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Paradise Is Burning - Review

Writer's picture: JamieJamie

I don’t know if this is something everyone does or if I am truly the unique specimen, begging to be studied and understood, but sometimes I choose a movie based only on the poster. Paradise is Burning is a film I knew five things about when I bought tickets: The title, that it was a film, that that film was 108 minutes long, there were three female characters and that I was going to watch it.

It is an exciting feeling to walk into a film with zero expectations of story or in this case, language. I had no idea this was a Swedish film from debut feature director Mika Gustafson. Gustafson relies so much of this film on the non professional actors hired for this project, trusting them to convery sisterhood through a pretty seminal time in these characters' lives.

Laura (Bianca Delbravo), Mira (Dilvin Asaad) and Steffi (Safira Mossberg) are sisters, living alone in the Swedish suburbs. They unconventionally live through melodramatic theft methods, a lack of tidiness and an obsession to be grown up. Laura is the oldest, taking care of the other two until she meets Hanna, who she sparks up a friendship with, breaking into other people’s homes to hang out and learn more about each other’s lives. This leaves Mira and Steffi feeling a little bit abandoned by their sister, also splitting up and going their own ways. The care they have for each other never goes away, they just shift priorities in moments, hurting the other one’s feelings.

The story is one told in a glimpse rather than an event, with the inciting incident being that the social services will be visiting them soon and the looming threat that they may be split up. Laura initially sets out to find someone to pretend to be their mother, but loses track of that sight once she spends more time with Hanna, connecting more to her than she expected.

From Laura’s side, it feels as though she is mesmerised by Hanna and her caring nature for her. She is easy going but someone who Laura can let her guard down with, being the “child” in the situation where she has usually had to be the matriarch or authority.

While on this journey, Mira is on one of her own, getting her first period and coaching an older man through a local talent show. They have a questionable dynamic at first but you ease into his pretty clear intentions with the relationship.

While all that is going on, Steffi also happens to be frolicking about, gaining independence from her sisters and exploring her newfound freedom. She makes new friends, sees some bad along the way and learns how to process newer and more complicated emotions. Being the youngest, her childlike disposition keeps the film from feeling too bogged down in the yearn to be older. She innocently plays games with friends, while using not so seven year old language.


While the story itself is not one I necessarily connected to, it was impossible not to connect with the characters who are written and performed astonishingly. It is always mind blowing to hear stories of actors discovered in mundane environments who then turn out to be such incredible talents. The three leads, in particular Laura, really showcasing a range of emotions and a natural ability to connect with her costars.

The chemistry between all the central characters is almost too good. It feels like there is some cheating going on. I feel a sneaking suspicion that these are real sisters and the film changed their names to look impressive.

The natural flow in their conversation and casualness of their interactions is so impressive to watch. This extends to the bond that Laura and Hanna share, growing closer each time they invade someone’s private space.

The technical style of the film feels very raw and close. Staying eye level with most of the characters throughout. There are some really beautiful conversations in the film, particularly with Laura and Hanna that are staged in unique ways to capture their ease.

The editing is choppy and fast, keeping up with the unorthodox nature of these sisters, there are unashamed jump cuts throughout a lot of it. From my background in prestigious filmmaking, I was told “no jump cuts ever”, but this film goes against my technical education, understanding where to use them and also that we watch them every single day in social media content, they almost don’t register to me. Almost.

The music is youthful and fun in this film, with a focus on any needle drops being in the world or believably in the world. They chose songs that match the tone but also the characters and what they would choose for the scene. The soundtrack is atmospheric in a nice way, not detracting from the story or playing up too much to attempt to force an emotional response.


So, a lesson in chemistry with a lesson in judging a film by its poster. I am happy to have taken this risk and experienced a strong beginning to a director’s career. That freezing cold corner of Europe is spitting out pretty unique and emotionally intelligent films recently, ones that I am excited to keep track of. As part of this film, I sat through a really insightful Q&A with Mika Gustafson and Alexander Öhrstrand, the two writers of the film. They spoke candidly about their writing process and the journey getting the film made. It is always great to hear from the creators after seeing the film, putting some choices into context and understanding their overall vision for the film. I look forward to more work from the pair with their naturalistic and clearly knowledgeable approach to dialogue and relationships.


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