As "We Are The Best!" (2013 release from Sweden; 102 min.) opens, we are reminded that it is "Stockholm, 1982". We get to know Bobo, a 7th grader, and her friend Klara. Bobo believes she has the uncoolest mother ever, and Klara feels the same way about her own parents. One day they are at the rec center, and on a whim sign up to use the music rehearsal space. Never having played an instrument before, the girls nevertheless attack the drums and bass with vigor. They have so much fun, but need a guitarist. Fortunately, they meet Hedvig, an 8th grader, at a school recital, and promptly ask her to join the band. At this point we're maybe 15 min. or so into the movie. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: first, this movie is so much more than just the girls forming a band. The movie looks at how 13 and 14 year olds fit in, or not, be it at home or at school. Later in the movie the girls are meeting up with the boys from another punk band. The girls think there's three boys (and they've already figured out who will pair up with who), but as it turns out, there's only 2 boys. Now what? Watch as we see the complex dynamics at play between the girls. Please note that, besides some (unnecessary) swear words, there is nothing inappropriate in the movie, and in fact we see the girls having a lot of fun, being the goofy-dorky-fun loving kids that they are, with mischief and a twinkle in their eyes and a lot of innocence about them. There are several laugh-out-loud scenes that are outright hilarious. Second, I can only assume that the makers of this film did a lot of research on what the punk scene in Sweden was like in those days, as we do get a fair amount of Swedish punk songs on the side. Last but not least, the no-names cast is brilliant, in particular the girls playing Bobo, Klara and Hedvig. My hat off to them! "We Are The Best!" had a brief theatrical run in the US last year, and in fact I had seen the trailer for it at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. Somehow I ended missing it when it played here ever so briefly. So glad that I finally caught up with this on DVD. If you are in the mood for a fun but top-notch foreign movie that looks at youth in a refreshing way, you cannot go wrong with this. "We Are The Best!" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
