Review of Show Me Love

Hollywood always portrays teenagers through clichés and prejudices. No wonder that this fresh look upon teenagers comes from Sweden, a country the movies of which only seldom make it to our screens. Fucking Åmål makes me wish we saw more Swedish movies, since there is definitely something special about them. The director has chosen a very difficult subject for his first movie : the (love)story of two young girls. Agnes, 16 (very cute Rebecka Liljeberg), is in love with Elin, 14 (enthralling Alexandra Dahlström). Agnes is very closed in upon herself, and doesn't seem to have a single friend. Elin is probably the first person she has ever loved. Elin, on the contrary, is a most lively girl who can't stand the boredom of her own life. Getting drunk allows her to forget about the meaninglessness of life in the small town of Åmål. Boredom and idleness are indeed an underlying theme of the movie (especially in its portrayal of youth). Elin dreams about attacking old ladies, setting houses on fire, fleeing to Stockholm, whatever will put some excitement in her life. All the boys are attracted to her, but though she has dated many, she is still a virgin. Through Agnes, she will discover that she is a lesbian herself, and the deep torments that she feels are extremely well shown by Lukas Moodysson, the director, in the most sensitive way possible. It is very hard to express through images the mental tortures of a teenager who can't accept herself, but Fucking Åmål does it perfectly. I don't think it is possible to walk out of this movie and not be in love with Elin and Agnes (no matter if one is a man or a woman). Everyone has suffered from the kind of torment these two girls live through, and Fucking Åmål will make those who often consider adolescence with condescension or even scorn have a whole new look on it. Rarely have I seen actresses that young that talented. Wait, let me rephrase that : rarely have I seen actresses that talented, period. It is hard to get out of this movie, and get back to everyday life, because it feeds on one's own capacity for emotion continuously, even once the lights have been switched on again and the screen has turned white. And the only way to feed that need for sheer emotion is to go see Fucking Åmål again, again, and again.