Play

But not from Michael Haneke (The Piano Teacher, Funny Games) but from Ruben Östlund, Sweden. A toe-curling story that takes plausible after plausible step into the absurd. Sometimes too hard to watch. No happy endings here. Instead at the end the director chooses to open the fourth wall and suddenly turns fiction in a horrible truth and shows his true feathers as a clear racist.

Despite having spent much of the film frustrated at the technique used, I found myself unable to turn away and powerfully affected by the end. Shot with static cameras and long takes, sometimes with nothing happening on screen, the film makes us reluctant voyeurs in the same way that passers-by neither intervene nor quite ignore any drama in a public place. The effect is close to found footage from CCTV, with the action taking place in the background or even completely out of shot. The truth is that this could be happening anywhere in the world, right in front of us, and we would not necessarily know. The bullies have refined their tactics and each knows his role within the overall plan. The targets are slowly but surely trapped in a nightmare where bystanders are seeing everything and nothing. There is a scene where the victims ask for support from coffee shop staff but are unable to express their fears in a way that invites help. I would predict that most of us would be as reluctant as the baristas to call the police, or as unsympathetic as the tram workers who catch the children travelling without tickets.

Although filmed in Sweden and featuring older children, Play has overtones of the James Bulger case in UK, with the group developing rules almost independently of its members. Even the victims become complicit, calling back a child who attempts to escape, evoking ideas of Stockholm syndrome and horrific wartime collaborations.

The final scene adds nothing to the story apart from reversing ethnicities, but by then the impact has been felt. The story is frighteningly believable and compelling viewing.

Ruben Østlund is one of these filmmakers who make timeless films. Play is one of these, a film from 2011. More current than when it was made. Østlund depicts a parallel society with children and young people. Here, the strongest right applies, and an eerie world is depicted. And around various forms of abuse of power and coercion, there are no adults who are capable of intervening. Does this sound familiar considering all the unrest in Sweden and other European countries today? With gangs and young criminals who commit serious crimes. This kind of thing starts somewhere, as this film depicts. As one of the very few, Østlund also dares to address integration and what can happen when it is not successful. Frighteningly good this one.

Seeing this movie in 2025 offers a truly unique experience. Watching Play now, you can clearly sense the death of culture and the fragile peace of European nations reflected in its story. The film's unsettling realism hits harder in today's context, making you question how much has changed-or hasn't-since it was made.

As a foreigner, I found the cafe owner's reaction fascinating yet frustrating. When he simply said, "Please call the police," it felt like he was brushing off a serious issue, reducing it to a formality. My impression was that he'd never faced such problems before and had no clue how to handle them. This helplessness seems woven into the film's fabric-it's so realistic that I had to remind myself this might just be the nature of their society, not an exaggeration. It left me wondering: if a child walked into a cafe in 2025 with the same desperate request, would people still respond so passively? Or would the events in Europe over the past few years-rising tensions, social shifts-push them to act differently, to actually help?

The film also digs into deeper ideas. A society that tramples its own values and then gets attacked doesn't deserve pity-it needs to confront the oppressor head-on. Play shows this through subtle moments, like the bureaucracy on the train. That scene stuck with me: the train conductor, trapped by rules, can't make a simple decision. It's a perfect metaphor for how systems enslave people, stripping away their ability to act freely or morally.

Visually, the cinematography is striking. The long, steady shots create a cold, almost documentary-like feel, forcing you to sit with the discomfort. It's not a film that spoon-feeds you answers; it demands you think. Looking back, I appreciate how it balances art and social commentary without preaching. It's a slow burn, but one that lingers.

This is a really good movie that challenges our perceptions about class, age, and ethnicity. What I appreciate is that Östlund dares to tackle this difficult subject without moralizing or even trying to justify what the immigrant gang is doing. Instead, the director portrays a grim reality that many people today live in, thereby challenging society's attitude towards these violent youth gangs. The argument that erupts at the end between the father and some woman captures the frustration everyday people currently experiences in a brilliant way. Unfortunately, what brings the film down is the boring cinematography. I understand that Östlund wants to come across as a bit arty and artistic, but please, let go of Roy Andersson's mind-numbingly dull style! It drags the pace down to a painfully slow level. However, with that said, I will still recommend this movie as watchworthy. Few directors even dare to touch this theme after all!