Border

Starring Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff, Jorgon Thorsson and Ann Petrén
Written by Ali Abbasi, Isabella Eklöf and John Ajvide Lindqvist
Directed by Ali Abbasi
Sweden 2018
110 mins

The Acton Film Club started in 2009 and we are screening a film that may have gone under your radar from every year since we began - this time 2018.

Tina works for the customs service in the Swedish sport of Kapellskär. She has an unusual appearance and a remarkable ability to sniff out contraband. This strange power leads her to make a sinister discovery about a passenger passing though the border that involves the police and a shocking discovery.

Away from work Tina's emotional life is stagnant. She lives with Roland in a remote woodland cabin - but he seems more interested in the dogs he keeps while she rejects his occasional advances. But when Tina connects with a traveller who has similar looks to her own a startling new chapter in her life begins.

'Border' is based on a short story by John Ajvide Lindqvist - author of the acclaimed novel 'Let The Right One In' - which was itself made into a memorable movie in 2008. The two pictures have common themes - the struggle of the minority and the problems of prejudice and difference. Both dare to deal with taboos and transgression.

The performances are excellent - in particular Eva Melander is extraordinary as the outsider who calls herself 'an ugly strange human with a chromosome flaw'.

'Border' combines Scandic noir with folklore, satire and social drama - the result is a unique, utterly surprising and oddly sensual romance - undoubtedly one of the most unusual films in recent memory.