Rape

One winter morning in a suburb of Oslo, a woman is attacked in the snow. Shortly afterwards, there is a second attempted rape. The police investigation zeroes in on a man whose route to work takes him past the crime scene: Anders, a young road worker – taciturn, uneducated and with no alibi. With documentary-like precision, Anja Breien’s feature film debut recounts, through police interviews and the court hearing, the story of a man who is drawn ever deeper into the machinations of the Norwegian justice system. (lf)

‘Anja Breien’s approach, as a feminist filmmaker, to the court proceedings surrounding a rape case is initially surprising: the victims are only significant in the proceedings for the sake of their witness statements. The aftermath of the assaults themselves disappears from view. It is in this absence that Breien’s critique lies. Her direction points beyond the narrative framework to the underlying structures of the Norwegian justice system. By placing the rigid procedures of the court case at the forefront at the expense of the individuals involved, the film exposes a system in which the institution takes precedence over the bodies it is actually supposed to protect.” (Stéphane Charrière, Splitscreen Review, 6 May 2026)