project film school

home movie : fucking amal (directed by lucas moodysson)

upon reccomendation i watched lukas moodysson's fucking amal (known here as show me love). the film is an angtsy teenage romp about two young girls finding love and figuring out sexual orientation. form is fairly typical to teen movie standards - but what sets this swedish tale of adolescence apart from more standard fare are the amazing performances from moodyssoon's appropriately aged cast and his glossless portrayel of teenage life.

both rebecca liljeberg) (agnes) and alexandra dahlstrom (elin) were within one year of their character's ages while shooting. regardless of you make someone up, that awkward stage where ones face is shedding childhood and starting to come into adulthood can't be faked and the film (and audience) benefit from the girls natural ability to display the inbetween phase they are caught in. this, along with moodysson's explorative camera allow the film to escape the cliches of american teen dramas and instead embrace an honesty about two girls searching for acceptance, love and self in a tangle of sexual orientation and small town woes.

fucking amal rivaled titanic at the box office in sweden - which isnt so much a statement about how good either of the films are but is just another example of how americans are unable to deal with challenging material and be entertained at the same time. it's hard for me to imagine a day (even with the success of brokeback mountain) where a film about two teenage lesbians finding themselves and each other could break any type of box office barrier. hell, we can't even give them equal rights, why would we ever give them equal screen time?

in america the dollar rules the day and until people are presented with more challenging material they'll accept what they are given.... for now it seems young girls with have to make do with lindsay lohan unless they have hip enough parents to add films like fucking amal to their netflix cue - in which case i hope they pass it on.