adamk-2 "We Are The Best" features two just-about teenage girls in Stockholm in the early 80s who, fascinated by what seems to be a lingering punk scene, accidentally start a band, recruit a third girl who actually knows how to play and...well, that's about it. There is, of course, the climactic debut gig which is something of a triumph for them, if not for the audience, and if you didn't see this coming you should get out more.It's a charming but utterly inconsequential film, boasting some nice acting from the leads, but that's about it. The three kids are all middle-class and, while one is being raised by a single mother who obviously likes to keep her, um, options open, she doesn't seem particularly alienated just somewhat embarrassed by her behaviour. The third girl, the slightly older Hedvig, is a serious, Christian classical guitarist, and at this point the film falls down seriously in plausibility, as Hedvig goes along all-too swiftly with the two exuberant punks and abandons her old identity. She also seems to come from a single-parent family, but her mother, while Christian, is sensitively portrayed as a fair and balanced woman. When Bobo and Klara cut Hedvig's hair, her approach is sly but perfectly reasonable: to make them realise not only the consequences of their actions, but that there are different forms of consent. And yet....Hedvig appears at school in an ugly knitted hat, apparently to hide her haircut, but then proceeds to tell Bobo and Klara that she was embarrassed by her mother's behaviour and loves her haircut and...no, I didn't buy it for a moment. This grave, serious Christian girl just jettisons not just her faith but any emotional baggage that might go with it (I'm speaking as an atheist, here) and it's all too glib. She teaches them chords, they teach her attitude to rebel against...well, not a lot, to be honest. None of them seem to be rebelling or making much of a statement, but they take to the stage, enrage the locals, seem very pleased with that and...that's the end. There's an end-credits scene that shows them larking about that adds nothing to the film or the narrative, and that's the end.You won't learn much about being a teenager or about being a punk from this film. Or even much about Stockholm. You won't learn much about anything, to be honest, apart from the names of some 80s Swedish punk bands.

Paul Allaer As "We Are The Best!" (2013 release from Sweden; 102 min.) opens, we are reminded that it is "Stockholm, 1982". We get to know Bobo, a 7th grader, and her friend Klara. Bobo believes she has the uncoolest mother ever, and Klara feels the same way about her own parents. One day they are at the rec center, and on a whim sign up to use the music rehearsal space. Never having played an instrument before, the girls nevertheless attack the drums and bass with vigor. They have so much fun, but need a guitarist. Fortunately, they meet Hedvig, an 8th grader, at a school recital, and promptly ask her to join the band. At this point we're maybe 15 min. or so into the movie. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.Couple of comments: first, this movie is so much more than just the girls forming a band. The movie looks at how 13 and 14 year olds fit in, or not, be it at home or at school. Later in the movie the girls are meeting up with the boys from another punk band. The girls think there's three boys (and they've already figured out who will pair up with who), but as it turns out, there's only 2 boys. Now what? Watch as we see the complex dynamics at play between the girls. Please note that, besides some (unnecessary) swear words, there is nothing inappropriate in the movie, and in fact we see the girls having a lot of fun, being the goofy-dorky-fun loving kids that they are, with mischief and a twinkle in their eyes and a lot of innocence about them. There are several laugh-out-loud scenes that are outright hilarious. Second, I can only assume that the makers of this film did a lot of research on what the punk scene in Sweden was like in those days, as we do get a fair amount of Swedish punk songs on the side. Last but not least, the no-names cast is brilliant, in particular the girls playing Bobo, Klara and Hedvig. My hat off to them! "We Are The Best!" had a brief theatrical run in the US last year, and in fact I had seen the trailer for it at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. Somehow I ended missing it when it played here ever so briefly. So glad that I finally caught up with this on DVD. If you are in the mood for a fun but top-notch foreign movie that looks at youth in a refreshing way, you cannot go wrong with this. "We Are The Best!" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Oslo Jargo (Bartok Kinski) Imponderably dull film about a few snot-nosed, selfish, well-off teens who whine throughout the entirety of the reel. Each scene is pointless, banal and lacks any charm or warmth. There is no redeeming character at all to be found, just a pastiche of cartoon elements and vapid dialogue. All we get are the teens complaining about each and every thing. Also, they are not even punk. Even the comedic elements are lacking. The teens stink as a band and the end is just as insignificant as the start.When I was a punk rock kid, we did things like put out zines, flyers, had rumbles with metal heads, jocks or cowboys, put up bands at our homes, protested against causes, unloaded band equipment for the Misfits, Minor Threat, Black Flag, TSOL, etc.The teens in the film are just entirely brain dead.

bbickley13-921-58664 I can't recall the last time I saw such an awesome movie about punk rock.There's nothing like being a preteen like Bobo, who comes from a single parent home and dislikes her parents and takes comfort by getting into punk rock. What makes her situation better is finding a rebellious preteen like Klara who has similar interest in punk rock and disliking her parents (who are actually really cool but understandingly embarrassing from a 12 year old's point of view.) And when the two "weird kids" in school find each other, they find the best way to express their uniqueness in Stockholm 1982...by starting a punk rock band. They didn't own their own instruments or even know how to play anything, and no matter what the boys who thought their Motorhead rip off band, Iron fist said about them they got the job done, and kept punk alive when it was "dying". Adding to their mixed a talented guitar player in Hedvig, they tell the tale of possibly every great band's origin.What I love most about the movie is the binding friendship of the girls. Like when bass player and vocals Klara had a problem with Guitar player, Hedvig's Christian upbringing or when drummer Bobo and Klara are face with a "Bros before hos" situation. They stand together, even when everyone thinks they suck, they stand together. A lesson most bands should take into consideration. This movie kicks-ass on some many levels. It's for everyone who loves the spirit of punk rock. We are the Best!!!