Ronja – Räubertochter

Lightning flashes above Mattis Castle. A clap of thunder splits the castle in two, and at that very moment, Ronja, daughter of the robber chief Mattis, is born. When she turns eleven and ventures into the great, dark Mattis Forest for the first time, her father is beside himself with worry. During one of her walks, she meets Birk, an eleven-year-old boy and the son of Borka, her father’s sworn enemy. Mattis is furious when Ronja tells him that Borka and his band of robbers have taken up residence in the other half of the castle. But despite her father’s objections, Ronja and Birk become the closest of friends. This drives a wedge between Ronja and her father, and in a fit of anger, she eventually leaves Mattis Castle. Can Ronja’s mother, Lovis, bring the two stubborn quarrellers back to the table?

This lavish, spectacular and imaginative adaptation of Astrid Lindgren’s 1981 novel is widely regarded as the finest screen adaptation of her work. In 1985, it was awarded the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for its “outstanding imagination”.