Scheme Birds

It's a testament to the filmmakers' talent and sensitivity that Scheme Birds is never unbearable to watch, nor unduly sentimental in the way of so much liberal-minded cinema.

As a feature-length debut for Swedish duo Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin, it's a work of major promise.

This extraordinary documentary weighs the bleak details - and they are, at times, almost unbearably grim - against moments of lyrical beauty and even humour.

A solar black hole of infinite social gravity. Without films like this, not even light can escape.

Scheme Birds is a poetic, raw project, at times poignantly depressing, and, at others, inspiring and even fun as we are privy to people letting loose and cracking jokes in a typical coming-of-age movie fashion.

Perhaps [directors] Fiske and Hallin thought this documentary would be more compelling if it focused on someone who looks like the girls who star in the MTV reality show Teen Mom. Gemma's story is not unusual enough to have a lasting impact on viewers.

These scheme birds find their instinct for freedom in their own time, and on their own terms.

Although the documentary lays out in detail the rudderless existence of many of the young people, it also finds a visual lyricism and freedom metaphor in Gemma's grandfather's pigeons.

Scheme Birds takes flight when it has the same fierce joy and pride in Motherwell that Gemma does. While perhaps overly narrative, it never condescends or seeks easy answers.

It's a beautifully shot, often heartbreaking slice-of-life tale that quickly pulls the viewer in with its captivating lead.