Her mother calls her boring. Her classmates think she is strange. There’s no mistaking that Bobo (debutant Mira Barkhammar) and her best friend Klara (Mira Grosin, Astrid) aren’t like their peers in Stockholm circa 1980, but nor do they want to be. Case in point: as the rest of the school falls under the spell of the new wave, the fearsome thirteen-year-old duo tries to start their own punk group.
That neither has any talent for a tune doesn’t escape their notice, yet their determination knows no bounds. Theirs is the type of energy that coins lyrics after a run-in with a sports teacher, and the kind of assurance that assumes the lonely, guitar-playing Hedvig (fellow newcomer Liv LeMoyne) will want to join them. A wealth of life lessons come their way as they first attempt to carve out a space in a style otherwise populated by boys, and then endeavour to navigate the trials of growing up in a band.
In his first film since 2009’s English-language effort Mammoth, writer/director Lukas Moodysson brings the music and mood to match his protagonists, the soundtrack pumping with short, sharp angst, and the atmosphere thumping with a can-do attitude. The source material, the semi-autobiographical graphic novel Never Goodnight by his wife Coco Moodysson, may have gifted much of both to him; however the filmmaker doesn’t miss a beat in this proto-riot-grrrl portrait. The feature is fast in its developments, furious in its spirit, and finessed in exploring teens doing the brave thing by refusing to shy away from being different.
Any movie daring to delve into the turbulence of adolescence is marked by two elements: acting and attitude. Wrestling engaging portrayals out of age-appropriate performers is far from an easy task, but it is one the feature achieves in the trio of Barkhammar, Grosin and LeMoyne. With eyes bright and brows unfurrowed, they brim with youthful exuberance, whether wrangling their way into a rehearsal room, upsetting older siblings by overindulging in their first taste of alcohol, or working through the consequences of a badly-timed haircut. Barkhammar’s subtlety when she seeks male attention is honest and earnest, just as LeMoyne’s handling of the balance between her character’s religious upbringing and her riotous new pals is sincere without leaning on sentiment.
In its approach, We Are the Best! displays the same traits: heartfelt, hopeful, frank and feisty. The film’s characters are allowed to be imperfect, embraced for their failings as much as their efforts; while discoveries are made, their journey isn’t one towards a moral awakening or an idyllic outcome. Such a slant may be simplistic, making the film a collection of glimpses of the girls trying to find their own way, but it overflows with authenticity. After observing both the mundane and sublime of their everyday existence, hearing the three chant their catchy songs with gusto – with lines such as ‘hate the sport’, ‘be yourself’, or the titular track – comes with earned appreciation.
Recalling his earlier work, particularly his initial full-length outing Fucking Åmål, Moodysson lets his style show his enthusiasm. His frame, in the hands of cinematographer Ulf Brantås (TV’s Whitechapel), is unafraid of zooming, panning, tilting and careening wherever his frenetic femmes take him; his splicing of scenes, via editor Michal Leszczylowski (King of Devil’s Island), jumps along at its own rhythm. Again and again, what is seen as zesty as what is heard. The former plunges into the heady beginnings of pre-teen feminism, the latter shouts its defiance: We Are the Best!, indeed.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
We Are the Best! (Vi är bäst!)
Director: Lukas Moodysson
Sweden / Denmark, 2013, 102 mins
Melbourne International Film Festival
www.miff.com.au
31 July – 17 August
Actors:
Director:
Format:
Country:
Release:
