The radicalisation of young people, the pull of toxic ideals, and a cult of resistance, all held together by the sounds of heavy metal and riding the wave of neo-Nazism across Europe. An age-old story: in others, we search for ourselves and for our place in the world.

Luana is a massive fan of heavy metal music and spends her days with headphones on – her way of cutting herself off from the world. From a father who is gravely ill, from a mother she has no wish to see. She falls under the spell of her cousin’s band Wolves, and is ready to follow the musicians wherever their path may lead. Just as she seems to start fitting in, she is swept away by Wiktor, the charismatic new frontman of the band. Destructive feelings grow between them, their untameable nature seeming attractive at first, yet soon enough Luana has to decide who she actually wants to be.

The radicalisation of young people, embracing toxic ideals, and a cult of resistance stitched together by the sounds of heavy metal and seated atop a wave of neo-Nazism in Europe. Swiss director Ulrich brings an age-old story thundering to the screen: how ardently we search for ourselves and our place in other people. The director is drawn to the psychology of youth and the phenomenon of contemporary alienation making us adopt ideas and values we would never choose for ourselves, if only we could feel less alone. The plot escalates in a quiet rumble, with two magnetic performers at its centre – Swiss actress Selma Kopp and Polish actor Bartosz Bielenia (Corpus Christi, 2019).