Watching: Bania

Overview

"Bania" is an exploration Russian society through its bath-houses in the city, the countryside, in a monastery, a factory or a prison. The film plays with the boundaries between personal and social space in scenes where naked bodies, marked by tattoos, suffering, labour or war, tell a tale. This film was made by a photographer who, confronted by these naked bodies bathed in steam, invents an unique and timeless plastic world, in the style of classical painting.