SummaryWomen share their innermost secrets and intimate experiences inside an Estonian smoke sauna. Cleansing their bodies and baring their souls, they embrace the healing power of sisterhood.
Directed By:Anna Hints
Written By:Anna Hints
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
82
User score
Generally Favorable
6.1
My Score
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Metascore
Universal Acclaim
100% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Nov 22, 2023
88
What makes a space feel safe? The small miracle of the Estonian film “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood” is that it does more than show us a blissfully safe space; it invites us inside.
Dec 7, 2023
80
The thematic equilibrium within Smoke Sauna Sisterhood does not negate the male gaze. Rather, it asserts the feminine. Through confession and testimony, women become embodied. Witnesses, irrespective of gender, fortify their truth.
Nov 23, 2023
80
Hints, whose grandmother introduced her to the smoke-sauna ritual, uses the documentary to speak volumes about what it means to be a woman, even as the focus remains fixed on a single location: a cramped sauna-cabin located in a forest.
Oct 15, 2023
80
It’s an intense watch; at times infectiously hilarious, at others wrenchingly sad. For the film’s brief running time, there’s an emotional osmosis at play, in both sauna and cinema alike.
Nov 21, 2023
79
With its traditions captured in delicate, sweaty vignettes by filmmaker Anna Hints, Smoke Sauna Sisterhood’s anecdotes fill your lungs and engulf you, until its women’s secrets drip down your body.
Oct 13, 2023
70
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.
User score
Generally Favorable
69% Positive
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
6% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
25% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
Nov 27, 2023
10
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood offers a captivating insight into an admirable cultural tradition of solidarity. This safe communal space not only serves as a hub for gossip and laughter but also acts as a platform for genuine expressions of both pain and joy among its participants.
Production Company:
- Alexandra Film
- Kepler 22 Production
- Ursus Parvus
Release Date:Nov 24, 2023
Duration:1 h 29 m
Awards
Edda Awards, Iceland
• 1 Win & 6 Nominations
Estonian Film and TV Awards (EFTA)
• 4 Wins & 4 Nominations
Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
