Tom of Finland is a 2017 biographical drama film directed by Dome Karukoski and written by Aleksi Bardy. It stars Pekka Strang as Touko Laaksonen, better known as Tom of Finland, a Finnish homoerotic artist.[6]
| Tom of Finland | |
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 Finnish theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Dome Karukoski |
| Written by | Aleksi Bardy |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Lasse Frank |
| Edited by | Harri Ylönen |
| Music by |
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Running time | 115 minutes |
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| Budget | €3.8 million[3] |
| Box office | $1.8 million[4][5] |
Tom of Finland premiered on 27 January 2017 at Gothenburg Film Festival and was released theatrically in Finland on 24 February 2017.[3] It was selected as the Finnish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[7][8]
Premise
editTouko Laaksonen returns home after serving in World War II. In post-war Helsinki, he makes a name for himself with his homoerotic drawings of muscular men. Before finding fame, he finds challenges from his sister and Finnish society due to his art.
Cast
edit- Pekka Strang as Touko Laaksonen a.k.a. Tom of Finland
- Lauri Tilkanen as Veli (Nipa)
- Jessica Grabowsky as Kaija Laaksonen
- Taisto Oksanen as Alijoki
- Seumas Sargent as Doug
- Jakob Oftebro as Jack
- Troy T. Scott as Tom's man
- Werner Daehn as Müller
- Þorsteinn Bachmann as editor of the Physique Pictorial Office
Reception
editAwards
editAt the 2016 Finnish Film Affair (a "work-in-progress forum" running alongside the Helsinki International Film Festival), Tom of Finland shared the Best Pitch prize, splitting the award money with Post Punk Disorder.[9][10]
At the 2017 Göteborg Film Festival, the film won the Fipresci Award.[11][12]
Critical reception
editOn review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 83% based on 70 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Tom of Finland honors its subject with an empathetic, even-handed, and above all entertaining look at the pioneering art he produced from private turmoil."[13] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[14]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Lodge, Guy (11 February 2017). "Film Review: 'Tom of Finland'". Variety.
- ^ "Tom of Finland". Gothenburg Film Festival. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ a b "Karukoski Announces Tom Of Finland Cast In Berlin". Nordic Drama. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ "Tom of Finland". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
- ^ "Tom of Finland". The Numbers. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (15 September 2016). "Protagonist, Helsinki Filmi Unveil 'Tom of Finland' Teaser". Variety. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ "Tom of Finland valittiin Suomen Oscar-ehdokkaaksi". Kaleva. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ "Tom of Finland film to vie for foreign-language Oscar nomination". Yle. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (22 September 2016). "'Post Punk Disorder,' 'Tom of Finland' Scoop Finnish Film Affair Awards". Variety.
- ^ Aftab, Kaleem (23 September 2016). "Finnish Film Affair: 'Tom Of Finland', 'Punk Syndrome' split Best Pitch prize". Screen Daily.
- ^ Alissa Simon (4 February 2017). "'Sámi Blood' Tops 40th Goteborg Film Festival". Variety.
- ^ "Here are the Dragon Award winners" (Press release). Gothenburg Film Festival. 4 February 2017. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017.
- ^ "Tom of Finland (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
- ^ "Tom of Finland Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
External links
edit- Official website (in Finnish)
- Official website
- Tom of Finland at IMDb
- Tom of Finland at AllMovie