Stockholm, in the 1950s. Erik is expelled from the local school for getting into one brawl too many. To protect Erik from his violent stepfather’s reaction to his expulsion, Erik's mother arranges for Erik to spend a year at Stjärnsberg Boarding School, the only school willing to accept him. This is Erik's last chance to graduate to Upper School and he promises his mother, for his and her sake, to do all he can to stay out of trouble.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.6/10
IMDb: 7.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.78/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 36%
Metacritic: 61
TMDB: 7.3/10
Director
Mikael Håfström
Production
Moviola Film och Television AB, Skinworxxx, Nordisk Film Sweden
Cast
Andreas Wilson, Henrik Lundström, Gustaf Skarsgård, Linda Zilliacus, Jesper Salén, Mats Bergman, Johan Rabaeus, Marie Richardson, Lennart Hjulström, Björn Granath, Filip Berg, Ulf Friberg, Kjell Bergqvist, Fredrik af Trampe, Peter Eggers, Henrik Linnros, Sannamari Patjas, Magnus Roosmann, Danny Saucedo
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A hard-edged, emotionally charged boarding-school drama that turns institutional cruelty into a coming-of-age survival story. It’s especially strong if you want a grim, propulsive film about class, violence, and moral compromise rather than a sentimental redemption arc.
Best for
viewers who like bleak coming-of-age dramas
fans of boarding-school power dynamics
people interested in bullying and institutional abuse
audiences drawn to tense, character-driven European dramas
Skip if
you want an uplifting or inspirational school story
you’re sensitive to sustained bullying and abuse
you prefer subtle, low-conflict dramas
you want a fast, plot-heavy thriller
Overview
Set in 1950s Sweden, this is a bruising coming-of-age story about a boy sent to boarding school as a last chance to avoid a worse fate at home. What begins as a familiar school drama quickly becomes a study of hierarchy, humiliation, and the way violence reproduces itself inside rigid institutions.
Worth noting
The film’s power comes from its pressure-cooker setting and the way it keeps Erik trapped between two forms of domination: the abusive world he comes from and the cruel order of the school. It has the shape of a survival tale, but the emotional payoff is more complicated than triumph. The movie understands that resistance can be messy, costly, and morally compromising.
Bottom line
It’s a strong fit for viewers who like their period dramas unsentimental and their protagonists rough around the edges. If you respond to stories about friendship forged under pressure, or to films that expose the social machinery behind cruelty, this is well worth your time.
Top Letterboxd reviews
amanda (3.5★) · 361 likes
erik and pierre are now married & living in france as the power couple they always were
raghaddd (3.5★) · 333 likes
dead poets society gone wrong
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (4★) · 180 likes
ON THE ROAD: SWEDEN - LAND OF THE TALL, THE SOUNDS, IKEA, ABBA & THE ICE HOTEL
It’s like Dead Poet Society minus the inspirational teacher, sentimentalism, friendship, optimism... and a lot more of hazing, other forms of bullying, no teachers, domestic abuse, swimming, and a guy getting dropped a bucket of literal s**twater.
Performances are all really great, namely the villains and our lead, whom you grow to feel somewhat sorry for despite him also succumbing to the evil that… more
katja (3★) · 113 likes
erik ponti underrated sigma
kajsa ❣️ (4★) · 110 likes
this movie: hmmm how do we establish that this is set in the 50s??? by mentioning elvis and james dean in the span of three minutes