Review: Sami Blood

Sami Blood is the beautiful and moving debut feature film from Swedish director Amanda Kernell. A majority of the film is a coming of age story set in 1930s Sweden about a young Elle-Marja, a member of the indigenous Sami people. The film is framed at beginning and end by an old Elle-Marja (now called Christina) facing the home she abandoned long ago to attend her sister’s funeral. As the film starts, we can tell that Christina is deeply uncomfortable returning to Lapland, the tension between her and distant relatives during the funeral service is so pronounced it even puts the audience on edge. We don’t know the source of the tension, though allusion is made to an estranged relationship between Christina and her recently deceased sister. While her son and granddaughter attempt to reconnect with their family history, Christina further isolates herself by renting a hotel room close to the city.

Maj-Doris Rimpi does an incredible job portraying the pain of an old wound that is re-opened by Christina’s return to her home. She avoids eye contact with her relatives, refuses to leave flowers on her sister’s casket, and pretends not to understand the native Sami tongue. Though we have no context, the viewer understands there is some deep-seated pain or trauma that Christina has yet to process. While she is stuck in her own mind, we are brought along with her to revisit her past.

Sami Blood is an unflinching look at the racist mistreatment of the Sami people. Forced into a boarding school meant to teach Sami children “proper” Swedish culture, Elle-Marja and her younger sister get their first glimpse of how their people are treated. It was not far from the horror stories I’ve heard of the Native American assimilation schools that were established throughout America in the late 1800s. For the Sami, however, the goal is not assimilation into mainstream Swedish culture, but for Elle-Marja and the others to learn of their inferiority to the Swedes of non-indigenous descent. Once they have been educated as far as the Swedish government decides them capable of, they are to return home to Lapland to tend to reindeer.

The emotional heart of the film is the relationship between Elle-Marja and her sister Njenna. While Elle-Marja dreams of seeing Uppsala and becoming a ‘true’ Swede, Njenna loves their traditional way of life. Though they love each other, they do not understand each other. Njenna thinks her sister is selfish for wanting to assimilate, while Elle-Marja calls her sister an idiot for not understanding the way the world sees their people and wanting to leave that prejudice behind. Ultimately, what irrevocably destroys their relationship is Elle-Marja changing her name to Christina and leaving home.
Overall, Sami Blood is a moving portrait of the complicated, often painful relationship between sisters as well as the racism faced by the Sami people. I came away from the theater deeply touched and curious to learn more about the Sami. If you have the chance to see this film, I strongly recommend it.