The Swedish director, Lukas Moodysson, first made an impression on the international movie scene with the excellent Show Me Love in 1998. Despite some decent films since, such as Together in 2000 and Lilya4Ever in 2002, he hasn’t reached those heights since or really produced anything of note for more than 10 years.
It is pleasing that We Are the Best! is not only a return in style to his debut film, but is also his best work since. Set in Stockholm in the 1980s, it focuses on two 13 year old girls, Bobo and Klara. They are best friends and form a punk band despite not knowing how to play any instruments.
Interestingly set long after punk was at its peak, the girls love of that musical genre sets them apart from everyone else at their school and youth club. They have no other friends at all until they conscript a classical music playing Christian girl, Hedvig, to the band. That emphasises how the girls really are misfits and struggling to find a place in the world.
Otherwise, for the most part, the film refreshingly avoids clichés. Despite the girls’ antics both sets of parents are loving and understanding, the befriending of Hedvig doesn’t result in the expected conflict over faith or musical styles, and the band doesn’t suddenly achieve even minor success.
It is a shame then that conflict between Bobo and Klara is only introduced when they both fall for the same boy. That was the only time that the film didn’t ring true.
That aside, this is a joyous picture of awkward youth boosted by a terrific performance by Mira Barkhammar as Bobo. It would be fun to see this in a double bill with last year’s Good Vibrations which also captured the essence of the punk music scene, though in Belfast rather than Stockholm.
Rating: 7 out of 10