Director: Mika Gustafson

Stars: Bianca Delbravo, Dilvin Asaad, Safira Mossberg, Ida Engvoll

Shades of Hirokazu Koreeda’s ‘Nobody Knows’, albeit slightly lighter ones, in this tale of a trio of children left to fend for themselves on a Swedish housing estate. After their mother quits the house and fails to return, wily sixteen-year-old Laura (Delbravo) takes it upon herself to look after her siblings – the twelve-year-old Mira (Asaad) and seven-year-old Stefi (Mossberg) – while dodging the authorities. When the social services do get wind and arrange an appointment, Laura, unbeknownst to her sisters, looks for someone to impersonate their mother in order to stop them being separated. Hannah (Ingvoll), a bored housewife attracted to Laura’s rebelliousness, may be a candidate. As befits the summer setting, the pacing is languid, maybe a little too languid, but the picture boasts a trio of winningly naturalistic performances from the young leads, particularly Delbravo who skilfully conveys Laura’s ability to weigh up the giddy feel of freedom with more practical concerns. While the girls do encounter problems, and their life is hardscrabble and precarious, Gustafson, who co-wrote the script with Alexander Öhrstrand, leavens the darkness with moments of grace and euphoria, accompanied by a well-curated soundtrack of Swedish pop, and Sine Vadstrup Brooker’s dreamlike sun-dappled photography, as well as demonstrations of resilience and touching moments of sisterly affection.

David Willoughby

Follow David on Twitter @DWill_Crackfilm