Savage

There was a double homicide on the forgotten Swedish countryside several years ago. Two angry young men beat two young women to death, seemingly without any particular reason. The years passed but the images in our heads did not disappear. We tried to forget it, wrote screenplay after screenplay, but we always came back to those murders, and to telling the story about a part of Sweden that we never read about in newspapers, and that is populated by people whose thoughts and destinies rarely reaches beyond their village.

Directed by Martin Jern, Emil Larsson, Savage leans on a strong ensemble — Rolf Jarl, Sofie Karlsson, Michael Petersson — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 2011.