We Are the Best! (2013)

Imponderably dull film about a few snot-nosed, selfish, well-off teens who whine throughout the entirety of the reel. Each scene is pointless, banal and lacks any charm or warmth. There is no redeeming character at all to be found, just a pastiche of cartoon elements and vapid dialogue. All we get are the teens complaining about each and every thing. Also, they are not even punk. Even the comedic elements are lacking. The teens stink as a band and the end is just as insignificant as the start.When I was a punk rock kid, we did things like put out zines, flyers, had rumbles with metal heads, jocks or cowboys, put up bands at our homes, protested against causes, unloaded band equipment for the Misfits, Minor Threat, Black Flag, TSOL, etc.The teens in the film are just entirely brain dead.

This is absolutely one of the freshest of the recent crop of movies. Simple and disarming, the gentle narrative takes you in and brings alive the stories of young people growing up in Stockholm in the 80s. We begin with two girls, Klara and Bobo, both of whom are somewhat invisible to the adults in their lives as well as to their peers. They are creative enough to explore and experiment with the freedom that their marginal status paradoxically accords them. We see Klara, the dominant personality, challenged in subtle and direct ways by Bobo, who, though more reticent, is actually an equally strong character. One of the most touching aspects of the film is the girls' decision to take in Hedvig, a talented classical guitarist who is more socially disconnected than they, as their close friend. Hedvig proves also to be their equal. Together, the three girls literally ignite as they discover their ability to collaborate in forming a punk band and writing their own music, taking on largely innocent modes of rebellion to create their own niche in a world that mostly leaves them free to find their own way. The girls are up to the challenge, with the result that the viewer's time spent with them on-screen is richly rewarded. A highlight is the girls' theme song, "Hata Sport" ("Hate the Sport") in which they argue that there are more important things in the world than the next sports competition and "throwing your ball." The real delight of the film is watching all three girls' personalities develop. A breath of fresh Scandinavian air.

It's been a while since i saw a Moodysson film. You forget just how effortless he makes film-making seem, but then you only have to watch almost any other movie with actors these ages to realise what a feat this is. If anything, the actors here are too young for their characters (unsusual!) - there was a scene near the end where the two leads are fighting that was hard to take seriously, and more seriously, the actress playing Bobo looked a little lost here as well! It lacks the depth or profundity of some of his earlier work, such as Show Me Love. That was 16 years ago, i remember it so clearly! Will I be thinking about this one for days after? i don't think so. Does Moodysson not make darker films any more? That's a shame, but for what this is, a light comedy suitable for all, plus a gentle homage to Sweden in the early 80s, it succeeds brilliantly. He's a little bit like the American John Hughes at showing a child's POV without being patronising, but unlike Hughes also without painting the adults in two dimensions. I'm hoping he'll make more films like this, maybe a bit longer and less afraid of upsetting the audience (that doesn't mean they all have to be like Lilya 4-ever either,there's a balance somewhere!). I'm being picky because i'm a fan - highly recommended and needs wider exposure like all of his films.

'Punk is dead' as they say in the film which is set in 1982. Punk fans from 1977 have moved on to Joy Division and young people are dancing in tacky attire to The Human League! Not these three passionate young 13 year old girls Bobo, Clara and Hedvig. They still think punk is very much alive and want to form a band, even though the founding members Bobo and Clara cannot play (They later recruit Hedvig who is a classical guitarist). A simple premise like this makes for one of the most enjoyable films this year so far.Bobo and Clara are outsiders in their school. Bobo is the shy, androgynous type, whereas Clara is the outspoken type with naïve anti-establishment views. After a minor punishment in gym class for not joining in, they vent their frustrations at the seemingly unnecessary part of the school curriculum by writing a song titled 'Hate the Sport'. They pretend to be in a band when they are at their local youth club and manage to book a room where there is instruments. Since they cannot play a note between them, they need to recruit someone else. When watching Hedvig play classical guitar to a chorus of boos from the audience at a school concert, they recognise she is an outsider as well. There is discussion over whether Hedvig's Christian views would be fitting with their image. Clara amusingly thinks of it as a challenge to turn her from Christian into a punk.The three girls boast the usual mixture of cynicism towards mainstream cultural ideals and a positive enthusiasm for changing the world. The actresses do a stellar job in making the conversations and interaction seem very believable. The film is often very funny and very relatable to anyone who was some kind of passionate outsider as a teenager. The parents of the girls are also well observed. Here we have burned out and embarrassing hippy parents who are sickeningly liberal and a single mum who floats from man to man to suppress her loneliness. They may have at one time been enthusiastic and idealistic in their formative years much like the central characters, but life has made them 'uncool'! The dialogue seems ad-libbed most of the time and done very well. The scenes are expertly edited so the conversations are not drawn out so much which happens often with improvised dialogue. It also has a social realism aesthetic to it which I feel is needed for a film like this it really encapsulates the energetic, youthful optimism which is also realistic.After years of apparently making dark art films, Director Lukas Moodysson has made something here which encapsulates the spirit and energy of youth and punk. I feel it is Directed by someone who really understands punk as not just a genre of music, but a passion and attitude which lives in the hearts and minds of, in this case, the dis-enfranchised youth. The fact that it is based on his wife's comic book in which she writes of her own experiences as a teenager, it seems like a personal project too. I could not stop grinning throughout the whole film as I found it a particularly joyful experience. The film gives way to poignant moments like the scene when Hedvig plays an acoustic version of a song by Swedish punk band KSMB. It was a scene which made me nearly cry and really gave the lyrics a new perspective with the acoustic guitar. It made me want to go home and write a songs expressing my general vitriol towards the bureaucracy of sport, but could not come up with something as good as this. As they say 'We are the Best!'. And it's true!