Sebbe (2010) User Reviews

A good film but not perfect.

[Nagi4 · 7/10 · 22 November 2010]

I think it's a beautiful and realistic film about the pain of growing up and being the outcast in the school. Feeling ashamed of your family situation.

What was really good about it was that how the bullying and events in school happened felt real. I could relate to it strongly and recognize those events from my school years.

It was how it happens in Europe at least. If you compare the way the bullying is done in a normal Hollywood studio film, this felt more real.

The other real strength in this film is the acting. It is directed superbly and also the role of the mother is a very good one. Her character is strongly written.

Then we come to the weakness of the film, why I almost left the theater. The film doesn't have a drive and it doesn't variate. Basically it's the same scenes happening again and again. It was an 80 minute film, which could have been 70 minutes. Or at least some re-writing would have helped a bit.

But whit it's weakness, it was still a very good film.

A powerful drama

[complexityrules · 8/10 · 24 October 2010]

Sebbe is a powerful drama, so powerful that makes it hard to watch at times. Yet it maintains the meaning of its existence throughout the movie. It is about hard lives, even though it is not happening next door to you, it is well worth to know about them. It is about dead-end situations where hope almost disappears as you attempt to grab it. It is about pure anger, anger towards things that are out of your control. Sebbe, a talented good- natured 15 year-old, is trying hard to keep things under control, he is doing a decent job until his most trusted source, at least he wishes her to be, betrays him. I know this all sounds grim but at the end there is light at the end of the tunnel. He chooses to free himself.

An authentic story of growing up in Sweden for one struggling teenager and much more

[beij · 28 March 2013]

A simple tale of the teenage boy, Sebbe, living his life in every aspect of dysfunction. Severely bullied at school and often abused by his mother in a drunken state, he never struck back. His emotions were seen suppressed and only occasionally released upon the dumped goods at a local junk yard, which he either hoarded or vandalized. Amongst all the neglect and suffering, Babak Najafi the director managed to afford us a few glimpse into Sebbe's happiness – A bedroom so well-lit by his handy installation of clusters of light bulbs stands in stark contrast to the state of mental darkness he was in. Unlike most Scandinavian productions that tend to explore big issues of underlying social tension, injustice etc. Sebbe is more about the discovery of self and the interpretation of behaviors and morals. At times one may have to negotiate between the story being focused on a boy with resilience or a coward who could never stand up for himself. Without giving away a major part of the plot, I for one was left to question whether we as humans are programmed to seek affection from those that give us life at all cost, even to the detriment of one's self-identity. Running away with the explosives he'd stolen from a nearby yard – a sign of remorse as he seemingly changed his mind about blowing up the school – only then to find out from his mother that she no longer wanted to look after him. Sebbe had to choose, as the film arrives at an open ending.

Been done before

[TomatoesareRotten · 3/10 · 30 March 2021]

It's a blatant cut and paste of Ken Loache's "KES". The difference being, it's more modern and in a different country. The director has even thrown in some mining references for good measure. Thoroughly depressing and tough to watch.

Loneliness and Despair Superbly Portrayed

[Suradit · 9/10 · 17 January 2015]

Sebbe is a very sad, moving story of a teenage boy who is essentially alone and abandoned by everyone around him. His father is gone. His mother is emotionally unbalanced and behaves erratically. He is bullied and humiliated at school. And he's left to deal with it all on his own.

It's difficult to describe too much of what actually happens without spoiling the storyline. One example from the many depicted … his mother can't get him a birthday gift, but she finds a winter jacket in the laundry room and steals it. She presents it to Sebbe as a gift. He wears it to school where one of the other students, one who has been relentlessly bullying him, recognizes it as his own and accuses Sebbe of being a thief. His mother allows Sebbe to take the blame for what she did. He forgives her, tells her to forget about it and her response is to tell him she never wanted him and hates him. She kicks him out of the home and even that small, inadequate sense of refuge in his hostile environment is lost to him.

The acting is exceptionally good, especially by the young man playing Sebbe. Often there is minimal dialogue, but he projects his despair, hopelessness and the sense of total abandonment painfully well. It would be nice to think that such abuse and cruelty would not exist especially in a country like Sweden, which seems to be so protective and caring for its citizens … but unfortunately we all know that too many children suffer from such callous, truly inhuman behavior even in the so-called "advanced" countries.

A very sad, depressing story that was written, produced and acted extremely well.

Awful movie that should never had been made

[Movietajm · 1/10 · 21 May 2011]

I see about 25-35 movies every month but not so many Swedish movie. This movie is one of the reasons. On my blog I rate movies from 1 to 5 and this is the first movie of several hundreds that really earns a 1 as a rating. This was the absolute worst movie I have ever seen in my life. When you just sitting over 1 hour and waiting for the movie to explode and for things to really start and then... nothing... nothing at all.. I would recommend every person that even thinking about seeing this movie to sit in the front of a new-painted wall until the paint has dried.. Believe me... That should be more giving than this crap of "movie". I really get frustrated when there are these people who try they can write a "good" movie and then add the worst "actors" there is. I can honestly say that I would have done a much better film myself..

Just forget this crap and continue enjoy your life, cause after seeing this movie.... you wont...

Sombre but inspiring and insightful

[john-plant · 9/10 · 3 June 2017]

A very well crafted movie about a significant period in a young person's life.

Swedish drama doesn't seem to include stereotypes. Rather it portrays people, social environments, and relationships or interactions with luminous wisdom.

I found every scene, every frame, every nuance of acting and visual imagery engaging.

Very good film

[fransvoogt · 8/10 · 30 March 2021]

I did not expect much when starting to watch, but I almost immediately got caught by this extremely moving, sad sad story. I do not understand that this film has not been watched in Sweden, although an explanation might be that it describes ordinary lives of in a very realistic, uncompromising way which is not always easy to watch. It is so inspiring to discover a little diamond between all the garbage we are being served! It's a 'must watch'

A beautiful and heartbreaking movie

[fernando_moren · 9/10 · 17 March 2017]

I first watched this movie the year it came out, but it made such a strong impact on me that I had to re watch it and now feel that it really deserves a review!

This film uses rich and long scenes to convey to the viewer the struggles of 15-year old Sebbe and his complex mum. The amazing acting and script made me really identify with the main character, Sebbe. I felt his loneliness, I felt his anger against the people around him and I felt his very mixed feelings towards his mother! This is not a film without happy and beautiful moments though, and I feel that their impact is the more strong, because how wisely they are chosen.

All in all I strongly recommend this ultra realistic depiction of the life of young Sebastian!

Sebbe got a raw deal

[ulicknormanowen · 8/10 · 29 May 2021]

Generally,the movie about teenagers deals with the boy/girl who's got everything to be happy but feels melancholic and finds it hard to come to terms with his/her childhood's end ;harmless teenage angst .

Sebbe is diametrically opposite to them :he's got nothing ,and I mean nothing to be happy : his immature mother did not want him and is emotionally instable , sometimes so resentful she can kick him out of their apartment ; not being able to afford birthday presents ,she urges her son to give back a neighbor's gift ("I could not buy anything to her son") , and sometimes feeling so guilt she steals one jacked which belongs to one of his schoolmates.

School is another hell for Sebbe ;he is not fond of sports ,and that 's the coup de grace ; a preposterous cliché depicted in Anderson's play (transferred to the screen by Minnelli)"tea and sympathy "(1956)would claim that a boy who is not good at sports is a sissy ,a suspect ,a gay ,an intolerance which takes stupidity to new limits ; but in the locker-room ,you become the "true manly "boys' punching-bag .Besides ,Sebbe's father is dead (or he walked out on his mother),and he has absolutely no male figure at home .The only teacher who shows some compassion is a woman and she can't really relate to the boy's predicament .

There's a tendency to dwell on the sordid side of life, but teenagers can be cruel to their fellows ; Sebastian's face reflects an intense longing for love :the actor remains restrained ,sheds no tears , but one feels his despair,his awful solitude :what does the future has in store for such a born-loser?

Still, Sebbe rocks

[rob-broekhof-1 · 8/10 · 7 March 2022]

When this story doesn't get people depressed I don't know any other one that could beat this one.

It appeals to a state of loneliness and not belonging that makes the end kinda hopefull. Why?! Taking charge for your own life and going your own way is in the end what it's all about in life. Doubtful?!