Beyond

Noomi Rapace shines as Leena in a heartbreaking drama about an unwilling confrontation with memories from a fractured childhood, in Pernilla August’s directorial debut. When Leena receives a phone call from her dying mother, her past is brought back to life. Urged on by her husband (Ola Rapace), she revisits memories of a newly renovated apartment where her parents’ alcoholism coexist with moments of joy and small sunflower plants. A home where she tries to protect her little brother from a violent reality by holding his ears beneath the surface of the bathwater. The film about the Finnish immigrant family is based on a novel by Susanna Alakoski. With realism, tenderness, and exquisite performances, the film skillfully portrays the ambivalence between light and darkness.

• Ida Hofsten