Lorna Irvine raves about the 'hilarious, poignant, defiantly unsentimental' film.
Swedish director Lukas Moodysson's character-driven films often deal with an unflinching eye on the awkwardness and exploitation of young people. In his controversial feature Lilya 4-Ever (2004) he tackles a teenage girl's descent into drug abuse and child prostitution. Comedy drama Together (2001),ostensibly a film about adults trying to keep it together in a hippy commune as their relationships fall apart, has a horribly uncomfortable scene where a woman sexually flirts with a little boy. However, his latest, We Are The Best!, based on his wife Coco's childhood, is a far sweeter proposition.
Thirteen-year-old proto-feminists Klara (Mira Grosin) and Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) are the school misfits in Stockholm in 1982. Left to get on with it by their respective ineffectual parents, they are propelled by boredom into small acts of everyday rebellion: laughing at the Barbie doll girls in their class, spiking their hair up with soap, cheating at sport, stealing booze and binging on chocolate ice cream and cookies.
When this isn't enough to assuage their ennui, headstrong, domineering Klara suggests they form a punk band, despite not playing any instruments. When mousey Christian classmate Hedvig (Liv LeMoyne) proves she is a classical guitar virtuoso in a school talent contest, they initially use her to teach them how to play (‘it's punk to hang out with the less fortunate!’) before bonding with her and ultimately forming a true friendship.
The punk trio (after a haircut hijacking) is thus complete—like a little baby Bikini Kill. Hedvig is a perfect fit, the sensible mother figure and centre of stability with her loving background and common sense approach. She also plays and sings beautifully. All three girls excel in roles that are emotionally articulate- the crushes, hopes and moments that disappoint, all cringingly recognisable, yet subtly portrayed.
But of course it's Barkhammar's film all the way- clearly the driving force of the film, based on Coco's experiences. Her androgynous little Bobo in glasses may seem cheeky and self-contained but is underneath the bluster confused, vulnerable and, in one heart-rending scene (when her little friends pair off with two boys from a punk band downtown) desperately in need of affection. Her wounded eyes cut to the heart of how lonely and frustrating it is to be a pubescent girl.
The snowy urban setting of Stockholm only adds to the sense of isolation and otherness the girls feel, and the naturalistic feel gives a warmth and intimacy lacking in larger budget films. Moodysson understands that teenagers, particularly young girls, are still under-represented in cinema, and his honesty is both refreshing and deeply moving.
There's nothing at all here evocative of the somewhat twee 80s teen American films, or even current ones- so when the band do eventually play a gig, it's excruciating: nobody bursts into rapturous applause in slow-mo, starts dancing, or high-fiving . If comparisons really have to be made, there is a kindred spirit in the sweet and hilarious Brit film Son of Rambow (2007)where a mischievous boy befriends a Brethren boy, or Ang Lee's The Ice Storm (1998) where children try to be adults, and adults, children.
It's far too well-observed for teen movie clichés, far too badly behaved, hilarious, poignant, defiantly unsentimental...and I love it. Anyone with a heart and a brain will too: 102 minutes of feeling like a kid again. I'm almost evangelical about it.
RSS