Frank and moving, the biographical drama “Tom of Finland” tells the too-weird-to-be-fiction story of the artist credited with creating some of the enduring icons for gay men around the world.
As a lieutenant in the Finnish Army during World War II, Touko Laaksonen (played by Pekka Strang) became fascinated with the masculinity of men in uniform. As a gay man, in a time when being gay was illegal and considered a disease, he sometimes had the opportunity to see some of his fellow officers out of uniform, in furtive meetings in the woods.
After fighting Stalin’s army and enduring the Nazi occupation, Touko went back to private life, creating advertising campaigns and living with his sister, Kaija (Jessica Grabowsky).