Estonian Film Classics at Kai Cinema: “A Woman Heats the Sauna”

Genre: drama
Running time: 1h 12min

Director: Arvo Kruusement (1928–2026)
Cast: Ita Ever, Aarne Üksküla, Katrin Välbe, Heino Mandri, Lisl Lindau and others

TICKETS

The two-day tribute to the classics of Estonian cinema closes with Arvo Kruusement’s deeply emotional psychological drama A Woman Heats the Sauna (Naine kütab sauna, 1978).

 

Based on Villem Gross’s novel Talvepuhkus (Winter Holiday), the film is a deeply human and moving story about the life of an ordinary woman, her responsibilities and her dignity in the society of the time. At its centre is Anu, a road worker who also tends the sauna and who carries the burden of her whole family’s and her loved ones’ troubles on her shoulders. As she heats the sauna and waits for her guests, her inner world opens up: her shattered hopes, but also her unbreakable dignity and moral strength. It is one of Kruusement’s most mature and emotionally charged works.

 

PROGRAM
Saturday, 24 October: Peeter Simm

  • 14:00 – Arabella, the Pirate’s Daughter (1982) (Special price!)
  • 15:45 – Introduction to the evening: Eva Näripea (Director of the Film Archive)
  • 16:00 – Ideal Landscape (1980)
  • 18:00 – Georg (2007)

Sunday, 25 October: Arvo Kruusement

  • 13:45 – Introduction to the day: Annika Koppel (film critic and author)
  • 14:00 – Spring (1969) (Special price!)
  • 16:00 – Don Juan in Tallinn (1971)
  • 18:00 – A Woman Heats the Sauna (1978)

More about the programme: kai.center

TICKETS AND PASSES
For the best value, we recommend a day pass or a pass for the full programme.

Kai Cinema