Paradise is Burning (15)

★★★✭ Rage, tenderness and no small amount of laughter combine in this nuanced portrayal of the Swedish working-class from writer/director Mika Gustafson. ~ Little White Lies.

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In a working-class area of Sweden, sisters Laura (16), Mira (12) and Steffi (7), get by on their own, left to their own devices by their absent mother.

With summer on the way and no parents around, life is wild and carefree, vivacious and anarchic.

But when social services call a meeting, Laura has to find someone to impersonate their mother, or the girls will be taken into foster care and separated.

Laura keeps the threat a secret, so as not to worry her younger sisters.

But as the moment of truth draws closer, new tensions arise, forcing the three sisters to negotiate the fine line between the euphoria of total freedom and the harsh realities of growing up.

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★★★★ Mika Gustafson’s feature has some obvious influences in The Virgin Suicides or American Honey but wears them lightly in this fresh and beautifully cut debut. ~ The Guardian.

★★★★ Capturing the spirit of Brat summer, Paradise Is Burning exudes joy, but also a sense of imminent collapse — and decidedly no cuteness. ~ Financial Times.

★★★★ Some canny production design and Gustafson's watchful direction make the drama authentic and affecting, and the movie was a deserving winner of the Best First Feature prize at the 67th London Film Festival. ~ Radio Times.