Tupakkahuone

The smoking room is the chapel of the secular society, a haven of silence where one can gather the thoughts and break away from the humdrum of everyday life. In the film by Jukka Kärkkäinen, the camera participates in these serene moments in a hospital, in a train and at work places. The stories are simultaneously very ordinary and larger than life. The less than 10 years old film already has nostalgic overtones, as the smoking rooms are a vanishing national tradition. Marjo Pipinen / Translation: Juha Nurminen (DocPoint)