I’d never seen a Swedish
film before, but with all their talent in music (they’ve got insanely talented
producers), I was (reservedly) sure that their film wouldn’t disappoint
much—and I was quite right. This was a fun watch!
“Think homophobia, man
crushes, and testosterone on emotions...” (Okay, maybe it’s not as dramatic as that,
but it comes close.)
The Rundown
Behind the name: A very good summary of the plot
Country:
Sweden, 2008
Genre:
Drama, Comedy infused
Director:
Ella Lemhagen
Cast: Gustaf Skarsgård
(as Göran Skoogh), Torkel Petersson (as Sven Skoogh), Tom Ljungman (as Patrik),
Annika Hallin (as Eva), Amanda Davin (as Isabell)
Compare to:
Brokeback Mountain (Only because of the common theme), Reinas, The Wedding
Banquet
Hate it or Love it? Love it
Synopsis in a Sentence: Patrik, age 15, gets adopted by a gay couple (who
really thought he’d be 1.5 years old — thanks to a typo on his adoption papers) and as you can guess; the teenager is a homophobic criminal.
On Writing: The
Plot
It’s
quite good. Actually it’s really good. Quite well written, and although it has
its cliché moments, it’s not too cliché (Although, if you’re a seasoned film
junkie, you can guess how some scenes would play out before the actors act them
out). Then again, can you really blame moviemakers and scriptwriters for
writing a story that warms the heart?
(4/5)
On Acting:
The Cast
 |
| Torkel Petersson (as Sven Skoogh) |
Good actors. Gosh they do the film justice. They’re natural together, and one hardly overpowers the other. Say hello to the 3-man main cast:
 |
| Tom Ljungman (Patrik) |
 |
| Gustaf Skarsgård (as Göran Skoogh) |
Probably
the first film you’ve seen without a female lead…
(4/5)
On Production: The Creativity
Production
is good, lending dramatic construction to the dramatic parts, and infusing
comedic stances when necessary. The production didn’t overpower anything else.
(3.5/5)
On Resolution:
The Conclusion
Awwww
shcuks!
(4/5)
The Verdict:
I really, really liked this film. It was one good foreign film that didn’t (for
once) reek of “foreign” production. An all round good one!
Overall Score
= 15.5/20
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