"We Are the Best" I an exhilarating drama/comedy by Swedish director Lukas Moodysson that tells the story of two outcast, tomboyish 13-year-old girls in 1980's Stockholm who, sick of being told punk is dead, decide to start a punk band. It's a floundering effort in the beginning for best friends Bobo and Clara, neither having any real musical training and owning none of their own equipment, just having their genuine passion to songs like "Hate the Sport." To improve their prospects they enlist in the help of a another girl, an older one names Hedvig who has musical talent but outwardly appears to be opposite of them: an obedient, conservative-dressing, Christian girl. But Hedvig actually has more to relate with Bobo and Clara than it initially seems, being an outcast and wanting more from the staleness of life.
The turns these three characters make together are fun, sometimes heartbreaking, and always a joy to watch. The strong, distinctive performances by Mira Barkhammer, Mira Grosin, and Liv LeMoyne (as Bobo, Clara, and Hedvig respectively), and the fascinating way the film gets them to act against one another in different situations (none of which feel ham-handed or forced) are what really makes this film work. The parents and other authority figures are well-done, and not riddled with the sort of clichés you sometimes get from adult characters in movies centered around youth. But it's all about the kids, these outcasts, who don't pander to fit in while attempting to rock and to have fun, through setbacks and all.
Wildly entertaining, insightful, and true to its creed, "We Are the Best" is a blast with a guitar, bass drums, and yelling, and even better when it comes to the human spirit. It's a story that should leave you smiling.
The turns these three characters make together are fun, sometimes heartbreaking, and always a joy to watch. The strong, distinctive performances by Mira Barkhammer, Mira Grosin, and Liv LeMoyne (as Bobo, Clara, and Hedvig respectively), and the fascinating way the film gets them to act against one another in different situations (none of which feel ham-handed or forced) are what really makes this film work. The parents and other authority figures are well-done, and not riddled with the sort of clichés you sometimes get from adult characters in movies centered around youth. But it's all about the kids, these outcasts, who don't pander to fit in while attempting to rock and to have fun, through setbacks and all.
Wildly entertaining, insightful, and true to its creed, "We Are the Best" is a blast with a guitar, bass drums, and yelling, and even better when it comes to the human spirit. It's a story that should leave you smiling.