Cast: Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin, Liv LeMoyne
Director: Lukas Moodysson
Country: Sweden
Genre: Drama
Editor’s Note: The following review is part of our coverage of the 2014 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. For more information please visit jdiff.com or follow DublinFilmFest on Twitter.
A trio of determined, dramatic and destined young want-to-be punk rockers take on the perils of the everyday in 1982 Stockholm. Rarely do we see narratives that genuinely manage to interpret and showcase the mindsets of 12-13 year olds. Successfully achieving the world of the adolescent is a lot harder than representing that of a child. Many darker and heavier themed analogies of events through a child’s eyes are offered up by both mainstream and independent filmmakers on a pretty regular basis. Ranging from Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) with the Spanish civil war, to the Christmas classic Home Alone (1990) with an American boy left alone in his house. It takes a bold step forwards to remove that somehow essential moment of trauma and turn to everyday normal life situations. We Are the Best! allows three girls to develop their sense of identity through the mundane realities of their regular lives, in the midst of which they see creating a punk rock band as a way to escape.
Dismissed as juvenile or immature, the heart-felt raw emotions of the turbulent pubescent almost-teenager mindset are here battled with by the striking performances of the three young actresses. Incredibly human and thusly relatable, even if you’ve no idea what it’s like to be a 12-13 year old girl.
Remembering or relating to what it feels like emotionally and socially to be that age, is mainly pushed aside as our personalities change and we reach fully fledged adulthood. Too soon do we stave the core ideologies that we so deeply invested in at that age? Dismissed as juvenile or immature, the heart-felt raw emotions of the turbulent pubescent almost-teenager mindset are here battled with by the striking performances of the three young actresses. Incredibly human and thusly relatable, even if you’ve no idea what it’s like to be a 12-13 year old girl.
Friendship is the central theme explored. Like so many other films before it, the ebb and flow of mutual understanding and group harmony is as imbalanced and insecure as the girls’ beliefs are. All from different backgrounds and all conquering their own demons, they unite in their unhindered passion for their new found love of punk rock music. Talented or talentless, the trio sees the functionality of each of their roles in the band as essential in some way, as much as each is essential to the friendship circle. Growing through the predicaments that playing in a band together create, they stand tall and proud in the foundations of the world they have made for themselves. Reactionary to everything around them, the evidence of a young and spontaneous sensibility is clear in everything they do.
Swift and easy progression of the plot, aligned with a steady and natural introduction of the characters they meet along the way. A well rounded mode of storytelling makes for the most endearing notion of encouraging the pleasures of cinema and the cinematic. Getting quickly caught up in the character’s captivating world is a blessing and helps develop a good, solid interest in their actions throughout. The scripting is eloquently devoted to getting at the right frame of mind and without pushing away older audiences it instead bonds the viewer to the deliberations of the trio. Topics like dating and problems at home are intricately balanced with wider themes like religion and social placement.
The scripting is eloquently devoted to getting at the right frame of mind and without pushing away older audiences it instead bonds the viewer to the deliberations of the trio.
The trio are as you would expect from their age group, yet at the same time the narrative sets them up as heroes for their cause. Somewhere between the sensibility of growing up and leaving behind childhood, there’s a wonderful period of time where being outrageous seems like the best expression of the individual and selfhood. Whether punk rock music is your scene or not, this coming of age drama will ignite the inner wild child and spur on the spirit of adventure that they embrace. The Huckleberry Finn tale of the punk rock teenager.
[notification type=”star”]75/100 ~ GOOD. Whether punk rock music is your scene or not, this coming of age drama will ignite the inner wild child and spur on the spirit of adventure that they embrace.[/notification]
