Tom of Finland

R18

2017

115 mins

Biopic on shunned-to-celebrated cult artist Touko Laaksonen and the events that influenced his iconic homoerotic drawings.

"After the trauma of serving... More

Biopic on shunned-to-celebrated cult artist Touko Laaksonen and the events that influenced his iconic homoerotic drawings.

"After the trauma of serving in WWII, Tuoko finds no peace at home as he has to go to increasingly greater lengths to hide his homosexuality, even from his family. As the secret affairs and police crackdowns wear on him, he commits more deeply to his art, drawing inspiration from the uniforms that oppress him.

"Tuoko gains confidence from the positive reactions he receives after sharing his explicit drawings of muscular men in sexually uninhibited situations with a select few. But it is only when an American publisher sees them and invites Tuoko over to the West Coast that his life really takes a turn. Finally being able to walk free and proud in Los Angeles, Tuoko dives head first into the sexual revolution, becoming an icon and a rallying point." (Tribeca Film Festival)

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Tom of Finland | Ratings & Reviews

83_%71 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes® rating
69_%827 reviews
Audience score rating

"Karukoski's film at least honours its subject's work in some key respects: It's handsome, smoothly executed and eager to entertain."

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Variety

"Strang's quiet turn as Laaksonen has a simmering power."

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Total Film

"Finnish artist Touko Laaksonen, known by his nom de plume Tom of Finland, is brought above the radar of cultural history in this well-acted biopic."

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The Guardian

"A film that projects some of the superficiality that Laaksonen’s art has been accused of over the years, and that just as surely inspires through its command of visual storytelling."

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Slant Magazine

"An artfully composed and sensitively acted life story."

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Screen Daily

"Understated portrait of a tumescent talent."

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Hollywood Reporter

"... a very watchable, solid, frequently entertaining and sometimes touching true story."

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FilmInk

"Having taken such pains to establish Tom's Finnish background and its attendant dangers, Karukoski hurtles through the sketchy American section without exploring any of its crucial issues in sufficient depth."

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