How Long Is “She Monkeys”?

Lisa Aschan's first film is a Swedish coming-of-age drama dealing with the awkwardness, danger and confusion of sexuality. Mathilda Paradeiser plays Emma, an intense mid-teenager who joins an equestrian gymnastics class, while Isabella Lindquist is Emma's much younger sister Sara, who provocatively flirts with her babysitter. When Emma meets fellow gymnast Cassandra, they quickly form a close connection, but Aschan steers away from conventional rites of passage narratives and into more mysterious and interesting territory. The disturbing psychology of young Sara's passions, and the complex portrait of the older girls' turbulent relationship, make this a rewarding film that doesn't patronise its subjects or the audience. In Swedish with English subtitles.