not too bright.
Johan’s first mistake is taking William to the sauna where he works, which almost causes a riot. He’s soon fired for good when he gets caught stealing money from the till (to pay for William’s top surgery), which also costs him his apartment; so he moves into William’s dorm room, though it’s against the rules. Johan does some more stupid stuff, alienates William’s friends, and spirals downward from there.
But if Johan comes off as a doomed soul, William is a savvy twenty-something who does his best to make Johan happy (e.g., buying an impressive strap-on), but seems as perplexed by Johan’s infatuation as we are. The focus shifts to William’s transition and its challenges. Even in liberal Denmark, which has a Gender Identity Center (GIC) to help, it’s a fraught process that involves long wait times and bureaucratic restrictions. For example, William is denied testosterone because the GIC stipulates that one cannot be both trans and gay.
Not to diminish their relationship—there are tender moments as they stroll together in the park or take a dip in the Baltic—but the lack of chemistry between the two main characters is reinforced by a fundamental silence about their feelings for each other or about their lives. It’s a tale of two people who fall into each other’s orbit almost by accident and never quite figure out what they’re doing there.
