Mr. Moodysson's film is little only in physical and financial scale. When measured by the pleasure it confers, We Are the Best! is a big deal that will be winning hearts — and even grownup minds — for a long time to come.
While We Are the Best! may not be the best film of the year, it was my favorite film of the year. I can’t remember the last time a film contained so much genuine warmth and pleasure. This heartwarming and beautifully written story about the aimlessness of being a teenager had me smiling from ear to ear for the entirety of the running time. Unlike Boyhood, which provides the perspectives of both children and parents over an extended period of time, We Are the Best!, is a time capsule of a film, giving us the subjective perspectives of three young girls during a key part of their childhood. Veteran Swedish writer and director Lukas Moodysson, provides us with a glimpse into the lives of these young girls as they form a punk band despite two of them having no musical experience. They are indeed terrible, but the film isn't about punk music, it’s about the punk attitude that perfectly captures the defiance of being a teenager. A loving ode to growing up, We Are the Best! Is easily the most charming film of the year.
Two girls who love punk and decide to make a band to sing about things they hate without even knowing how to play instruments. After a while, they find a Christian girl to join the group and they enter a funny and dramatic journey until their first concert. With the 80's on the background, we have a movie that pays homage to punk, even though it wasn't so much loved like it was in the 70's. But the best about this script is how it explores not only music but also family, friendship and adolescence. We get to learn a lot about these three teenage girls who totally make us fall in love with them. Well done!
The movie is at its best when Moodysson... lets his three rebellious heroines simply exist and interact as the overgrown children the actresses still are, collapsing in laughter during a cafeteria food fight or negotiating their first stiff flirtations with a like-minded group of punk-rock-loving boys.
Even when his touch is light, the Swedish filmmaker is masterful at capturing youth’s contracted perception of time and amplified emotions: Every slight could mean the end of the world, and every joy feels limitless.
A very welcome return from Moodysson. The music is Wyld Stallions-grade, but the charm and spirit of the three girls will have you moshing in your seat.
Lukas Moodysson's film allows its trio of girls to express themselves through gender, certainly, but not undermine their desire to be heard as artists first.
"Vi är bäst!" or "We Are the Best!" is a Swedish film by Lukas Moodysson starring Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin, and Liv LeMoyne as three teenage girls in the 1980's who want to revive the punk music genre. This movie is particularly charming because of the small scale of the setting, contrasted with the lofty ambitions of the main characters. It is also a very funny movie, with the three main characters getting into simple, yet dramatic or comedic situations that are dripping with witty realism. Many themes are explored such as the relationship between individuals and music, religion, and the punk culture. However, you don't have to be a punk music fan to really appreciate this movie. Hilarious and full of heart, We Are the Best is one of the best movies of 2014 and I would highly recommend it!
The film has a very anti-Christian and anti-authority message that regardless of what you believe, is intensely creepy and over the top. These girls scream of trying to be edgy and unorthodox, but are plainly typical and incredibly annoying. Truly, I have never hated characters as much as I hated these girls. They just drove me up the wall. I hate the two lead girls and the nonsense they talk about and the way they act. The whole thing is so unsettling, cringy, and weird. I am shocked to find out this one had the level of acclaim it did.
Production Company
Danmarks Radio (DR),
Det Danske Filminstitut,
Film i Väst,
Memfis Film,
Nordisk Film & TV-Fond,
Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI),
Sveriges Television, Stockholm,
Zentropa Entertainments 5