Genre: Drama/Romance

Premise:

In the small Swedish town of Åmål, two teenage girls (Dahlstrom, Liljeberg) from different social circles find themselves falling surprisingly in love

MPAA Rating: Not Rated.

Distributor: Strand Releasing

Cast: Alexandra Dahlström, Rebecca Liljeberg, Mathias Rust, Erica Carlson, Stefan Hörberg, Josefin Nyberg, Ralph Carlsson, Maria Hedborg, Axel Widegren, Jill Ung, Lisa Skagerstam, Lina Svantesson, Johanna Larsson, Elinor Johansson, Jessica Melkersson, Bo Lyckman, Daniel Teider, Nils Björkman, Karl Strandlin, Linda Malmqvist

Directed by: Lukas Moodysson

Produced by: Lars Jonsson, Lars Jönsson


"One of the most honest and heartfelt teen dramas ever to grace the screen."
-- James Berardinelli, REELVIEWS

"Surprisingly poignant and unflinchingly honest."
-- Jeff Vice, DESERET NEWS, SALT LAKE CITY

"A breath of fresh air in a genre too often controlled by Hollywood teen-pap."
-- Marc Savlov, AUSTIN CHRONICLE

"Successfully captures the frenzied angst and boredom of youth, as well as the powerful, unbridled emotions of first love."
-- Robert Payne, REEL.COM

"Written and directed by Moodysson with charm, a sense of fun and no condescension."
-- Bruce Kirkland, JAM! MOVIES

"This lively comedy should strike a chord with bored teenagers everywhere."
-- David Parkinson, EMPIRE MAGAZINE [UK]

"Moodysson thrillingly captures the brusque, prevaricating way teenagers talk and act among themselves as well as with adults."
-- David Noh, FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

"The two lead performances by Dahlstroem and Liljeberg are entirely naturalistic."
-- Randall King, JAM! MOVIES

"A completely charming reality-based romantic fantasy, both sweet-natured and sympathetic."
-- Kenneth Turan, LOS ANGELES TIMES

"What keeps us watching are Liljeberg and Dahlström, both beautifully natural, and the hope that we'll get to see them together."
-- Charles Taylor, SALON.COM

"Right away this film grabs attention with documentary-style close- ups and upends teen movie cliches."
-- Peter Stack, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

"Moodysson creates a fictional world that has all the aesthetic rawness and grittiness of a documentary."
-- Ernest Hardy, FILM.COM

"Convincingly delivers a universally appealing lesson about the joy that results from the mature determination to be free."
-- Yazmin Ghonaim, CINEPHILES

"What makes writer-director Lukas Moodysson's work head and shoulders above similarly-themed movies is the sheer unaffectedness of it."
-- Mike Kerrigan, BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE

"Incredibly fun, incredibly entertaining, and worth watching in all respects."
-- James Brundage, FILMCRITIC.COM

"...a warm coming-of-age story that happens to be a coming-out story."
-- Tom Block, CULTUREVULTURE.NET

"The movie is funny, gentle, and true."
-- Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

"Liljeberg is a talented young actress, perceptively playing all of Agnes's moods."
-- Eric D. Snider, ERICDSNIDER.COM

"A poignant exploration of the cruelty and anguish of teenage existence."
-- Jeanne Aufmuth, PALO ALTO WEEKLY

"It tells this story with complexity and emotional truth, something that strikes me as a rarity in the genre."
-- Beth Armitage, POPMATTERS


SHOW ME LOVE (FUCKING AMAL)

***Review includes some SLIGHT SPOILERS***


Show Me Love is about Agnes (Rebecka Liljeberg), a 15-year-old (going on 16) outsider with no real friends, except one wheelchair-bound girl, but they only communicate with each other because neither of them has any real friends. Agnes has a major crush on the popular, 14-year-old Elin (Alexandra Dahlström). Even though Agnes doesn't want one, her parents throw her a party for her Birthday and give her invitations to hand out. Agnes gives one to her only "friend," but a popular girl who is friends with Elin sees the invitation and tells everyone that Agnes is having a party. It doesn't matter because pretty much nobody, other than her main "friend," shows up. However, bored with everything and wanting to do something new, Elin begs her older sister Jessica (Erica Carlson) to go to Agnes' party with her. She reluctantly agrees. Once there Agnes' mom gives them some alcohol and they head up to Agnes' room, while Agnes freshens up in the bathroom. They lock her bedroom door and plan to just drink the liquor and leave, but while Jessica tells Elin that they say Agnes is a lesbian, Elin clicks on Agnes' computer and sees that Agnes has written about her on it. Elin tells her sister that Agnes seems nice, to which Jessica replies "If she's so nice go and make out with her." Elin says, "Okay, what do I get if I do?" The two then make a bet, with Jessica betting Elin that she won't kiss Agnes. Elin goes through with it, making Agnes think she likes her, until Elin and her sister burst out laughing and take off, making it clear it was just a practical joke. Elin and her sister head to a party, while a depressed Agnes puts on some music at home, grabs a razor, and contemplates suicide. At the party Jessica tells everyone what Elin did, and Elin's friends decide to prank call Agnes and make fun of her for being a "dyke." A drunk Elin feels guilt about what she did to her so decides to leave the party and go apologize. They hang out a while and the evening ends in a kiss. Elin tells Agnes she'll definitely call her the next day, but while she wants to, she can't bring herself to do it. The closest she comes is calling her and hanging up. She loves Agnes and wants to be with her, but just can't due to pressure from her sister to date a guy and the fact that the people around her won't accept her. (This honestly has to be one of the most homophobic towns I've seen in a movie that takes place in this day and age, at least with the teens anyway, who are usually a little more accepting than adults.) Elin ignores Agnes, both hurting and confusing her, while she dates a guy that has a crush on her but she doesn't like at all just to try and cover up the fact that she's a lesbian. Both characters go through very realistic moments of confusion and suffering, while Elin must decide whether or not she wants to live a lie and give up on love to conform to a more conventional lifestyle or just say the hell with everyone else and be herself and be with Agnes.


Show Me Love is a smart and sweet coming-of-age film. It's simple yet has depth. I was surprised it wasn't afraid to have flawed characters that acted like real teens. The scene where Agnes' friend in a wheelchair ends up the only person to come to her Birthday party (until later on, when Elin and her sister arrive) and Agnes, mad at the world (her parents, herself, etc.), lashes out on her, harshly telling her off saying, "If this is the best you can do, don't bother. Go home, and keep your perfume. We just pretend to be friends because there's no one else to be with. You know what the most boring thing I've ever done is? When you took me to that wheelchair basketball game in Karlstad. I don't want to be friends with a palsied cripple who listens to Backstreet Boys or whatever shit you listen to." I was shocked and pissed at Agnes, thinking, "And we're supposed to care about this bitch?" I mean I get that you're mad and upset, but there's no excuse. Yet this is realistic, people get mad and say cruel things that they might later regret; it's just that you usually don't see this happen so honestly in a movie, for risk that viewers might end up hating the character. While Agnes does apologize to her later, her "friend" doesn't care and tells her that she's right; they weren't real friends anyway. But after her ex-friend in the wheelchair becomes a bitch, I didn't care about her anymore anyway.

Both Agnes' parents were really likable and not uncaring and distant like so many parents in movies about teens tend to be. They actually try to understand their daughter and be there for her. When Agnes' little brother asks their mom what a lesbian is and she explains, and then asks him why he wanted to know and he tells her that people say that Agnes is one, which leads to her later asking her daughter if she is a lesbian, I wanted her to tell her because from the talk she had with Agnes' little brother, it seemed she would understand and be supportive. Yet Agnes' reaction was understandable, because she was embarrassed and scared of what her mother would think. I know the feeling of trying to ignore that question.

Rebecka Liljeberg and Alexandra Dahlström both give two very natural performances. I thought Alexandra Dahlström was especially excellent as Elin.

Show Me Love is a great little gem. The performances are excellent and the dialogue realistic. I loved one of the final scenes too. And with Robyn's "Show Me Love" playing at the end and over the end credits, I just had to check through my CDs and still see if I had Robyn's. Sure enough, I did, which was great because I had thought I had gotten rid of it. Ever since seeing the movie I've had the song in my head, and once I found the CD, I've listened to the song quite a bit.

If you're able to see this film, I highly recommend doing so. But don't take my word for it, just check out the positively glowing reviews it received.

Grade: 9/10 (A-)


*Note(s):

Released in 1998 as Fucking Amal in Sweden, it outgrossed Titanic to become the most successful film in Swedish history. Being that the word "fucking" isn't considered a bad word there, but is in the US, Fucking Amal became Show Me Love for its US release in 1999.