Fucking Åmål (1998)

Director:

Lukas Moodysson

Writer:

Lukas Moodysson (writer)

Release Date:

23 October 1998 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Jag ska aldrig mer bli ihop med nån. Jag ska bli celibat.

Plot:

Two teenage girls in small-town Sweden. Elin is beautiful, popular, and bored with life. Agnes is friendless, sad, and secretly in love with Elin.

Plot Keywords:

Lingerie | Sibling Rivalry | Underwear | Panties | Self Harm

Awards:

18 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Alexandra Dahlström	...	Elin Olsson
Rebecka Liljeberg	...	Agnes Ahlberg (as Rebecca Liljeberg)
Erica Carlson	...	Jessica Olsson
Mathias Rust	...	Johan Hulth
Stefan Hörberg	...	Markus
Josefine Nyberg	...	Viktoria (as Josefin Nyberg)
Ralph Carlsson	...	Agnes' Father Olof
Maria Hedborg	...	Agnes' Mother Karin
Axel Widegren	...	Agnes' Little Brother Oskar
Jill Ung	...	Elin's Mother Birgitta
Lisa Skagerstam	...	Camilla
Lina Svantesson	...	Malin
Johanna Larsson	...	Sara
Elinor Johansson	...	Jenny
Jessica Melkersson	...	Sabina
Bo Lyckman	...	Man in Car
Daniel Teider	...	Johan's Little Brother
Nils Björkman	...	Bengtsson
Per Larsén	...	Teacher #1
Kenneth Larsson	...	Teacher #2
Karl Strandlind	...	Ice Hockey Coach
Peter Teider	...	Marcus' Friend
Linda Malmqvist	...	Sobbing Girl
Christer Almar	...	Extra
Michael Andersson	...	Extra
Therése Andreasson	...	Extra
Rialda Arifovic	...	Extra
Sanella Arifovic	...	Extra
Fredrik Arrelid	...	Extra
Vanessa Babot	...	Extra
Joséphine Bordi	...	Extra
Sandra Boström	...	Extra
Betty Carlsson	...	Extra
Alain Carlstein	...	Extra
Elias Chamoun	...	Extra
Maikel Chamoun	...	Extra
John Ole Dahl-Olsen	...	Extra
Dlawer Dalawe	...	Extra
Mikaela Eklund	...	Extra
Elin Fransson	...	Extra
Kim Fransson	...	Extra
Fredrik Gunnarsson	...	Extra
Lina Gustafsson	...	Extra
Susanna Gustafsson	...	Extra
Graizyna Göransson	...	Extra (as Grazyna Göransson)
Peter Hildingsson	...	Extra
Malin Hultgren	...	Extra
Max Hylander	...	Extra
Carolina Johansson	...	Extra (as Caroline Johansson)
Niklas Johansson	...	Extra
Petra Johansson	...	Extra
Daniel Karlsson	...	Extra
Linda Karlsson	...	Extra
Andreas Kvist	...	Extra
Mårten Lauvall	...	Extra
Jonas Lenberg	...	Extra
Josephine Lewing	...	Extra
Carl-Johan Lext	...	Extra
Jonas Lindell	...	Extra
Robert Lindqvist	...	Extra
Frida Lundby	...	Extra
Jonas Lönn	...	Extra
Anton Löwek	...	Extra
Rebecka Martikainen	...	Extra
Emma Massey	...	Extra
Andreas Mattson	...	Extra
Daniel Mattson	...	Extra
Modar Mohanna	...	Extra
Elisabet Nilebäck	...	Extra
Mikael Nordman	...	Extra
Martin Nyholm	...	Extra
Petra Nyman	...	Extra
Joakim Olofsson	...	Extra
Kalle Rosborg	...	Extra
Vlora Shabani	...	Extra
Martin Storåsen	...	Extra
Johanna Ström	...	Extra
Jonna Sundqvist	...	Extra
Patrik Ström	...	Extra
Boyar Syla	...	Extra
Linda Syla	...	Extra
Magnus Thell	...	Extra
Gustav Tågne	...	Extra
Sofia Wennberg	...	Extra
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tobias Andersson	...	Extra (uncredited)

Directed by
Lukas Moodysson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lukas Moodysson		writer

Produced by
Anna Anthony	....	assistant producer
Peter Aalbæk Jensen	....	co-producer
Lars Jönsson	....	producer

Cinematography by
Ulf Brantås

Film Editing by
Michal Leszczylowski
Bernhard Winkler

Production Design by
Heidi Saikkonen
Lina Strand

Costume Design by
Maria Swenson

Makeup Department
Lise-Lotte Book	....	assistant makeup artist
Maria Swenson	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Malte Forsell	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Anna Anthony	....	assistant director

Art Department
Fredrik Bladh	....	assistant production designer
Fredrik Bladh	....	property assistant
Tomas Johnsson	....	assistant production designer

Sound Department
Morten Holm	....	sound mixer
Anders Hörling	....	post-synchronisation engineer
Niclas Merits	....	sound assistant
Niclas Merits	....	sound re-recordist
Nils Nilsson	....	sound re-recordist
Nils Nilsson	....	sound
Niklas Skarp	....	sound re-recordist

Visual Effects by
Gunnar Ahlgren	....	optical printer

Camera and Electrical Department
Trolle Davidson	....	assistant camera
Anders Freudendahl	....	electrician
Sten Lindberg	....	lighting technician
Susanne Lund	....	camera operator: text camera
Åke Ottosson	....	still photographer
Viking Selvén	....	assistant electrician

Casting Department
Imor Hermann	....	casting: Stockholm
Anna Malini Ahlberg	....	casting: Trollhättan

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Lise-Lotte Book	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Gregers F. Dohn	....	editor: titles (as Gregers Dohn)
Mia Eriksson	....	assistant editor
Andreas Jonsson	....	assistant editor: avid
Linnea Trägårdh	....	assistant editor: avid
Jörgen Wiman	....	negative cutter

Other crew
Khalil Alharbiti	....	intern
Khalil Alharbiti	....	trainee
Anna-Carin Andersson	....	assistant location manager
Coco	....	consultant
Jonas Eriksson	....	consultant: avid
Leif Eriksson	....	consultant: avid
Malin Fornander	....	continuity clerk
Marlene Gabriel	....	assistant location manager
Anna Gorbow	....	production assistant
P-A Grigor	....	assistant location manager
Kerstin Hofstadius	....	travel agency
Pia Janols	....	production accountant
Håkan Lindhé	....	dialogue coach
Anna Malini Ahlberg	....	location manager: Trollhättan
Markku Mustanoja	....	trainee (as Markku Mustauoja)
Britt Odeberg	....	teacher
Emma Kristina Sahlén	....	production assistant
Karl Strandlind	....	location manager
Karl Strandlind	....	researcher
Poa Strömberg	....	law consultant
Margareta Wiechel	....	laboratory manager (as Margaretha Wiechel)
David Wingate	....	dialogue coach

Production Companies

• Memfis Film
• Det Danske Filminstitut
• Film i Väst (cooperation)
• SVT Drama, Göteborg (cooperation)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI)
• Sveriges Television (SVT)
• Trollywood AB
• Zentropa Entertainments (cooperation)

Distributors

• CTV International (France)
• Concorde Filmverleih (1999) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Gutek Film (Poland)
• Homescreen (2000) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Keyfilms Roma
• Look Now! (1999) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Madman Entertainment (2001) (Australia) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2004) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Manga Films (2002) (Spain) (DVD)
• Maywin Media (Russia) (CIS)
• Momentum Pictures (1998) (UK) (all media)
• Prem'er Video Fil'm (Russia) (VHS)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution
• Sonet Film
• Strand Releasing (1999) (USA) (subtitled)
• WN Danubius/ITA Slovakia
• Warner Home Video (2001) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Zeta Films (Argentina)

Other Companies

• Artwork  poster
• Filmmek  sound re-recording studio
• Mainstream ApS  sound re-recording studio
• Travelplan  travel agency

Also Known As:

Show Me Love (Canada: English title) (UK) (USA) (cable TV title)
Fucking Åmål (Denmark)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

Sweden | Denmark

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Netherlands:12 | Taiwan:R-12 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Norway:11 | Singapore:R(A) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Film i Väst, Nohab Industrial Estate, Trollhättan, Västra Götalands län, Sweden

Company:

Memfis Film

Trivia:

The poster for the film featured quotes from the dialogue, including four-letter words. This caused some controversy, and for Stockholm's subway, special posters were printed with the "worst" quotes left out.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Agnes is lying on the bed crying and her father is sitting beside her, the appearence of her hair changes several times between shots.

Quotes:

Friend: You kissed her for 20 crowns? Was it worth it? How was it?
Elin: Wicked.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bag om filmen 'Fucking Åmål' (1999) (TV)

Soundtrack:

NO DINERO NO AMOR

A teen film I actually like (spoilers)

I'm usually impervious to teen movies. I just can't get beyond the usual moaning, complaining and whining. I find it too much to bear, especially from people who don't have to work for a living, who still have their parents looking after them and who are incapable of expressing themselves properly. I, for one, a pauper scumbag languishing in the job market, would love to have their inconsequential problems. But if I take myself back to my school days then I can just about find humanity enough to sympathise. My teenage years weren't tough – I actually really rather enjoyed school – but I know how it feels to grow up not knowing what you want from life and where you're going. It's certainly a confusing time.

So it's perhaps because of that that I enjoy Show Me Love. It's depiction of teenage years feels genuine and honest and I can relate to most of it. As opposed to Hollywood teen films where all the girls are strikingly gorgeous, the boys are ripped and everyone goes around driving cars and doing designer drugs. My school days weren't like that at all. They were much more like Moodysson's film where the girls wear bad make-up, the boys are hopeless with the opposite sex and where a crushing air of mediocrity hangs in the atmosphere. Everything seems hopeless.

But despite that, my adolescence was pretty smooth sailing. There were no great trails or tribulations. Which is perhaps why I find it so hard to relate to teenagers. Not once did I want to kill myself and I never spent any time pining for a girl (lusting, yeah, but love never entered my mind). So to me their problems always seem rather…pathetic. But because Show Me Love depicts adolescence so genuinely, with all its awkwardness and idiocy, I can't help but like it.

What rings most true is the sheer incompetence of boys around girls. At that age, most of the males of the species are hopeless with the opposite sex. They haven't a clue. And so the terrible compliments ('Jesus you're beautiful') and bone-headed chat-up attempts are rather amusing. Johan, in particular, with his awful bike and terrible baseball cap is subject of the most laughs. He's Amal in physical form. A dead end. And Markus, the other boy, is no better. He knows nothing about women either. In fact, the boys are more comfortable with each other. They'd rather spend time measuring mobile phones. Only with mobile phones, small is best. Inverse penis measuring, anyone?

And the sheer awfulness of a lot of the girls also rings a bell. I don't know her name, but the girl with the miniscule eyebrows (which makes her look rather sinister and perpetually shocked) reminds me of a lot of horrible girls at school. Girls who were experts in making other people's lives a misery. And then there's the handicapped girl. Agnes is unfortunate enough to be friends with her, even though she doesn't like her. Those friendships are the worst – friendships born entirely of convenience and without a shred of genuine affection. Nothing is more suffocating. But as in real life, such friendships are hard to get out of. You may not particularly like the person, you may have nothing in common and you may have nothing to say to one another, but at school to be alone is to be exposed. It's better to have someone in your corner – anyone. And it's especially hard to get out of the friendship if someone has a disability. You feel obliged to make them certain concessions. So therefore it's quite shocking, yet understandable, that Agnes lashes out at the girl and that the girl takes it the way she does. However, the disabled girl's attempts to get back at Agnes and curry favour with the rest of her classmates make me squirm. I saw many such incidents myself at school.

Less convincing, however, and it's a major reservation, is the sincerity of Elin's feelings towards Agnes. I just can't help but feel that it's a passing thing. Sure she may be a lesbian or bisexual, but I can't quite decide whether she does actually love Agnes – I completely believe in Agnes' feelings. She just seems to flit too often from one person or to one thing. There's one bit where's she checking to see what's cool and what's not cool. Is this her way of getting back? Is this her way of giving her life excitement? I'm not sure. When I first saw it I was more dubious, but now that I've watched it a couple more times I'm more willing to give the film the benefit of the doubt. I mean, Elin does reach the film's conclusion and her own conclusion rather haphazardly, but in that moment she does seem completely honest. And the ending, when they literally come out of the closet, is a great moment (although perhaps a little glib. I can't bear to think what they'd have to put up with afterwards and whether their fledgling relationship would survive).

But still, even if I'm not 100% sure of Elin's feelings, it still manages to be a rather beguiling film. And this is mostly down to Rebecca Liljeberg's performance as Agnes. As I've already said, most teens I don't really care about, but Agnes is an exception. She's a smart girl with good parents but who still feels miserable. But despite this, her character is never annoying and never seems selfish. She just wants what everyone wants. She wants to be happy and she wants to feel normal. And because she goes through such an understandable range of emotions during the course of the film, and because her angst seems so genuine and deeply felt, I can't help but love the end of the film.