Mathias Broe’s seductive debut feature Sauna, which just world premiered in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance, is both super sexy and has something to say. Based on Mads Ananda Lodahl’s novel of the same name, adapted for the screen by Broe and William Lippert, this contemporary queer story of love and self-discovery set in Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, has a fresh, distinctive voice.
As the film opens, we follow Johan (Magnus Juhl Andersen), an attractive cis man in his early twenties, as he embarks on a night of cruising at a gay sauna. It is a compelling, sexually-charged sequence that captures the compulsive thrill of the hunt, with potential guys passing by as he glides through the space taking in the steamy atmosphere. Emil Davidsen’s delicate, entrancing electronic score hints at the potential for an erotic encounter at every turn. While the spicily evocative sound design, by Mia Terry, incorporates groans of pleasure and bodies slapping against each other, both from inside the venue and from the porn playing on the TV screens. There’s the clank of a sling chain as it swings back and forth, and the clink of Johan’s locker key hitting his leg as he walks.
It all feels a lot more explicit than it actually is, with the sex itself left for our own imaginations to conjure, as the camera largely stays on Andersen’s engaging face which intermittently catches the light as he makes his way down the dim hallways. Eventually Johan takes himself into a cabin where he looks through a glory hole at the action going on next door. We are on the other side as he peers through. A shot that is poignantly echoed by cinematographer Nicolai Lok later in the film.
Not only is this an arresting, intoxicating opening that immerses us in the world of the film, but it also serves to establish the protagonist as someone who is searching for something in his life as a young gay man navigating the city through sex. As well as his own nocturnal playground, the Adonis sauna is also Johan’s place of work and essentially the centre of his life in Copenhagen since his recent move there. Going to the Adonis not only led to a job, but also a place to live. He rents a room in a rundown, sparsely furnished apartment from an older gay man, Michael (Klaus Tange), who is still reeling from the loss of a man he loved during the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Johan has also made a close friend in his charismatic good-time gay co-worker Asif (a delightful Dilan Amin), who is always the life of the party and never short of a tale to tell about his latest sugar daddy encounter, his lucrative side hustle.
When Johan is not looking for sex at the sauna, he’s swiping through Grindr, or taking someone home from the club. After one such encounter, Johan tentatively invites the musclebound hunk who he has just hooked up with to stay the night, but the man politely declines, grabs his underwear and leaves. In an urban gay scene where no-strings sex is easy to come by, but finding a deeper connection can prove a challenge, Johan is clearly starting to want more.
One night, after Johan goes on Grindr—while using the new douche that Asif has gifted him—another hookup arrives at his place. It turns out to be the handsome William (Nina Rask), a student from a wealthy family who is currently on an extended break from his studies. He’s warm and affectionate and Johan is clearly immediately taken with him.
When things start to get intimate, there is a brief, but awkward moment where Johan asks William if he’s trans, which he is. William laughs off Johan not knowing, assumes that means things are off and goes to leave, rightly pointing out that Johan should have read his profile before inviting him over. But things quickly get back on track when Johan makes it clear that he’s attracted to William as a person regardless of his gender identity, just inexperienced when it comes to being with trans guys. It is a casual exchange that is sensitively handled by Broe and Lippert, and in stark contrast to the kind of dramatic movie “disclosure” scene critiqued in Sam Feder’s documentary of that name which played Sundance back in 2020. When they end up exchanging names and Johan compliments William on his, he playful notes that he chose it himself, which eases the tension and allows them to get back to making out.
As they begin dating, the connection between them is palpable and beautifully played by Andersen and Rask who offer subtle performances that draw us in. Some of the finest scenes of the film are its most simple, less plot-driven ones, where we spend time with Johan and William as they get closer to one another, with dialogue that feels unforced and authentic.
In what turns out to be a pivotal event, Johan encourages William to go to the Adonis with him. The vibe is still sexy but different this time as we experience the place from William’s POV. In the locker room, Johan is quick to get naked while William, who is wearing a binder, is more cautious about being in the space. As they explore the sauna together holding hands, we get glimpses of what’s going on inside some the cabins, before the pair finds some privacy. They are soon interrupted by the Adonis’ owner, Rolf (Peter Oliver Hansen), who aggressively bangs on their cabin door and ejects them from the sauna, misgendering William and admonishing Johan for breaking the door policy of the sauna where “men come to have sex with men”. The warm glow of their cabin light turns to the harsh light of day as Johan tries to catch up with William who has fled the place.
Determined to keep things going with William after this episode, Johan tracks him down at the alternative and inclusive queer club where he hangs out with his other trans friends. It is a space where William is far more at ease, but that is unfamiliar territory for Johan, but they both get high and lose themselves in the music on the dance floor together. When Johan makes his way around the club, striking up conversations with strangers, these feel like authentic, improvised exchanges with real people.
As they spend more time together, Johan is full of questions for William about hormones and surgery, but he has good intentions and there is a sweet moment where he rubs testosterone gel into William’s thigh as he wants to demonstrate his support. Things get more blissful between the two when they take themselves to a beach house belonging to William’s parents while he is recovering from top surgery. Davidsen’s soothing synth score kicks in as we see William’s gender euphoria and sense of liberation as he runs into the sea in a gorgeously shot, sun-dappled scene, made all the more beautiful because he’s sharing it with the man he’s falling in love with. In contrast to the hookup that we saw Johan have earlier in the film, Broe gives the sex scenes with William space to really breathe. When William brings a strap-on into the bedroom for the first time, not only is it a searingly hot scene, but we also see the connection between them deepen as we experience the scene from both characters’ perspectives.
Without going into the specifics of the plot, it is enough to say this is a drama and obstacles ensue, mostly as a result of Johan trying to find himself and getting lost along the way. Not only does he lie and hold back from those closest to him, but he also does so to himself and turns to alcohol and sex to escape in. Despite being a distanced, hard-to-read character, Andersen’s nuanced turn brings us close and keeps us captivated. While Rask is equally magnetic as William, a young man who knows exactly who he is and is increasingly at ease with himself. Both give fearless performances and create an appealing on-screen couple that we’re invested in.
When it comes to the look of the film, Lok mostly uses available light and establishes a desaturated, grainy aesthetic that heightens the sense of naturalism, enhanced by Broe’s choice to mainly use ambient sound and bring in Davidsen’s score only sparingly. The result is an assured filmmaking debut that forges new ground in Danish cinema, with the producers pointing out that this is the first major feature made in the country with a lead trans character played by a trans actor. It also proves to be an interesting exploration of frictions, intergenerational and otherwise, within our expansive queer community.
By James Kleinmann
Sauna world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2025 and will be released on digital platforms in the United States on November 18, 2025 from Breaking Glass Pictures.
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