I ungdommens makt

Roar Skolmen's debut feature is a surreal, odd and generally weird film in vein of Dusan Makajevs «Sweet Movie». This was a complete break with the prevalent social realism of 1970's Norwegian cinema.

To say that this film was considered controversial at it's time is an understatement, with several prominent critics asking if the Norwegian state should continue to finance films if the quality was so low. It has two times won the dubious honor of being declared the worst film in the history of Norwegian cinema. It contents for it's time was and still is considered both shocking and dilettantish. A real life «virgin» birth, scenes of an authentic cremation and a alien abduction is some of the highlights here, interspersed with documentarian interviews with youths in the streets of Oslo about sex and social issues.

Director Skolmen has stated that he was inspired by Ken Russell and he is prone to the same cinematic hysteria as the british provocateur.

With that in mind, «I ungdommens makt» or «Junior Heads» is recommended viewing for the adventurous aficionado of cult cinema!

WOW! I mean WOW! This movie is weird, like really weird. It's also bad. I mean really really bad. But it's also extremely hilarious. Sure, Norway has had it's fair share of extremely campy films over the years like "Heaven and Hell" (1969), "1958" (1980) and off course the legendary pretentious "DIS" (1995) which is basically the Norwegian version of Tommy Wiseau's "The Room". (2003) But "Junior Heads" is WAY WAY weirder than any of these. It's about a youth-leader who lives in the rich town of Bærum. Half of this movie is basically just about him talking about his penis (or "pi" as he has named it) and his early pubescent life. The other half is about the students at the local school who wants to riot against it's teachers simply to introduce philosophy-studies at the school in opposition to the local church. The film also have short interview-scenes where Garbo ask the locals philosophical and political questions, just to make the film look more serious. But in all fairness; this movie is more ridiculous than any Norwegian films I have ever seen. And I've seen Prima Vera's film about Olav the Holy! So if you can get your hands on a bootleg, don't pass it up!

In the power of youth (I ungdommens makt) is Roar Skolmens debut feature. A vibrant film which is reckoned as a pure cult movie.

The movie about the youth leader Arbo Youthleader is a strange and quite ridiculous poetic movie which is impossible to describe. Except: He tries to start a youth revolt, which he both manages and regrets during the movie.

Filmed in the richest municipality in Norway, Bærum, with 350 teenage youths as participants, Roar Skolen (Arbo = almost Roar?) himself plays Arbo, a penis fixated male with more questions than answers, running around naked half of the time.

There are a couple of professional actors in the movie, but the movie is dominated by amateur youths, and it makes the movie feel like a school project. It's a mess, but still I celebrate the fact is has been released to the public. Thankfully Norwegian movies have gone a long, long way since then.

Some say this would be reckoned a masterpiece in France during the New wave, but I don't think so. I don't find the movie very funny, although it is laughable. Maybe it would help watching it, being a little drunk, at a movie party?

The movie was trashed by critics after the premiere in the autumn 1980. So badly this is since called "The september murder" in Norwegian film history, as it was trashed together with another cult movie "The Stone Wood Witches" by Bredo Greve. I think Roar Skolmen already, while making it, knew he would be crucified for making it, so he already is just that in the movie.

Filmed in 1.37:1 in vibrant colours, the film is both a fable, a fantasy and a comedy-drama. Music is all from great to exhausting.

The movie has been kind of lost for the public for decades, as it hasn't been distributed on VHS or DVD, or any other physical medium, and only shown in cult cinemas since its release. When it finally gets a a Blu-Ray Disc release, it's quite a big event.

This movie is made available in 2025 when it was released on interregional (region-free) Blu-Ray Disk by Norwegian Film Classics as the 74th release in a new series with classics, NFK0074, with subtitles in English, and is supposed to be held in stock for film lovers. The film is also a part of releases from "Filmskatten AS" under NFK.