What it’s about
In 1982 Stockholm, thirteen-year old best friends Bobo (Barkhammar) and Klara (Grosin) are staunch punks despite the growing popularity of New Wave music. Bespectacled tomboy Bobo feels awkward and ugly, while the brash Klara brims with brash confidence. Despite having no musical abilities, they start their own punk band and recruit Christian guitar-playing Hedvig (LeMoyne). With one song in their repertoire (“Hate the Sport”), they prepare for their first live gig.
Why we love it
Capturing the exuberance of the punk aesthetic as well as the excitement and uncertainty of early teenage years, Moodysson’s love letter to adolescence is based on a graphic novel by his wife Coco. His first-time actors embody the aspiring band members with brio and ebullience, never getting a beat wrong in their struggle with uncool parents, aloof boys or dorky youth-club leaders. The comedy is organic to the characters, but there’s pathos too in Bobo’s sexual insecurities and her lonely single mother. Don’t miss this one-time only appearance by the “world’s greatest band”!