Cinema
Show Me Love
Fucking Åmål
Lukas Moodysson · 1998
Synopsis
Åmål, a small town where nothing happens. Agnes is about to turn sixteen; she lives with her parents and her little brother, has only a disabled classmate for a friend, and secretly loves Elin, the most popular girl in her class. Elin, for her part, is bored to death and wishes something would happen. On the evening of Agnes's birthday, when almost no one comes, Elin and her sister Jessica drop by out of curiosity, and Elin, to win a bet, kisses Agnes.
Context
The author's first feature film, which he also wrote, it was shot mostly in Trollhättan, at the Film i Väst studios, which co-produced it with Memfis Film and the Danish company Zentropa; the few shots filmed in Åmål were not kept. It was shot on 16 mm reversal stock and then blown up to 35 mm, hence its grain. The title angered the elected officials of Åmål, who tried to have it changed, and the film was often released abroad under another name. Ingmar Bergman saw in it “the first masterpiece of a young master”.
Who it is for
Eighty-nine minutes, in Swedish; released in France under its original title. A dramatic comedy about adolescence, in the language of adolescents.
Prizes and reception
Four Guldbagge awards, including best film and best direction, nearly 870,000 admissions in Sweden, and the Teddy Award in Berlin in 1999.