Paradise Is Burning review – compelling Swedish drama of three abandoned sisters

There’s very little that’s controlled about the chaos in the lives of Laura (Bianca Delbravo), Mira (Dilvin Asaad) and Steffi (Safira Mossberg), three sisters, aged between 16 and seven, whose addict mother disappeared from their home months ago. But the girls have a tight-knit bond and a feral resourcefulness: thanks to tough, protective Laura, the oldest, and to the reluctant support of their neighbours in their impoverished Swedish suburb, the sisters have so far managed to slip under the radar of the authorities. But now social services are threatening a visit, and, in one of the film’s less convincing elements, Laura is distracted by a dangerous friendship with a new mother from the wealthier side of town.

Not everything works in Mika Gustafson’s feature debut, but the performances, in particular that of the magnetic Delbravo, have an unpredictable, wayward energy. And the restless, hungry gaze of the camera captures the savage love and joyous freedom that unites the girls.

• In UK and Irish cinemas