I just watched an extraordinary film on SBS. I was flicking through the channels at about 11:30 waiting for Star Trek to come on and I came across this film on SBS. I realised it was in Swedish so I checked it out on the online TV guide. I was thinking, “Oh yeah, same old SBS soft pr0n bullshit…” So I thought I watch a bit while I am waiting for Trek o’clock. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. The film is amazing. In Swedish it is called Fucking Ã…mÃ¥l (English title is Show Me Love).
The film made me feel like a teenager again. Not in some idiot immature way, but, quite simply, I could empathise with the exquisite torture of figuring out your place in the world. I know for sure I haven’t found my groove yet, and for that I think I am quite happy. But getting to the stage where I could accept myself for where I was in my world took a about a decade and a half.
Geographical dislocation, outsider status, smarter-than-the-average-peanut and in love… what an awesome combination. I imagine it would piss on the similar plotline from the O.C. (if anyone saw both, please let me know what you thought):
Ã…mÃ¥l is a small insignificant town where nothing ever happens, where the latest trends are out of date when they get there. Young Elin has a bit of a bad reputation when it comes to guys, but the fact is that she has never done *it*. Another girl in her school, Agnes, is in love with her but is too shy to do anything about it. For different reasons, Elin ends up at Agnes’ birthday party as the only guest. They have a girl’s night out together but after that Elin desperately avoids Agnes, refusing to even consider her own sexuality.
Swedish films and literature — and Nordic cultural production in general — are untapped resources for understanding the Australian experience. The relative isolation of Swedish towns is very similar to that of places in Australia. Perhaps I need to think more about this.
Anyway, here are some reviews of the film. Some reviewers attempt to compare the film to US coming-of-age counterparts, but I’ll be fucked if there has been an equal produced in the US.
Bloody hell. I am glad we have SBS.