CLASSICS

the depiction of daily life and activities. Another fashionable term used as a term of criticism in 1970s journalism was "nouveau riche" – and concisely it meant "living like people live abroad". Soviet Estonians wanted to live a life as good as people were having outside the USSR, especially like people in Finland whose lives could be followed via Finnish television which could be seen in Northern Estonia. It was not before the second half of the 1960s when so-called Finnish saunas became popular also in Estonia. Summer cottages with saunas had an importance also in Arvo Kruusement's film, there were even two saunas. When considering these keywords – "the nouveau riche" and "just like abroad" – it is easy to understand why Arvo Kruusement and his creative team went for the visual and directorial solution that was modest and laconic. The cameraman was Jüri Garšnek, already back then a legend.

The protagonist of the film is a middle-aged female worker; actually, the film focuses on several female characters. Besides the role of Anu Soldam performed by Ita Ever, there is her 16-year-old daughter Katrin (Tene Ruubel), a grand-aunt Aita (Katrin Välbe), and mother of her divorced husband or "ex-mother-in-law" Minna (Lisl Lindau). But eventually the film is still a mono drama, the story of one woman.

Whereas conversations with aunt Aita at her death's door offer Anu warm feelings and recollections, then

A WOMAN HEATS THE SAUNA (1978)

Widescreen, black-and-white

Restored: 2023 Duration: 69 min

Director: Arvo Kruusement

Screenwriter: Vladimir Valutsky

Director of Photography: Jüri Garšnek

Art Director: Imbi Lind Composer: Veljo Tormis Editor: Sirje Haagel

Author of the book: Villem Gross Producer: Maret Hirtentreu

Cast: Ita Ever, Aarne Üksküla, Katrin Välbe, Heino Mandri, Lisl Lindau, Tene Ruubel, Svetlana Orlova, Mati Klooren, etc.

Anu's ex-mother-in-law Minna's stories, and her mood at Anu's funeral, provide the film audience with a clue to realize the key to Anu's ruined marriage. The fact that Anu's marriage has been broken reaches us as viewers only at the time of aunt Aita's funeral.

However, the story of the film is initiated by the question: who is going to heat the sauna for the arriving guests from abroad, in order that the bosses of the factory could spend a wonderful winter weekend in the sauna, together with their foreign colleagues. And they will ask Anu Soldam to complete the task – what's more, it will even be presented as a business trip to perform such an internationally important duty. A proposal that will be impossible to deny. Somewhere in a rural area close to Tartu, this brave woman crashes through the snow towards new moments of clarity. Who are these colleagues of her after all? How should one understand those who once were your close ones?

The Various Shades Of The Film

Ita Ever, a long-term leading actress at the Estonian Drama Theatre, embodies the role of Anu Soldam with the necessary modesty. She practically expresses no feelings, and if any then using only just a fraction of her voice or gaze. The protagonist's performance is characterized by restraint and precision; and perhaps one should say "a presence on the screen" instead of "performance". The laconic self-expression, black-and-white visual mode, and music by Veljo Tormis contribute in the film to hide painful emotions under the light, almost invisible layer of snow. By the way, Arvo Kruusement's films have never lasted longer than 1,5 hours. The length of A Woman Heats the Sauna is a bit more than 66 minutes.

But there is actually no need to say more – the story, the visual aspect and the actors' eyes speak for themselves. Ita Ever received the Best Actress award at the 1st Film Festival of the Estonian SSR in 1980 for her role as Anu Soldam. EF