Review of ‘Paradise Is Burning’ – A Beautiful Coming of Age Drama

For children facing parental abandonment, A visit from Social Services is a mixed blessing. Certainly, children should be cared for, not forced to defend themselves, and, for that, the system can be a blessing when it works well. On the other hand, as much as a great new family can be a huge improvement, new homes and families can be as bad or worse than the child’s pre-existing condition. Separate siblings are another danger: there is always the possibility of separation. It is this fear that sustains Paradise Is Two, Mika Gustafsonand a story of sisterhood in these conditions. The film beautifully portrays the dreamy absurdity of a life free from parental control, the difficulties children face when forced to look after siblings, and the uncertainty and confusion when the dreaded visit from Social Services arrives. in, navigating this territory with sensitivity and nuance.

We’re excited (and a little scared) about the possibilities for the kids to run amokleft to their own devices with no “wiser” adults in sight. JM Barriein the play Peter Pan where children effectively rule a fantasyland and never grow up (famously adapted in the classic Disney cartoon), and the famous 1954 novel Lord of the Flies a group of young British boys descend into chaos when left to their own devices (an updated guide to a team of American girls in Yellow jackets). In the history of cinema, when children are left alone for long periods of time, they kill all the adults and form a cult (Children of the Cup), investigating crimes (Johnson tracksand Brick), explore their sexuality in sometimes unhealthy ways (the infamous Children), or (if you’re lucky) fight against Cosmic terror i Stephen King trips like IT. I Paradise Is TwoThe creature that lurks in the shadows is not an interdimensional spider or an angry corn god. It’s a visit from an agency that could tear your family apart.

What is ‘Paradise Is Burning’ about?

Three young Swedish sisters, Laura (Bianca Delbravo), Mira (Dilvin Asaad), and the youngest, Steffi (Safira Mossberg) with no choice but to taking care of each other after her mother’s long periods of frequent abandonment. They spend their days taking care of each other, getting ready for school, shopping to fill the cupboards, celebrating important life events with their own rituals, and running from the people they stole from. The biggest burden falls on 16-year-old Laura, the eldest, who has become the sisters’ de facto caretaker despite the pressures she herself is coming of age. Their lives are thrown into chaos when Social Services organizes a meeting with the girls, which could tear them apart. Laura doesn’t know what to do, so she hides the situation and goes looking for someone to pretend to be her mother. In the process, the teenager builds a vague relationship with a local woman, Hannah (Ida Engvoll), who has friends. The visit is getting closer, and Laura has to figure out how to keep her family together.

Island Is Not A Man, But This Is A Sister

The three young actresses who play the girls are lively and give complex performances in their roles, which have believable chemistry as sisters. Safira Mossberg is very nice as young Steffi, and Dilvin Asaad’s Mira is energetic and full of life. The latter really shines in the critical coming of age milestones. She is the first to fight, shout to the sky with joy, dance with abandon, giving light moments that balance Laura’s seriousness as the oldest. At the same time, Laura Bianca Delbravo is at the heart of the film. She brings out the film’s good-natured, easy moments (her funnier interactions with Hannah Engvoll are beautiful and connected) as well as the moments of tension. Delbravo strips away the calculating mindset that it sometimes takes to survive homelessness or poverty, creating strong tension when it’s just Laura and a camera. Ida Engvoll is also fascinating as Hannah, enjoying the normal freedom of Laura once the two get to know each other.

The proximity of the camera to the girls is always a smart choice: the dialogue here is plentiful but the exposition is sparse, Gustafson preferred to depict the girls’ daily lives through danger and proximity. The choice of perspective, along with clever camerawork from Sine Vadstrup Brooker, adds to the joy of the lighter moments as well as our experience of the film’s tension. Little introspection is visible from the girls, which in a way reflects their youth and the immediate practicality of their daily efforts to survive. There are moments when a little more insight into the subjectivity of the characters could have been welcomed, or a little more history and context put into the various people they meet along the way, but overall the choice is encouraging to watch strong oath on her life.

Overall, Paradise Is Two a fascinating look at three sisters who have created an effective island in the current of their city, skillfully told through keen observation of strong performances. It’s a lean and lean storytelling, illustrated by nuanced performances. The young performers are superb, with Delbravo and Asaad carrying a variety of the emotions that come with growing up too quickly and quite competently. At the same time, the elegance and simplicity of the story leaves some useful story stones unturned. There are moments where better context or details in the girls’ history, the relationship with their community, and their mother would help the overall weight of their journey. Our encounters with the aunt, the social worker, the neighbors are fierce, and it is sometimes difficult to measure the weight of the presence compared to the context of the girls in the past or the present. Context aside, Paradise Is Two is a stunner of an entry thanks to its focus on a talented cast of young performers.

‘Paradise Is Burning’ Is A Serial Exploration Of The Last Minutes Of An Abnormal Childhood

Paradise Is Two It deals with various themes: living on the fringes of society, confronting the threats of an uncertain bureaucratic system, the ingenuity that survival requires, and the freedom of an unencumbered childhood. More importantly, it is an expression of the love and joy of sisterhoodfollowing three girls who only have each other. There are some small missed opportunities here that would have given a better understanding of the girls’ lives and lived experiences, but what’s there usually comes around. The film depicts the reality of an abundantly free but unprotected youth, and the dreamlike quality of certain scenes is particularly appealing. It is quite a trip to watch.

Paradise Is Two now playing in select theaters in the United States before expansion. Click below for showtimes near you.

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