We Are the Best! Review
By Rich Cline
Swedish filmmaker Lukas Moodysson returns to the improv-style charms of his earlier films (like Together and Show Me Love), a welcome break from his more recent grim experimental dramas (see Mammoth or Lilya 4-ever). This light-hearted film explodes with youthful energy, drawing engaging performances from the three lead actresses that completely win over the audience.
In a boring Stockholm suburb in 1982, 13-year-old Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) is utterly humiliated by everything her mother (Anna Rydgren) does, so she of course rebels, chopping off her hair to go punk with her best pal Klara (Mira Grosin). They decide to start a band, but neither knows anything about music, so they draft in Hedvig (Liv LeMoyne), a musician in their class. Hedvig may be a devout Christian, but Bobo and Klara think they can change that with their rebel music. And as they begin to take shape as a fiercely anarchic pre-teen punk band, they decide to enter a local competition.
Of course, everything changes when they meet two teen boys (Jonathan Salomonsson and Alvin Strollo) who play in their favourite local punk group, and the jealousy that sparks between the girls gives the film a semblance of a plot. Otherwise, it's a joy to watch these three girls express their feelings through their music. Their first song Hate the Sport is a brilliant rant against their annoying PE teacher. And their stream-of-consciousness dialogue is just as witty, leading to ill-advised antics and relational stress.
They're so hugely likeable that it's impossible not to take their point of view and get fed up with the condescending adults all around them. Moodysson lets the film evolve in its own shape, maintaining an appropriately sparky-scruffy tone and filling the screen with colourful side characters who add to the journey these three live-wires take. And in the end, it's rather startling to discover that, even though they haven't a clue what they're doing, these three girls have become our role models.
Watch 'We Are the Best!' Trailer
Facts and Figures
Year: 2013
Genre: Foreign
Run time: 102 mins
In Theaters: Friday 20th June 2014
Box Office USA: $0.2M
Distributed by: Magnolia Pictures
Production compaines: Memfis Film, Film i Väst
Reviews
Contactmusic.com: 4 / 5
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Fresh: 109 Rotten: 3
IMDB: 7.2 / 10
Cast & Crew
Director: Lukas Moodysson
Producer: Lars Jonsson
Screenwriter: Lukas Moodysson
Starring: Mira Barkhammar as Bobo, Mira Grosin as Klara, Liv LeMoyne as Hedvig, David Dencik as Klaras pappa, Johan Liljemark as Kenneth, Mattias Wiberg as Roger, Jonathan Salomonsson as Elis, Alvin Strollo as Mackan, Anna Rydgren as Bobos mamma, Peter Eriksson as Bobos pappa
Also starring: Lukas Moodysson