The film sharply contrasts the gloomy restraints of Helsinki with the sun-drenched, liberated landscapes of 1970s California. In Los Angeles, Tom is welcomed not as a criminal, but as a visionary pioneer.
The year is 2017. The pencil has been replaced by a pixel. But the gaze remains. tom of finland -2017-
The relentless persecution, blackmail, and pressure to conform. The film sharply contrasts the gloomy restraints of
The , directed by Dome Karukoski, serves as a poignant, sweeping exploration of the life of Touko Laaksonen , the visionary artist whose hyper-masculine homoerotic drawings fundamentally revolutionized global queer culture. Premiering at the Göteborg Film Festival before representing Finland as its official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, the movie chronicles Laaksonen’s journey across four decades. It maps his trajectory from a traumatized World War II soldier navigating a deeply repressive post-war Helsinki to an international gay liberation icon celebrated in the sun-drenched, liberated landscape of 1970s California. The pencil has been replaced by a pixel
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Tom of Finland continued to produce art that was both provocative and celebratory, helping to pave the way for future generations of LGBTQ+ artists. His influence can be seen in the work of artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe, who has often cited Tom of Finland as a key inspiration.