1960s, Stockholm. Sixteen-year-old Eric is in trouble for violence. At home, he is beaten by his stepfather, he is thrown out of school for beating another student. The closed school in Stjansberg is Eric’s last chance to be admitted to the final high school exams. But even here, violence flourishes: a terrible system of humiliation and brutality prevails among the students, led by the aristocrat Otto. Eric becomes a victim of covert insults, and has a hard time escaping a cruel, force-based game. For Erik, it is a question of life and death: how to remain dignified without engaging in a whirlwind of violence and cruelty that could ruin his future? It is an exciting cinematic study of the use of force and its functioning in society. This autobiographical adaptation of Jan Guillou’s novel has been hailed by critics as the best Swedish film of the year. The film was also nominated for an Oscar.
