You might have noted the last edition of the Cannes film festival has been full of surprises and original developments: among these stands out Border (Grans is the original title). This work, by the Swedish director Ali Abbasi, based on a story by fellow writer John Ajvide Lindqvist was rewarded for its originality with the Certain Regard Prize.
But why is this work so original? We see it below in the official synopsis

Tina, a customs officer known for her out-of-the-ordinary sense of smell could literally sniff guilt from individuals. Her abilities are however put to the test for the first time when she meets Vore, a seemingly suspicious man. Tina senses Vore is concealing a secret, though unable to understand it, she feels weirdly attracted to him. When a relationship begins she discovers their terrifying true identity: both do not belong to the human world …

Here, as in many other films presented not only at the French festival (just think of The Shape of Water), we explore diversity, marginalization, and introspection in a new fashion. We have an apparently normal world meeting Swedish folk mythology and giving life to a perfectly balanced hybrid between realism and fantasy.
Unlike Guillermo del Toro’s last work, where we experiment a fully immersed fairy-tale atmosphere, Borders is different although many themes may appear similar.
The spectator will find himself at odds before a totally encompassing visionary work. We shall see (definitely unconventional) sex scenes, moments of pain, happiness, and flashes of rage making Borders an unreal but also genuinely human film.
The latest effort by Abbasi does not yet have an official release date, but we know it will soon arrive in our cinemas. The movie is interpreted by an incredible Eva Melander, flanked by Eero Milonoff, Viktor Åkerblom, Andreas Kundler, and Joakim Olsson