Queen of Hearts
Dir. May el-Toukhy
This Danish film which was the country’s submission to the Oscars is about a delicate subject. A lawyer who specializes…
The Ciambra
Dir. Jonas Carpignano
This fiery coming-of-age drama has an unlikely origin story: director Jonas Carpignano was first introduced to the sprawling Roma clan…
Becoming Astrid
Dir. Pernille Fischer Christensen
This Swedish movie is the story of Astrid Lindgren, one of the most translated children book writers of all time.…
Sami Blood
Dir. Amanda Kernell
This coming-of-age story starts in the present time, where Elle Marja, now a grandmother, reluctantly goes to her sister’s funeral…
Evil
This thriller is about a modern-day Catholic “assessor” who investigates supernatural cases to see if an exorcism is needed. Don’t…
Show Me Love
Dir. Lukas Moodysson
Set in the small town of Åmål, western Sweden, the debut feature by Lukas Moodysson (We Are the Best), is…
The Sacrifice
Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky
The end of the world, of course, forces people to contemplate one’s life purpose, the choices they made, and the…
The Conference
Dir. Patrik Eklund
Familiarity breeds contempt, and Swedish Netflix’s new horror-comedy takes this idea to the extreme. Based on the novel by Mats…
Border
Dir. Ali Abbasi
If you like: weird movies and / or Scandinavian mythology, this movie is for you. It’s about unusual looking border…
A House Made of Splinters
Dir. Simon Lereng Wilmont
Somewhere near the border between Russia and Ukraine lies a shelter for kids coming from unstable homes. Their parents, either…
My Life as a Dog
Dir. Lasse Hallström
This Swedish surprise hit captivated viewers across the Atlantic because of one thing: the lead’s perspective. Okay, well, the performances…
Beauty and the Dogs
Dir. Kaouther Ben Hania
Given the topic, there’s no surprise that Beauty and the Dogs is a harrowing watch. The gang rape itself is…
The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki
Dir. Juho Kuosmanen
Most sports biopics are centered around winners– their drive, their spirit, and their determination to beat the competition, and maybe…
Songs from the Second Floor
Dir. Roy Andersson
We’ve seen anthology films with three, four, sometimes even five parts, but Songs from the Second Floor comprises forty six…
White God
Dir. Kornél Mundruczó
When we think about dog films, we think about overly sentimental, feel-good flicks, with the dogs sometimes voiced by famous…
As It Is in Heaven
Dir. Kay Pollak
A Swedish film about a world-famous conductor who suddenly interrupts his career to return alone to his childhood village in Norrland. It…
Fanny and Alexander
Dir. Ingmar Bergman
Given the way this sprawling three-hour theatrical edit echoes the director’s real childhood, it’s easy to say that Fanny and…
Sound of Noise
Dir. Johannes Stjärne Nilsson & Ola Simonsson
When a group of percussionists illegally carry out a city-wide performance act, it’s up to policeman Amadeus Warnebring to stop…
Force Majeure
Dir. Ruben Östlund
A seemingly well-adjusted Scandinavian Family vacationing in the French Alps experiences a frightening avalanche scare near the beginning of Force…
Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words
Dir. Stig Björkman
A wonderful homage to the woman, actress, and mother based largely on her own archives and interviews with her four…