Someone recommended this movie to me and I was very sceptical as I hate having to read subtitles on movies as I find you miss too much of what is going on visually.
This movie however blew me away. Never have I seen a coming of age movie so believable, partly because most are set in the US and very hard to relate to as someone from the UK. However this being in Norway its not hugely different to the UK, at least in the context of the movie.
The way the kids let their imaginations run wild, the adults completely oblivious to what is going on, it all came across so realistic. It makes a pleasant change for a movie like this to not just be outright patronising to the audience and its making me wonder if I shouldn't be watching more European movies.
The fact that a movie in a language I do not understand brought me to tears should tell you all you need to know about how well done it was. With the excellent acting and pacing I reached the end never feeling like I had missed anything reading the subtitles.
I would highly recommend anyone who likes heartfelt coming-of-age movies should give this a chance, especially if you are European so cannot relate to the very different culture in the US / Hollywoods exaggerated, stale take on the subject.
