There was a disturbing moment in my sixth grade class. A teacher we had for a short while was about to leave when she told us that everything was not well in this class. Few of us understood what she was talking about. Sure, there was some degree of bullying as in every other class… but she seemed to be addressing something far more alarming. As an adult, I’m still not sure what she meant to say, but perhaps it’s telling that my class hasn’t remained in touch over the years.
This film depicts teenagers at their worst, between the ages of 13 and 16, when they can be a nightmare for any teacher or parent. But first-time director Alex Schulman aims for a lot more.
Headed to an island camp
When a class of young teenagers are heading out to an island camp called Arkipelag, Bill (Gustaf Skarsgård) volunteers as a chaperone; reluctantly, Bobo and Pontus (Fares Fares, Linus Wahlgren) also sign up. On the island, Bill is immediately bothered by a group of boys who seem to be bullying another kid, Kenneth (Olof Olingdahl). When Bill interferes, the leader of the group tries to intimidate him and he backs down. Bobo steps in and takes charge, but the bullying doesn’t seem to stop. As it turns into a personal crusade for Bill, his daughter warns him that everyone in the class has reason not to like Kenneth…
Hitting a nerve
When newspaper columnist turned best-selling author and popular podcaster Alex Schulman got the chance to direct his first movie, based on his own screenplay, and the committee for selecting Sweden’s Oscar submission picked the film before it even opened in theaters, there was reason to be wary. Could it really be that good, or were the members of the committee blinded by Schulman’s fame, thinking it would translate naturally outside Sweden’s borders? After seeing Adult Supervision, I don’t believe it will get nominated, considering strong competition from much more talked-about films. But it is surprisingly good, hitting a nerve among audiences.
The three leads are all excellent, bound to trigger raw emotional reactions from audiences.
Schulman was inspired by his own experiences chaperoning a class on a field trip where his daughter participated; the awkward experience clearly made him think about boundaries, or the lack of them, among kids and adults alike. In the film, he examines the social games between children who have not yet learned how to control their worst instincts – only to then turn the spotlight on the adults who fail to an even worse degree. There’s Bobo the alpha male who confuses masculinity with violence; Pontus, the married man who lusts after one of the camp youth leaders; and Bill, who’s so stuck in his own past that he can’t see the big picture. The three leads are all excellent, bound to trigger raw emotional reactions from audiences; the kids are also very good, especially Olingdahl as the troubled Kenneth. There is much discomfort on display, some of the confrontations pioneered by Ruben Östlund in his films, demanding us to ponder what our own reactions would have been in similar situations. Schulman makes it ring true, even as he ratchets up tension in the film’s second half.
Swedes are used to seeing movies set in enchantingly sunny archipelago landscapes, but this one blocks out the light and reminds you of cold nights at camp with other kids you will be happy to never meet again in the future.
Adult Supervision 2026-Sweden. 108 min. Color. Widescreen. Written and directed by Alex Schulman. Music: Wilhelm Börjesson, Oskar Rindborg. Cast: Gustaf Skarsgård (Bill), Fares Fares (Bobo), Linus Wahlgren (Pontus), Olof Olingdahl, Elsa Öhrn, Josefin Neldén, Gustaf Hammarsten.
Trivia: Original title: Arkipelag.
Last word: “[After getting mocked on Schulman’s podcast] Gustaf was very angry, so he went out publicly and [said] what he thought about us, and then we had a war for a couple of years. [Later on] I sent [the script] to the head of the [Royal Dramatic Theatre], and Gustaf read it and liked it. Then after being public enemies for so long, we met in this restaurant. I remember him coming in, and I rose from the table, and we just hugged. Then it was over.” (Schulman, The Hollywood Reporter)