Tom of Finland
Scandinavian Cinema • 1h 56m
Dome Karukoski • Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany • 2017 • A story of love, courage, perseverance.
Postwar Helsinki. Touko Laaksonen, an ex-soldier, has returned to the Finnish capital. Homosexuality is forbidden in the strict political atmosphere of the 1950s—gay men must conduct their lives furtively. Adopting the nom de plume Tom of Finland, Laaksonon coopts the wartime fashion of men in uniform to creates thousands of erotic drawings. The desire to have his work published brings him to California, where he is finally embraced during the sexual revolution of the 1970s.
Starring Pekka Strang as the eponymous protagonist, Tom of Finland affectionately portrays a hero of the gay liberation movement. Dome Karukoski’s seventh film premiered at Tribeca, Busan, Thessaloniki, and Göteborg, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize.
Up Next in Scandinavian Cinema
-
What Will People Say
Iram Haq • 2017 • Norway • Nisha is sent to live in a small village 200 miles from Islamabad.
Sixteen year-old Nisha lives in Oslo. At home, she adheres to the conservative values of her Pakistani family...
-
You, the Living
Roy Andersson • Sweden • 2007
Dreams can be terrifying. But so is reality. A psychiatrist prescribes pills to his patients, unconvinced that happiness is even possible. A middle-aged woman is down in the dumps,...
