R

Rune is a young Dane who has been sentenced for a serious violent crime and finds himself in an old, heavily guarded prison. He is determined to keep out of sight as much as possible and out of the battle for power, but on the first day it becomes clear he has no option. There is no escaping the merciless prison culture with its strict pecking order, violent codes of honour and secret contracts. Thanks to his dexterity, he manages to get a privileged position for himself.
R was shot entirely on location in prison and partly thanks to the convincing extras, the feature debut by the directors Tobias Lindholm and Michael Noer feels authentic and oppressive. Together they had previously made a short film, and Noer had already shown in two documentaries that he knew how to handle natural realism. In R that is amplified by very effective camera work that makes optimal use of the oppressive frames of the grungy space and a minimalist, electronic soundtrack.
R proves what was already clear in the French film Un prophète, which is also screened at the Festival: the prison thriller is alive and well. With a secondary role for director and actor Omar Shargawi, Tiger Award winner with Go With Peace Jamil (2008).

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