Over the years, you start to build an impression of a country from the films it produces. Enough films have come out of Scandinavia to depict a general feeling that there's not a lot to do in these countries except drink a lot and get depressed.

This Swedish film delves that little further, revealing that you really are screwed if you're a teenager in one of these countries, as one of the activities considered fun for the young is a form of gymnastics on horseback which, let's face it, makes meeting up for a burger and shake at your local McDonald's sound positively glamorous in comparison.

Small towns in Sweden really don't have that much to offer young folk by ways of entertainment. Emma (Mathilda Paradeiser) decides that she wants to join a girl's equestrian gymnastics team. As sports go, it's a pretty demanding one, as it entails doing various gymnastic disciplines whilst going round and round on horseback.

It's there that she meets Cassandra (Linda Molin). The pair soon develop a friendship, albeit a fairly testing one. Cassandra treats Emma like a plaything to be begin with, turning their friendship into some sort of game. Slowly but surely however, Emma proves that she's no push over for anyone.

At the same time, Emma's younger sister Sara (Isabella Lindquist) is struggling with the next step of her development, from little girl to young woman.

Both girls are on journeys of self awareness, without either really knowing what's at the end of it for either of them.

With money running out for Britain's Olympics, the women's 4x400 relay race is forced to relocate to a school playground in Bow.

Director Lisa Aschan reinforces the various stereotypes of not only living in Sweden but also the impression made by many Swedish films gone before. There's certainly know emotional warmth from any of its central characters; it's understandable from the point of view of the two sisters, to a certain extent, as their father is a somewhat fleeting character. On top of that, there's no word or mention of their mother, whose obvious absence from their lives proves significant. Without a matriarchal figure in their lives, the pair struggle with their roles in society.

Emma's journey is a veritably chilly one. The only significant relationship she develops is with someone whom it seems she has very little by way of a real relationship with. Her time spent with Cassandra seems to serve no other purpose than to spend it with someone similar to herself. It doesn't help either that Cassandra has quite a dark agenda when it comes to the concept of friendship. But with few options open to either of them, it appears that neither really have any say in the matter.

The fact that it's really difficult to ascertain what Emma is really thinking, makes it difficult to connect with her on any level. Her younger sister however, is a different story.

Whether it was intentional or not, it's actually the young Sara's story that's actually the most heart-warming between the two. The film as a whole depicts two sisters who are both in transitional periods in their lives. But it's Sara's transition that proves to be the one that is more emotionally engaging. Without a mother figure, or a sister she can really talk to discuss things with for that matter, Sara visually struggles with the new wave of emotions she has to deal with; whereas her sister does a swell job of hiding everything she's feeling, if indeed she's feeling anything at all.

It's an interesting examination of how two young women deal with the new situations that they're presented with, but just like the lead character Emma, just don't expect to feel much in the way of anything at the end of it. But that's the Scandinavian way, it seems.

If nothing else it simply reinforces the fact that boys really do have it so much easier in life.