Movie profile

Prästbarn

The story follows Oskar and his two brothers, Jonathan and Lukas, during the 90s, in the outskirts of the Swedish city of Gothenburg. Their father is the local priest of a quiet church and he brings his kids there every Sunday. On this particular Sunday, Oskar doesn’t like what his father says about faith. He and his brothers sneak out to play games in the forest instead. Oskar wants to play a game that has nothing to do with religion, where he has powers of his own. They launch into an anime schoolgirl fantasy frenzy of killing imaginary monsters with laser beams when some older kids find them near the edge of a tall cliff. They bully the brothers, forcing them to confront how weak their faith actually is. Oskar is conflicted: should he stick up for his faith or admit it’s not real?

Directed by Joel Stenbäck