Overview
A unique customs agent discovers her true self while navigating a world of hidden darkness and emotional truths.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- eerie
- provocative
- melancholic
- arthouse film night
- halloween viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Border as a thrilling, unpredictable, brilliantly acted, and unusually intelligent fusion of Nordic noir, social realism, romance, and supernatural horror.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Tina's encounters with Vore radically unsettle her assumptions about her own body, belonging, and humanity.
Eva Melander and Eero Milonoff's heavily transformed appearances shape the film's romantic, social, and supernatural tensions.
Tina's investigation into child pornography and her choices regarding Vore force competing definitions of good and evil.
The customs terminal and isolated woodland home become thresholds between ordinary Swedish society and a hidden supernatural world.
Films like Border, and why
The Shape of Water
Shares uncanny body transformation, outsider identity, morally ambiguous fantasy, and unsettling intimacy.
Let the Right One In
Combines folkloric supernatural elements, taboo desire, disturbing imagery, and sympathetic outsiders.
Under the Skin
Blends surreal body horror, alienation, sexuality, and socially grounded drama into an unsettling genre hybrid.
Movie Details
- Director
- Ali Abbasi
- Release Date
- 2018-09-27
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (948)
Cast
- Eva Melander
- Eero Milonoff
- Jörgen Thorsson
- Ann Petrén
- Sten Ljunggren
- Kjell Wilhelmsen
- Rakel Wärmländer
- Andreas Kundler
- Matti Boustedt
- Tomas Åhnstrand
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Border about?
- A lonely Swedish customs agent who can smell guilt finds belonging with a strange kindred spirit, forcing her to rethink humanity, desire, and morality.
- What is Border like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Border as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Border violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Border as moderate.
- What did critics think of Border?
- Critics broadly praised Border as a thrilling, unpredictable, brilliantly acted, and unusually intelligent fusion of Nordic noir, social realism, romance, and supernatural horror.
- Which films are like Border?
- Films with a similar feel include The Shape of Water, Let the Right One In, and Under the Skin.
- How long is Border?
- Border runs 110 minutes.
- Where can I watch Border?
- In United States, Border is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
