It is based on the 2007 novel Submarino by Jonas T. Bengtsson, and focuses on two brothers on the bottom of Danish society, with lives marked by violence and drug addiction.

The story of two brothers who lose track of each other after an unstable childhood until they meet up again in prison is the focus of former Dogme 95 director Thomas Vinterberg's film based on a book by Jonas T. Bengtsson, a Danish novelist celebrated for his unflinching realism.

Nick and his younger brother have grown up in terrible circumstances: their childhood was marked by poverty, abuse and an alcoholic mother until the family was torn apart by tragedy.

Vinterberg thought the condition helped the film's authenticity and likened the experience to his very earliest works: "That eagerness, energy, whole-hearted devotion from people starting a career was amazing.

"[5] Feature-film debutants included the cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen, the scriptwriter Tobias Lindholm and the stage actor Peter Plaugborg who played Nick's brother.

Submarino is harder and more brutal, but, behind its harsh facade, carried by sympathy for the characters, and it is first and foremost created with a completely fearsome consistency, which one hasn't seen the like of in Thomas Vinterberg since The Celebration.

He thought the story and subject by themselves were strong enough to make an excellent film, and continued: "but what elevates Submarino into a great work of art, is the symbolic redemption of the serious material.