Paradise Is Burning (2023) User Reviews

What a debut! Feels real! Brilliant! Pure Art! Beautiful!

[alexanderliljefors · 8/10 · 6 March 2024]

The winner of Swedens best film of 2023 at the "Guldbaggegalan" delivers with a deep and really well made debut from Mika Gustafsson! Pure art! Beautiful! Well deserved winner!

This movie is meant to deliver emotions and authenticity. Which is certainly managed to succeed with!

The acting is simple and brilliant! It feels extremely real and is performed with passion, from every actor. Aswell the manuscript is really amazing!

Cinematography, editing and filming is really beautiful! Amazing soundtrack!

What a debut! Definitely, if not THE best, one of the best Swedish films of 2023! A excellent drama! Im sure we will see Mika Gustafsson making big films in the future!

A film you have to see!

Incredible, emotional and real debut

[martinpersson97 · 10/10 · 6 November 2023]

This debut by an ever promising and upcoming filmmaker is definitely deserving of all its awars and praise. Seldom has the melancholy of everyday life, the hardships of growing up and the strength of siblinghood been depicted in Swedish cinema.

It is a very metaphorical film, heavy on imagery, allegories and incredible cinematography. All around very beautifully put together in terms of both cutting and editing, wonderfully paced.

The actors all do an incredible job, and I wish them a very fruitful career. Very impressive for sure.

Overall, simply a masterpiece, very unconventional, very impressive.

Highly recommended for any lover of film!

Outstanding performance BUT failing story

[fredrik-81644 · 4/10 · 28 March 2024]

I really wanted to like this movie. Beautifully filmed, superb editing and an outstanding performance by the debuting actors. The dilemma is the story. I don't know if this movie is meant to take place in some parallel invented society. If not, I have a very hard time understanding the story. It is unlikely that three girls could live alone, not go to school and use alcohol without the outside world reacting. There are stray dogs, which hardly exists in Sweden. Smoking in bars that has been banned for 20 years. The film raises many questions that are never answered. Where is the mother who abandoned her children? What happened when social services came to visit? How did the relationship between Laura and Hanna go? It's sad that such a well-made film has such a bad story.