Sex
This heart-warming comedy unpacks the questions of masculinity through the conversations and monologues of two middle-aged chimney sweeps and their families.
Warm, sweet, vulnerable; these adjectives may not sound familiar in the context of a film about two middle-aged workmen. And yet those words match Norwegian Dag Johan Haugerud’s film perfectly. The comedy, both ordinary and insightful, brings not only the characters of the story, but also the viewers, gently and lightly to questions of gender and sexuality.
In the beginning of the film, two chimney sweeps are on a coffee break catching up. Both friends have lately experienced something that’s now challenging their perspectives on manhood and self-image. Something is changing, but you can only see it through conversations. Without others, individuals can’t contextualise their own experiences.
Sex is the first part of a trilogy, and despite its name, it doesn’t involve naked bodies or desire. At its focal point is speech: dialogue, monologue, small talk, joking, reflection. The characters ask each other questions that all of us should ponder every once in a while. As the sun shines, gardens begin to blossom, and skyscrapers grow. In those moments, the characters’ views transform and settle again.
Susanna Puomio (translated by Vilja Hynynen)
Trailer
Collaboration
