The Sex Temple

Filmmaker Johan Palmgren's seriocomic documentary chronicles an eventful year for the Arbis, a historic but financially troubled old theater/opera house in Norrköping, Sweden. Transgendered proprietor and makeup/wig artist Robin Karlsson (the film does not note his prominence as a Swedish radio personality) partners with a heterosexual entrepreneur behind a “swingers” club called Adam & Eva to repurpose the Arbis. The new venue showcases pansexual burlesque shows and events (one recreates the baroque orgy from Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut) in the mainstage area, while the basement is redone as an S&M dungeon and sex grotto. Local media coverage is unrelentingly negative, even as some in the community find fulfillment with the troupe. English-speaking viewers accustomed to the stereotype of Scandinavia as a free-love haven may be surprised by the prudish social conservatism here; others may wonder how all the nudity and swearing received a PG-13 pass. Although fact-based, The Sex Temple has the feel (and plot arc) of a bittersweet indie comedy in the LGBT genre. Recommended. (C. Cassady)