01/07/2026 - Julia Thelin’s debut film is one of those films that may not be perfect – treading a fine line when it comes to credibility – yet remains mesmerising from start to finish

To open the 41st edition of Cinema Jove in Valencia, the festival’s programmers made an excellent choice in selecting the satirical thriller The Patron, the feature-film debut (following her experience in short films such as Push It and Tweener) of Swedish filmmaker Julia Thelin. The film’s intricate yet gripping plot keeps viewers glued to their seats, constantly wondering where the story will turn next and, above all, whether it will end badly.

It follows a cleaner (played by Carla Sehn) who longs for a better life in every respect and, after posing as an influential art patron (Mecenaten is the original title), invites two young aspiring artists – scraping by as occasional waiters – into her absent boss’s luxurious, empty home. What begins as a seemingly innocent game soon spirals into deception, a craving for recognition and an abuse of power.

Having premiered at the Gothenburg Film Festival, The Patron at times recalls (as Thelin herself acknowledges) the claustrophobic cinema of Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, the psychological films of Roman Polanski, the severity of Michael Haneke, and even the caustic humour of her compatriot Ruben Östlund. The latter’s The Square is an especially apt comparison, as both films use individual frames to build a scathing critique of the art world, its egos and its hierarchies: an elitist and pretentious cosmos where power is exercised despotically and dreams are idealised, even when they verge on the ridiculous (and pathetic).

Above all, this film is an analysis of human behaviour and the desire to be something more, to climb the social ladder in a society that rarely allows it. The characters let themselves to be swept along by ambition, crossing moral and ethical boundaries, willing to believe any lie if it promises the success they crave.

Featuring just three lead actors (the aforementioned Sehn, Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen and Maxwell Cunningham), a few minor characters, and filmed in just a handful of locations (chiefly a stately home surrounded by Nordic countryside), the film embraces ambiguity. It is steeped in psychological violence and driven by a mystery that keeps viewers on edge, constantly wondering: “How long can the protagonist maintain this enormous lie?”

With moments of intense tension (including sexual tension) and others that teeter on the edge of credibility, The Patron becomes a cinematic cry. An awkward and tense eruption of weariness, dissatisfaction and anger, the film channels these emotions in multiple forms across its scenes. It leaves no viewer indifferent, polarising audiences who either love it for its daring narrative gamble or cannot stand it for precisely the same reason.

The Patron is produced by the Swedish company Grand Slam Film.

(Translated from Spanish)