Good Movie: SHOW ME LOVE

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 12/21/05 at 4:49pm

Well, you can all get over your BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN fixation, because there is no way it could be as entertaining as this lesbian love story from Sweden. Why the lez's make better love stories than the men, I'll never know.

Anyways, it's the story of a despondent teenaged outcast named Agnes who has virtually no friends in her high school and has already been pegged as a dyke even though the only entity who knows she's gay is her computer diary. The object of her affection is Elin, a gorgeous Lolita-type with a very popular older sister and a penchant for drama (she's ecstatic when a rave happens in her podunk town only to pitch a fit when she reads in a magazine that raves are "out"). Elin desperately wants out of the small town of Amal (the Swedish title is F**KING AMAL, Elin's favorite outburst) and she finds some escape after a prank she plays on Agnes misfires and leads her to explore her own sexuality.

It's all very sweet and formulaic and has a fairy tale ending, but what sets it apart from other girl-meets-girl flicks is the wonderful attention to detail. Little things like the relationship between Elin and her sister, the heartbreak a guy who has the hots for Elin as well, and the little nods to pop culture. The film also shows it's harder edge when it expertly illustrates that tense era of adolesence when even the most likeable kids are bafflingly mercurial and viciously mean to each other. The two lead actresses are simply brilliant.

It's been compared to KIDS and BULLY, but that's B.S....there's not an exploitive bone in it's body.

It's the first film by Lukas Moodysson, who later directed the equally as good commune film TOGETHER.

Borstal sez check it out!!!!!