We Are The Best
Director: Lukas Moodysson
Cast: Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin, Liv LeMoyne
Rating (M)
Four and a half stars (out of five)
Set in 1982 Stockholm, the film follows two early teen girls who decide to start a punk band, despite not knowing how to play any instruments and being told repeatedly ''punk is dead''.
The pair of outsiders, who are abused by their school mates, are going nowhere with their band until they convince a lonely Christian girl, who plays classical guitar, to join.
From there the plot points are familiar.
They gradually improve, they fall out with each other, and they enter a talent competition.
But the execution here is different from the usual ''coming of age'' fare.
Their musical progress is slow and unlike other films focused on youth, the children don't come off as being written through the lens of an adult trying to tell us something about the special wisdom of the young.
The air of authenticity is in large part down to the acting.
Mira Barkhammar, in particular, shines as Bobo, who is ignored by her mother and struggles with being outshone when it comes to attracting the attention of boys.
The film never gets too depressing though, and is generally sweet with a punk sensibility.
This comes across in the song the band writes, which rages against their physical education teacher and features the line: ''Children in Africa are dying but you're all about balls flying''.
