Parents' Guide to Stolen

Stolen is a look at a world little known to those outside of Scandinavia. For that reason, a little explanation about the Sami, the only indigenous people of Europe, would've been helpful for foreign audiences. In other cultures, prejudice against people is often based at least in part on skin color, but the peoples at war look the same, making it even more important to supply information on the history of the prejudice and why it lives on. The scenery is beautifully snowy and the traditional costumes are colorful, but only occasionally do we understand the resentment of Swedes living side-by-side in the frozen land for the government help offered the Sami. Reindeer herding is subsidized we learn, but why do the Sami herd reindeer? The economics are never mentioned -- that the animals are raised for meat. The film doesn't explain that skins, bones, and horns are also used.

We can extrapolate from the ugly, violent prejudice that the tensions between the two groups have been long-standing. It seems herding doesn't sustain the Sami economically, which is why at least one Sami goes to work in the local mines, the existence of which most Samis oppose because its location disrupts reindeer feeding. Also, it's hard to miss inconsistencies that aren't mentioned by any Sami. Samis cite climate change as a threat to their way of life, but none mention their own role as they ride around in gas-guzzling snowmobiles. It's hard to claim higher principles when they are polluting their own environment.