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Paradise Is Burning

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Paradise Is Burning

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Summary

Three sisters aged 7 to 16 live alone after their mother vanishes for whole swathes of time. When the social services demand a family meeting, oldest sister Laura plans to find a stand-in for their mother.

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Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

David Parkinson

In Mika Gustafson's potent drama, gutsy Swedish teenager Laura (Bianca Delbravo) has been an unconventional carer for her sisters Mira (Dilvin Asaad) and Steffi (Safira Mossberg) since their mother left. However, with social services snooping, she struggles to keep the family together. Laura has to shoplift for food and negotiate with neighbours and her situation draws her into an unconventional liaison with Hannah (Ida Engvoll), a mother with post-natal depression. The movie is at its best when focussing on the bonding and banter between the siblings, who live an almost feral life on their scruffy housing estate. Delbrava is excellent in her role, being both pugnaciously resourceful and painfully vulnerable. 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.

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6.5/10

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rolenameDirectorMika Gustafson

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Swedish

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